Carlo Ponti Movies
Italian mega-producer Carlo Ponti's resumé reads not only like a checklist of the golden highlights of postwar European cinema, but as a testament to the creative vision of a maverick -- a filmmaking revolutionary defiantly unafraid to take enormous career risks. In the final analysis, Ponti's consistency in gracing the pinnacle of success and breaking new filmic ground time and again -- in Italy, Great Britain, and Hollywood -- is virtually unprecedented in moviedom. Born December 11, 1913, in the hamlet of Magenta, Italy, on the outskirts of Milan, Ponti studied law as a young man and launched his own practice as an attorney before entering filmmaking with the Mario Soldati-directed period epic Piccolo Mondo Antico in 1940, starring Alida Valli. That picture's twin commercial and critical triumphs enabled Ponti not simply to continue his production-oriented work, but to ride the crest of Italian neorealism by collaborating with the top helmers in Italy as the '40s progressed, including Luigi Zampa (Vivere in Pace [1947], Cuori Senza Frontiere [1949]), Alberto Lattuada (Il Mulino del Po [1949]), Renato Castellani (Mio Figlio Professore [1946]), and Pietro Germi (Gioventu Perduta [1947]).In 1950, Ponti teamed with another brilliant mind on the south European filmscape, Dino de Laurentiis. During their seven-year partnership, the men extended their influence beyond the Mediterranean with a series of massively budgeted international co-productions, the most famous of which was King Vidor's Italian-American joint venture War and Peace (1956), an adaptation of the Tolstoy novel starring Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, and Mel Ferrer. Regional (Italian) co-productions of Ponti and de Laurentiis during the '50s included Alberto Lattuada's 1951 Anna, Roberto Rossellini's Europa '51 (1952), and Federico Fellini's La Strada (1954) -- not exactly the first film to launch Fellini onto the international scene (the still-influential Variety Lights, The White Sheik, and I Vitelloni preceded it), but a hallmark of international cinema nonetheless, and one of its director's most vital works, winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film.
This idea -- that of seeking out, nurturing, and cultivating exciting cinematic talent, both new and established -- became something of a hallmark of Ponti's career, evident in his decision to shepherd then-neophytes Martin Ritt (Black Orchid [1958]), Sidney Lumet (That Kind of Woman [1959]), and especially Jean-Luc Godard (A Woman Is a Woman [1961]) through production and distribution channels. (The ongoing involvement with Godard made Ponti one of the few producers in history to aggressively shape both Italian neorealism and the French New Wave.) Additional credits during the 1960s include George Cukor's Heller in Pink Tights (1960), David Lean's Doctor Zhivago (1965), and Milos Forman's The Firemen's Ball (1967).
The Ponti-produced Blow-Up (1966) and Zabriskie Point (1970) -- both directed by Michelangelo Antonioni -- and especially Paul Morrissey's ultraviolent twin horror features Blood for Dracula and Flesh for Frankenstein (1973), represented massive risks from the standpoint of content, but paid off critically and commercially, becoming runaway sleeper hits.
Meanwhile, alongside Ponti's career accomplishments, his personal life crescendoed. In 1950, he purportedly served as a 37-year-old judge for a beauty contest and fell for one of its contestants, the luminous Sophia Loren -- at that time, only a 15-year-old girl named Sofia Lazarro. In 1956, 22-year-old Loren wed Ponti in Mexico, and their marriage lasted over four decades, until Ponti's death. It survived repetitive tabloid interference, Ponti's alleged adulteries, and rumors of Loren's feelings for other men. They had two children together, symphony conductor Carlo Jr. and director Edoardo, in addition to two children from Ponti's first marriage. During the early years of their union, Ponti prepped the then-ingenue for international stardom, and hit a watershed moment in the pursuit of that goal when Loren won the 1961 Best Actress Oscar for Two Women, directed by Vittorio De Sica. Ponti's production-oriented work lasted through the end of the 1970s, but after 1976's elephantine disaster opus The Cassandra Crossing and 1977's well-received Una Giornata Particolare, he largely retired. In later years, Ponti and Loren moved to Switzerland together. Ponti died of pulmonary complications in Geneva, Switzerland, on January 9, 2007 -- merely three weeks after celebrating his 93rd birthday. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 1971
- R
This comic Italian melodrama recounts the story of a friendship which develops out of a romantic obsession. The Italian communist party was largely independent of the Eastern Bloc, and has played a large political role in that country, particularly on the local level. This story tells of Annibale Pezzi (Adriano Celentano), a hospital patient who is also the local communist party boss, and of Sister Germana (Sophia Loren), the nursing nun who is treating him. Annibale successfully invents one ailment after another in order to avoid having to leave the delightful ministrations of this special woman. Though she is at first antagonistic to him and his beliefs, their mutual respect grows until he is finally able to accept the idea of being discharged. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni star in this Italian comedy. The story begins with Loren as Valerie, a woman whose suicide attempt, prompted by a romantic disappointment, is thwarted by Don Mario (Mastroianni), a priest whom she called before she lost consciousness. She immediately falls in love with the priest. He is much taken with her beauty and considers asking for a dispensation to marry her, which encourages her greatly. The priest asks for advice, which ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous (castration). Meanwhile, he is promoted to be a Monsignor. At the same time, Valerie learns that she is pregnant, though it is not clear who the father is. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1970
The first Italian feature film shot in Moscow was directed by the renowned Vittorio De Sica and produced by Carlo Ponti. Sophia Loren stars as Giovanna, an Italian woman who marries Antonio (Marcello Mastroianni) 12 days before the outbreak of WWII. Antonio has no desire to fight in the conflict, and he fakes insanity to try to avoid the draft, but officials see through the charade. Antonio is sent to the Russian front, where the soldiers are plagued by freezing temperatures and short supplies of rations. He is found half-dead in the cold by a Russian peasant girl, Mascia (Lyudmila Savelyeva). She takes him in, and eventually, they marry. Giovanna waits in vain for word on the fate of her husband, who is officially declared missing in action. She goes to Russia to try to find him, searching records and cemeteries. Finally, she discovers first his new wife, then him, and reluctantly decides not to fight the situation. Returning home to Italy, she marries an older factory worker, Ettore (Germano Longo), and they have a son (who is played by the real-life son of Ponti and Loren). But Antonio still longs for Giovanna, and he returns to Italy to discuss a reconciliation with her. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, (more)
- 1970
- R
Zabriskie Point, director Michelangelo Antonioni's only American film, is an unusual, visually stunning examination of youthful rebellion against the Establishment. The film, initially presented in quasi-documentary style, presents a group of college activists discussing key issues of their political agenda. Mark (Mark Frechette) steals an airplane and flies over a desert where he meets Daria (Daria Halprin). She is the pot-smoking secretary to businessman Lee Allen (Rod Taylor), while he is a rebel searching for a worthy cause. In the midst of the arid surroundings, Mark and Daria fall in love. Antonioni's nonrealistic approach to American counterculture myths, his loose and sluggish narrative, and the dialogue (credited to Fred Gardner, Sam Shepard, Tonino Guerra, Clare Peploe, and Antonioni) caused Zabriskie Point to be poorly received when it was first released. The score features songs from Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, Kaleidoscope, The Rolling Stones, John Fahey, The Youngbloods and Patti Page. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Frechette, Daria Halprin, (more)
- 1969
- PG
The title tells all in this western. The trouble is that it is difficult to tell whether or not the film is a serious venture or a parody. There is certainly plenty of violence. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Vittorio De Sica directed this sudsy romantic drama, which received punishing reviews on its initial release. Recently-divorced fashion designer Julia (Faye Dunaway) arrives in Venice from the U.S. and meets handsome race car driver Valerio (Marcello Mastroianni) at the airport. While she initially brushes off his advances, she soon has a change of heart and invites him to spend a few days with her at the villa where she'll be staying. After several days divided between lovemaking and sightseeing, a party at Julia's home turns into an orgy, and Valerio decides that he's bitten off more than he can chew and leaves her. However, Valerio soon learns that there's a reason for Julia's reckless abandon -- she is suffering from a terminal illness and has a very short time to live. Faye Dunaway and Marcello Mastroianni were romantically involved at the time Amanti was in production, though little of their personal chemistry appears onscreen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Faye Dunaway, Marcello Mastroianni, (more)
- 1968
Marcello Mastroianni marks his English language film debut in this featherweight caper film directed by first-time director Christopher Morahan. Mastroianni plays the owner of a London boutique who also happens to be the fourth in line to succeed the Russian throne. Mastroianni, feeling that the collection of Russian imperial jewels actually belongs to him, determines to steal them and return them to their rightful owner -- himself. To carry out his plan, he puts together a cadre of pulchritudinous female crooks and arranges for his gal gang to model the imperial jewels at a fashion show. But, as usual, complications set in to mess up his plans. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Rita Tushingham, (more)
- 1968
Mario (Marcello Mastroianni) is a Milan industrialist who is constantly testing balloons to see how much air one can take before busting. His principle romantic interest in this feature is played by Catherine Spaak. The majority of the film seems to come from previous efforts from 1964 and 1965 which additional footage was added to, to insure an 85-minute full-length movie. A new soundtrack has been added as well. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Catherine Spaak, (more)
- 1967
Adapted from the novel by C. Virgil Gheorghiu, this satirical concentration-camp drama from Turkish-born French director Henri Verneuil stars Anthony Quinn as Johann Moritz, a Romanian peasant who experiences the horrors of World War II when the Nazis invade his country. Because local police chief Dobresco (Gregoire Aslan) is anamorous towards Moritz's wife Suzanna (Virna Lisi), he has the lowly fieldhand falsely labeled a Jew and sent to a work camp. Moritz's troubles continue to mount, as his wife is threatened with losing their property unless she divorces him. Also starring Michael Redgrave, La Vingt-cinquième heure is also known as The 25th Hour, though it should not be confused with and bears no resemblance to the 2002 Spike Lee film of the same name. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, Virna Lisi, (more)
- 1967
Smashing Time attempts to turn British actresses Rita Tushingham and Lynn Redgrave into a female Laurel and Hardy. The film's second mistake is to prolong the joke for 96 minutes. Tushingham and Redgrave play a couple of dimwitted North Country girls who head to London, in hopes of breaking into the mad, mod world of fashion modeling. Instead they spend most of their screen time getting in each other's way and wreaking havoc on innocent pedestrians. The comic "highlight" of Smashing Time is supposed to be a mammoth pie fight; but outside of one cute throwaway gag involving a street minister, the sequence makes one wish, in the words of Laurel and Hardy buff Leonard Maltin, that Smashing Time "had been handled by someone other than [director] Desmond Davis." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rita Tushingham, Lynn Redgrave, (more)
- 1967
Set in Italy during WW I, this war drama centers on the off-beat relationship between a Bavarian general an a peasant girl after they both end up captured by a bungling Italian soldier. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virna Lisi, Rod Steiger, (more)
- 1967
A handsome prince searches for love in this whimsical fairy tale. Prince Ramon (Omar Sharif) has been pledged to an arranged marriage by the Queen Mother (Dolores Del Rio), but he balks at marrying a woman whom he doesn't love, and rides away on his horse rather than face the altar. While riding in the woods, Ramon is thrown from his mount, and the wounded prince finds refuge at a nearby monastery presided over by Brother Joseph (Leslie French). Unlike most monks, Joseph has magical powers and can fly when the spirit moves him. The Prince confesses to Joseph that he's been unable to find true love, so the monk puts his powers to work; soon Ramon finds himself awestruck by the beautiful servant girl Isabella (Sophia Loren). Ramon and Isabella fall in love, but her status as a commoner would preclude a marriage between them -- that is, until Brother Joseph does some rummaging through his bag of tricks. More Than a Miracle (also released as C'era una Volta and Cinderella -- Italian Style) was Dolores Del Rio's last dramatic screen appearance for 11 years; she was to act in only one more film, The Children of Sanchez. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Omar Sharif, (more)
- 1967
A couple with marital problems hopes to find new spirit living in a haunted house in this arcical comedy. Pasquale (Vittorio Gassman) and Maria (Sophia Loren) are a couple who are married, but not at all happily; he's a chronically unemployed musician, she can't stand her husband, and they've both decided they'd be better off dead. However, when their suicide pact goes wrong and both are still alive, Maria decides to pay a visit to Alfredo (Mario Adorf), who ran the orphanage where she was raised. Alfredo has had a lustful eye on Maria ever since she was a teenager, and he sees the current turn of events as a perfect opportunity to break up her marriage. Alfredo offers to "help" the couple by having them housesit at an old mansion which is said to be haunted; unknown to them, Alfredo has secreted himself away in the house in order to drop clues that ghosts walk. Adding to the confusion, Pasquale decides to make some extra money by renting out one of the rooms to a streetwalker, Sayonara (Margaret Lee), which leads Maria to suspect that her husband is either the new lodger's customer or her pimp. Marcello Mastroianni also makes a cameo appearance. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Vittorio Gassman, (more)
Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni's first English-language production was also his only box office hit, widely considered one of the seminal films of the 1960s. Thomas (David Hemmings) is a nihilistic, wealthy fashion photographer in mod "Swinging London." Filled with ennui, bored with his "fab" but oddly-lifeless existence of casual sex and drug use, Thomas comes alive when he wanders through a park, stops to take pictures of a couple embracing, and upon developing the images, believes that he has photographed a murder. Pursued by Jane (Vanessa Redgrave), the woman who is in the photos, Thomas pretends to give her the pictures, but in reality, he passes off a different roll of film to her. Thomas returns to the park and discovers that there is, indeed, a dead body lying in the shrubbery: the gray-haired man who was embracing Jane. Has she murdered him, or does Thomas' photo reveal a man with a gun hiding nearby? Antonioni's thriller is a puzzling, existential, adroitly-assembled masterpiece. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, (more)
- 1966
Five young boys take off in a lighter-than-air machine from the Centenary Exposition in Prague. As the adult world races to copy the invention for their own evil purposes, the boys land on an uncharted island. The five boys survive against pirates, Captain Nemo, and the elements of nature in this engaging adventure story from Jules Verne. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- 1965
Lady L (Sophia Loren) is an 80-year-old woman who recalls her amorous adventures in flashback in this light sex comedy. While working as a laundress, Lady L falls for the gambler and anarchist Armand (Paul Newman), who gets mixed up with an inept group trying to assassinate the senile Prince Otto (Peter Ustinov). She ends up marrying the suave aristocrat Dicky (David Niven) in this entertaining but uneven feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Paul Newman, (more)
This big-budget, big-studio espionage film is set in the last years of World War II. George Peppard, Tom Courtenay and Jeremy Kemp parachute into Germany, with orders to destroy the Nazis' V-1 rocket base at Peenemunde. Given the order of billing, guess which special operative survives the longest. This being an MGM production, Peppard has time to commiserate with Sophia Loren, the wife of the Nazi collaborator whom Peppard is pretending to be. If you're wondering about the film's outcome, remember who won the war. Operation Crossbow failed badly in its first release; MGM, deciding that the title misled moviegoers into thinking that the picture was a "Robin Hood" derivation, cleared up matters by renaming the film The Great Spy Mission. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, George Peppard, (more)
- 1965
Marcello Mastroianni stars in this film which combines much of the 1965 release Paranoia with new footage. A police inspector is told of the bizarre behavior of a pistol-packing papa who shoots blanks at his wife to keep her intimidated. He inserts a real bullet every so often just to let her know she should pay attention. Another story has Mastroianni as a man who tries to sell his blonde wife to a wealthy sheik with a large harem. His wife has her own ideas and sells her husband instead as an addition to a male harem. He is condemned to servitude as the beautiful blonde steps into a luxury car and leaves him in the desert. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Pamela Tiffin, (more)
- 1965
Marcello Mastroianni portrays the handsome lover Casanova pitted against a thoroughly modern woman. This is a legendary hero often depicted in movies, but this time he is portrayed with a slightly different problem - the only time he's "in the mood" is when he feels that he is in danger. His job as NATO officer offers plenty of opportunity for his sexual arousal problems to be assuaged. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Michele Mercier, (more)
Based on an interesting plot from a novel by Robert Sheckley, this movie features tongue-in-cheek performances by Andress and Mastroianni, which are responsible for its status as a minor cult favorite. Set in the 21st century, this science fiction movie depicts a society in which population control is facilitated by the use of legalized murder. The society plays an assassination game for fun, in which the last person left alive is the winner. The movie is made for entertainment, but there are some sexual situations. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Ursula Andress, (more)
- 1965
Courtroom tomfoolery provides the basis for this four-episode Italian anthology comedy. In the first segment "Adultery in 16mm," an angry wife attempts to sue her neglectful husband by charging him with abandonment. Meanwhile, he charges her with adultery and claims to have a few reels of home-movie footage to prove it. The films are shown and the courtroom gasps when they learn the identity of the woman's lover. The second "The Priest and the Prostitute," centers on a self-righteous clergyman who pursues the streetwalker who picked his pocket. The hunted and hunter end up in a pool hall. When she attempts to give her ill-gotten loot to her pimp, the priest pounces and a melee erupts. The police end up taking all of them to jail where more fun follows. In the third episode, "Indecent Exposure," an overly health-conscious fellow religiously swims naked in a Roman ditch every day. The trouble begins on the day in which his clothes are stolen. In the final episode, "The Lustful Lieutenant," an old hooker is charged with soliciting. The attending judge is struck by her resemblance to his old wartime love, but he isn't sure whether it is really her or not. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Based on the Nobel Prize-winning novel by Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago covers the years prior to, during, and after the Russian Revolution, as seen through the eyes of poet/physician Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif). In the tradition of Russian novels, a multitude of characters and subplots intertwine within the film's 197 minutes (plus intermission). Zhivago is married to Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin), but carries on an affair with Lara (Julie Christie), who has been raped by ruthless politician Komarovsky (Rod Steiger). Meanwhile, Zhivago's half-brother Yevgraf (Alec Guinness) and the mysterious, revenge-seeking Strelnikoff (Tom Courteney) represent the "good" and "bad" elements of the Bolshevik revolution. Composer Maurice Jarre received one of Doctor Zhivago's five Oscars, with the others going to screenwriter Robert Bolt, cinematographer Freddie Young, art directors John Box and Terry Marsh, set decorator Dario Simoni, and costumer Phyllis Dalton. The best picture Oscar, however, went to The Sound of Music. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, (more)
- 1964
Horst Bucholz plays Dino, a painter who realizes he has no artistic vision and decides to move back into his wealthy mother's (Betty Davis) home. Just before he does this, however, he falls in love with beautiful and self-serving Cecilia (Catherine Spaak). Though Dino diligently attempts to convince her to marry him, she refuses, but offers to be his lover until someone better strikes her fancy. When that becomes an actuality, Dino does not fare well under the emotional trauma and has a nervous breakdown. With the help of his mother, Dino recovers to find he may not be completely devoid of talent after all. Based on La Noia, an Italian novel by Alberto Moravia. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Horst Buchholz, (more)
When the Nazis occupied Czechoslovakia, the first thing to happen was the disaffection of all the Jews in professional positions. No longer able to practice medicine, a Jewish physician begins working in a warehouse, biding his time until the war is over. A fellow tenant appeals to the physician to help a political fugitive who has been shot. Forced into a moral conflict, the physician takes the unselfish road and treats the injured man. Unfortunately, not everyone appreciates the sacrifice he has made and the movie depicts the Catch-22 of doing what you have to do and still suffering for it. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Miroslav Machacek, Jiri Adamira, (more)
- 1964
In flashback, Marcello Mastroianni recalls his wartime romance with Sophia Loren. He is so enamored with her that he finances her escape from the bordello where she lives and sets her up with a good job in the restaurant that he owns, and later finds a place for her on his mother's domestic staff. He is not, however, enamored enough to make their union legal, and expects Loren to behave like a servant by day and his mistress by night. Years later, Loren lies on her deathbed. The contrite Mastroianni finally consents to marry her. Not only does she make a full recovery, but she brings her three grown sons to live with the nonplused Mastroianni after the wedding. He tries to weasel out of the arrangement, but is mollified by Loren's insistence that all three boys are his sons. Thus, after nearly twenty years' servitude, Loren is at last in a position to call the shots. Sold to American distributors on the basis of Sophia Loren's revealing costumes (some of these absolutely defy the laws of gravity), Marriage Italian Style remains a warm and spicy concoction today, even after years of less expert imitations. The film was based on Filumena Marturano by Eduardo de Filipo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, (more)
