Claudia Cardinale Movies
Emerging in the wake of Sophia Loren's international success, Claudia Cardinale was originally touted as Italy's answer to Brigitte Bardot; while never attaining a measure of global stardom comparable to either performer, she nevertheless proved herself a highly capable actress, working with many of the most renowned filmmakers in world cinema. Born in Tunisia on April 15, 1939, Cardinale first attracted attention in 1957 after winning the "Most Beautiful Girl in Tunisia" contest; her prize was a trip to the Venice Film Festival, inspiring her to pursue a career in acting. After studying at Rome's Centro Sperimentale film school, she made her screen debut in 1958's Goha, followed by a larger role in Mario Monicelli's classic caper comedy I Soliti Ignoti that same year. In 1959 she was featured in Pietro Germi's Un Maledetto Imbroglio.Under the guidance of producer Franco Cristaldi (later to become her husband), Cardinale emerged as a major sex symbol; however, she also continued to appear with highly regarded filmmakers, including Abel Gance (The Battle of Austerlitz), Luchino Visconti (Rocco E I Suoi Fratelli), and Philippe de Broca (1962's Cartouche). In 1963, Cardinale received her widest exposure to date, playing herself -- the object of star Marcello Mastroianni's fantasies -- in Federico Fellini's masterpiece 8 1/2. That same year, she also appeared in Visconti's epic Il Gattopardo. Their combined success piqued Hollywood's interest, and in 1964 she co-starred in her first American production, Henry Hathaway's Circus World. She also appeared opposite Peter Sellers in Blake Edwards' The Pink Panther.
Cardinale continued dividing her time between Hollywood and Europe for the remainder of the decade, appearing in diverse projects ranging from the 1965 Visconti war drama Vaghe Stelle dell'Orsa to the 1966 Richard Brooks Western The Professionals. In 1968, she also co-starred in the Sergio Leone classic Once Upon a Time in the West. However, with the 1969 Mikhail Kalatozov adventure La Tenda Rossa, Cardinale began appearing almost exclusively in European films, few of which were distributed in English-language markets. As a result, she was largely a memory when she resurfaced in the 1976 hit The Pink Panther Strikes Again. A year later, she also co-starred in the television miniseries Jesus of Nazareth. Cardinale's next high-profile international project was the 1982 Werner Herzog art-house hit Fitzcarraldo. She followed it with another miniseries, 1983's Princess Daisy, then again remained in Europe prior to the 1993 flop Son of the Pink Panther. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1983
In a revealing documentary about one slice of film history, directors Francesco Bortolini and Claudio Masenza interview eight Italian actresses who attained fame in the U.S. through films they made in Hollywood. Most of the eight agree that performers are treated better in Hollywood than in Italy, and that U.S. efficiency and organization impressed them -- but that in Italy, they had more challenging roles than was allowed in the U.S. Virna Lisi was made over to look like another Marilyn Monroe, Gina Lollobrigida was employed like the others for her sex appeal -- and left after a few films --, and Claudia Cardinale, for inscrutable reasons, was meant to be another Doris Day. Unfortunately, even though great stars are included among the eight, the most obvious and inexplicable omission is Sophia Loren, well-known to American audiences. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Lollobrigida, Sylva Koscina, (more)
- 1982
- R
The Gift was based on Bankers Also Have Souls, a play by Valme and Terzolli. To honor retiring co-worker Gregoire (Pierre Mondy), a group of bank employees pool their money and purchase a farewell gift: gorgeous prostitute Barbara (Clio Goldsmith). Since Gregoire is married to the luscious Antonella (Claudia Cardinale), one wonders what planet his friends have been on the past few years. Though it promises a great deal, The Gift is basically harmless and, at times, humorless. The film works best when it eschews sniggling sexiness and concentrates on personalities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Mondy, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
German filmmaker Werner Herzog has never done anything by halves. When Herzog tackled Fitzcarraldo, the story of an obsessed impresario (Klaus Kinski) whose foremost desire in life is to bring both Enrico Caruso and an opera house to the deepest jungles of South America, the director boldly embarked on the same journey, disdaining studios, process shots, and special effects throughout. The highlight of the story is Fizcarraldo's Herculean effort to haul a 300-plus ton steamship over the mountains. No trickery was used in filming this grueling sequence, and stories still persist of disgruntled South American film technicians awaiting the opportunity to strangle Herzog if he ever sets foot on their land again. In the end, Herzog proved to be as driven and single-purposed as his protagonist, and it is the audience's knowledge of this that adds to the excitement of Fitzcarraldo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Klaus Kinski, Jose Lewgoy, (more)
Documentarian Les Blank, who filmed Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe, trained his cameras on Herzog again, as the eccentric German filmmaker made his epic, Fitzcarraldo, in the Amazon rainforest of Peru. Herzog's production is in trouble right from the start. He begins filming with Jason Robards playing the title role, and Mick Jagger playing Fitzcarraldo's sidekick, Wilbur. With 40 percent of the film shot, Robards becomes ill and goes back to the states, where his doctor will not let him return. Because of the delay, Jagger, with album and tour commitments, is forced to quit the production. Thinking no one can fill the rock star's shoes, Herzog jettisons Jagger's role. He eventually casts his frequent collaborator Klaus Kinski as Fitzcarraldo and begins shooting again. Violent tribal disputes and unpredictable weather hinder the shoot, but the biggest obstacle is Herzog's own quixotic and dangerous determination to film one antique boat smashing down the Amazonian rapids, and the dragging of an identical boat over a mountain from one river to another. Blank interviews members of the cast and crew, including the impoverished Indian extras, and captures the troubles of the seemingly cursed production, but his interviews with Herzog are the focal point of the film. "If I abandon this project," Herzog explains at one point, "I would be a man without dreams, and I never want to live like that. I live my life or I end my life with this project." Herzog later made his own documentary about Kinski, My Best Fiend, which adds to the lore of this infamously difficult shoot. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski, (more)
Dante Matucci (Franco Nero), a counter-intelligence officer, uncovers a fascist plot to overthrow the Italian government, and as he begins to investigate, he has an ally in Bruno Manzini (Anthony Quinn), a man dedicated to hunting down war criminals. Bruno and other operatives, including the beautiful and frosty Lili Anders (Sybil Danning) report to Matucci as he coordinates their work. Most of the drama (not all) takes place off-screen, and Matucci essentially narrates the story -- making this one of the least exciting spy dramas around -- even the affair between Matucci and Anders is several degrees cooler than the norm. The inertia of the film continues through to the end, as the final denouement has all the suspects herded into one room (à la Agatha Christie or Dashiell Hammett) while Matucci and Manzini discuss the case. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, Martin Balsam, (more)
- 1981
The Italian La Pelle was released in English-speaking countries as The Skin. Set in the twilight of World War 2, the film is a compendium of bitter recollections concerning the Allied liberation of Naples. These memories were originally bundled together in book form by Curzio Malaparte, played herein by Marcello Mastroianni. If you've gathered that the tone of the film is anti-American, you're not far off base: it's too bad that cowriter/director Liliana Cavani was more interested in her agenda than in entertaining the audience. The best performance is rendered by Burt Lancaster as General Mark Clark. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Burt Lancaster, (more)
- 1980
- PG
Monica Vitti stars as Tina Candela, a housekeeper on trial for murdering her husband. As she recounts her testimony, the jury becomes taken with fantasies about the marriage of the accused. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1979
- PG
The original British version of Escape to Athena ran 125 minutes; American prints were judiciously cut to 101 minutes, emphasizing the action content and neutralizing the duller dialogue sequences. Roger Moore stars as Major Otto Hecht, an anti-Nazi German who presides over a World War II POW camp. The prisoners, played by such diverse types as Elliott Gould, David Niven, and Sonny Bono, plan an escape with a group of Greek partisans (headed by Telly Savalas). It's not that the POWs are dissatisfied with life behind barbed wire -- it's just that they've been coerced into rescuing valuable art treasures from the Nazis, and there's a possibility of turning a profit! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Moore, Telly Savalas, (more)
- 1979
- PG
A Nazi-held island in World War II is the sight of an odd union between Allied prisoners of war, USO entertainers, Greek partisans and patriotic prostitutes. (AKA Escape to Athena) ~ All Movie Guide
- 1978
- R
In this fast-paced action/drama, a downtrodden farmer turns to crime and quickly rises to prominence in the Sicilian mafia. Along the way, he learns the importance of political connections and of having legitimate businesses to funnel ill-gotten cash into. Determined to do away with the old and more violent ways of doing things, he lays the groundwork for his own doom. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giuliano Gemma, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
- 1978
The French Riviera felt the heavy hand of German occupation much later than the rest of the country, and was a haven for wealthy misfits who had no other place to go to escape that regime. Despite the certain knowledge that their doom is approaching, the characters in this film party and quarrel as if their world were not disintegrating rapidly. In the main story, Konrad (Michel Piccoli), an Austrian surgeon, has fled his newly Nazified country for the Riviera. There, he encounters Laura (Lara Wendel) the 13-year-old daughter of an anti-fascist Italian Contessa (Claudia Cardinale). When the girl perceives that he loves her, she offers herself to him. Horrified, he sends her away. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Piccoli, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
- 1978
In this family drama, a man finds himself becoming increasingly estranged from his wife and teenage daughter. To rectify the situation he gets a handgun and begins to try to prove that he is indeed a real man. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stefano Satta Flores, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
Because director Franco Zeffirelli noted publicly that he intended to depict Jesus Christ as a human being rather than a religious icon, his expensive made-for-TV miniseries Jesus of Nazareth fell victim to protestors long before its April 3, 1977, debut. Despite the pullout of several sponsors, Jesus of Nazareth was aired as scheduled, sweeping the ratings in the process. In avoiding the usual overproduced Hollywood approach to the Gospels, Zeffirelli offers one of the most sensitive and reverent portrayals of Jesus ever seen on film. In the title role, Robert Powell heads a huge international cast, which includes Olivia Hussey as Mary, Peter Ustinov as Herod the Great, Christopher Plummer as Herod Antipas, Michael York as John the Baptist, James Farentino as Simon Peter, Donald Pleasence as Melchior, James Earl Jones as Balthazar, Ian McShane as Judas, Anne Bancroft as Mary Magdalene, Rod Steiger as Pontius Pilate, James Mason as Joseph of Arimathea, Anthony Quinn as Caiaphas, Laurence Olivier as Nicodemus, Ernest Borgnine as the Centurion, and Claudia Cardinale as the Adulteress. Filmed in England, Tunisia, and Morocco, Jesus of Nazareth was scripted by Zeffirelli, Anthony Burgess, and Suso Cecchi D'Amico. It originally aired in two three-hour segments, telecast Palm and Easter Sunday of 1977 as part of NBC's Big Event anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Powell, Olivia Hussey, (more)
- 1977
A biker chick and her housewife friend go out & about. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1977
La Part du Feu is a French idiom, and has to do with making a sacrifice for some gain. Hansen (Michel Piccoli) is a wheeler-dealer and building developer, who apparently manipulates people and situations just for the joy of it. In this melodrama, it was his wife Catherine's (Claudia Cardinale) money which enabled him to get into the real-estate business, but these days she is somewhat neglected. Jacques (Jacques Perrin) is his assistant, an eager but none too confident young man who has been having an affair with Catherine. The two of them worry a great deal about Hanson discovering their relationship. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Piccoli, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
- 1977
The mafia has overrun a section of the country so ruinously that a very stern man (Giuliano Gemma) has been sent by the government to be the governor in that region. He has been given wide-ranging power and authority and is not afraid to use it. Indeed, on occasion he finds it necessary to gun down a fleeing felon himself. As he closes in on the true extent of local corruption, and its connections elsewhere, he is promoted to a higher position in the fascist government so that the local mafia head can replace him as governor. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giuliano Gemma, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
- 1977
While a CIA agent prepares to assist in the overthrow of an African nation, he discovers that his friend is interfering in the country's politics. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1975
Made for television, Sniper originally aired under the title The Deadly Tower. In vivid, sweat-inducing detail, the film recreates the horror of August 4, 1966, when outwardly normal student Charles Whitman climbed to the tower of the University of Texas and began firing his rifle on the passersby below. 13 people were killed and 34 wounded before Whitman himself was killed by courageous police office Ramiro Martinez. Filmed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, this docudrama stars Kurt Russell as Whitman, Richard Yniguez as Ramirez, and Ned Beatty as Alan Crum, a reluctant bystander who became an equally reluctant hero when pressed into service by Ramirez. The Deadly Tower first aired October 18, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Richard Yniguez, (more)
- 1975
This satirical comedy recounts a tale of love across class boundaries; the twist is that here a middle-class juror, Gabriella Sansoni (Claudia Cardinale), learns about love from the testimony of Tina Candela (Monica Vitti), a woman on trial for murder. It seems that Tina has found ecstasy in a masochistic fashion by being slapped around by her beloved husband Gino (Giancarlo Giannini). She is so persuasive in this regard that Gabriella lays out a plan to receive similar treatment from her man, Andrea (Vittorio Gassman). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudia Cardinale, Vittorio Gassman, (more)
- 1975
After her father (Adolfo Celi) is exiled to an island off the coast of Italy for his anti-Mussolini politics, Libera (Claudia Cardinale) is increasingly incensed by the fascist government of Italy and makes a number of bold and very personal gestures against it. At first, these only result in her husband's losing his jobs, but they are finally exiled to the same island that her father was sent to. There she develops a passion for Sandro (Bekim Fehmiu), another internee, but is restrained from having an affair by her strong sense of values. After World War II breaks out, the resistance to fascism becomes much more organized and more active. Libera joins them on a number of actions, usually when these coincide with her more personal vendetta against the Brown-shirts. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudia Cardinale, Adolfo Celi, (more)
- 1974
An introverted American professor (Burt Lancaster) has retired to an Italian house, but finds his life interrupted when a decadent family moves upstairs. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Silvana Mangano, (more)
- 1973
Franco Nero stars in Blood Brothers as an aspiring lawyer. For some reason, people are reluctant to help him in his goals. That's when he discovers that some of his blood relations are high-ranking members of the Mafia. Claudia Cardinale costars in this leisurely crime melodrama. Blood Brothers became a bankable property thanks to the popularity of the Godfather films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
- R
Based on M. Lermontov's novel Vadim, this costume drama, set in Russia during the 1700s, chronicles the battle between a vengeful, anarchic peasant and the tyrannical landowner who killed his mother and father. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1972
In 1934, Roberto Borgo (Jean-Paul Belmondo) leaves Sicily for Marseille, where his childhood friend Xavier (Michel Constantin) has just been condemned to 20 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Indeed, local gang leader, Villanova, has framed Xavier. Roberto confronts the mobster and kills him. Later, while helping Xavier's sister (Claudia Cardinale) to fight an American gang of racketeers, Roberto is caught by the police and is put in the same prison with Xavier. Then the two volunteer to clear land mines left from the last war, hoping to receive a pardon. The same story was previously filmed as Un nommé La Rocca also starring Belmondo. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
