The World of Italian Cinema

Italian Actors Sandra Mondaini and Raimondo Vianello May 31, 2012 9:00 pm by Ancos Views: 37 Raimondo Vianello and Sandra Mondaini at their Wedding (Photo from Wikipedia) When iconic Italian actress and showgirl Sandra Mondaini died on September 21, 2010, at age 79, the majority of Italians were saddened, but not many were surprised. Seeing Mondaini at the funeral of husband Raimondo Vianello, dead at 87 just five months earlier, it was clear how much of a toll the loss of her beloved had taken on the actress. The love and bond between the two proved too strong and the actress soon followed the husband she had met in 1958 and married in 1962. Most showbiz couples don’t last, but Raimondo Vianello...

Italian Actors Introducing Roberto Benigni May 31, 2012 9:00 pm by Admin Views: 10 Italian Comedian-Actor-Director, Screenplay Writer, Producer and Author   Roberto Benigni He is an award winner of the 2000 European Film Academy Award for European Achievement in World Cinema and in 1999 he won the German Film Award for best foreign film for ‘Life is Beautiful.’ In 1999 he won the Goya for best European film again for ‘Life is Beautiful,’ and then won the American Comedy Award for the funniest Actor in a Motion Picture for ‘Life is Beautiful one more time.’ His funny persona has proved irresistible to Italians and foreigners alike. In his eyes, he was nothing more than an ugly child who won by being a clo...

Italian Actors Mario Carotenuto July 13, 2015 8:00 am by Glauco Ferrari Views: 3   Mario Carotenuto   Mario Carotenuto  (1915-1995) was a Roman actor ; an actor who with an expression or a glance would bring to life a certain Romanness that is typical of the streets of the Eternal City. He was never a major leading star like Alberto Sordi or Marcello Mastroianni, however in his supporting roles he contributed to the famous era of Italian cinema, particularly comedies, that even competed with Hollywood back in the 50s and 60s. Like any other artist and actor of his generation, Carotenuto came from an old and serious school of acting and he was part of some of the most significant film...

Italian Actors Raoul Bova July 14, 2015 9:00 pm by Admin Views: 94 Now, I’m not the kind of woman who drools over celebrities. Not usually. Not unless you count the likes of Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Vincent Perez…Okay! I guess I do drool over sexy male celebrities. I may be married; but, my eyes are in perfect working order. Raoul Bova On February 2, 2006, Ansa, the Italian news organization, announced that Raoul Bova , who recently made the move from Rome to Hollywood to focus on his burgeoning international film career, was “voted Italy’s sexiest man in a snap radio poll.” RTL 102.5, a popular radio station, wanted to prove that Italy’s male stars “are still able to live up to their tradi...

Italian Actors Massimo Troisi July 16, 2015 7:30 am by Anna De Filippo Views: 27 Massimo Troisi   “Comm’aggio accuminciato? Ecco… io ero ‘nu guaglione… ero andato a vedere un grande film. Si trattava di Roma città aperta , chillo grande lavoro di Rossellini . Me n’ero uscito da o’cinema con tutte quelle immagini dint’a capa e tutte quante le emozioni dentro. Mi sono fermato ‘nu mumento e m’aggio ditto… “Massimo, da grande tu devi fà ‘o geometra”.   Massimo Troisi, the famous Italian actor and screenplay writer, recalls watching the Rossellini movie Roma città aperta and how it moved him. In a mix of Italian and Neapolitan dialect, Troisi tells the story of how he “exited the movies with all tho...

Italian Actors Lino Banfi July 16, 2015 9:00 am by Anna De Filippo Views: 16 Lino Banfi. Ph. PM – Il Piccolo Missionario on wikimedia   Talk to an Italian about the renowned commedia sexy all’italiana , the Italian sexy slapstick style comedy, and you will likely find out the first name coming to their mind is Lino Banfi . Banfi, who is closely associated with  Edwige Fenech , has successfully acted in many movies of this celebrated genre.   Lino Banfi, the pseudonym of Pasquale Zagari, is a famous Italian actor and TV presenter. He was born in Puglia and lived in Canosa di Puglia up to the age of eighteen, when he decided to move to Milan to work in a music hall. Banfi wanted to be an ...

Italian Actors Claudia Cardinale July 20, 2015 8:20 am by Admin Views: 71 Claudia Cardinale “Cinema saved my life,” Claudia Cardinale once said. The beautiful Tunisian-Italian had an excellent career starring in many highly-regarded European films, but her private life was traumatic. Born in 1939 in Tunisia, Claudia’s parents were Italian. Her education was French and she didn’t grow up speaking Italian. When she was very young, however, she won a beauty contest and the prize was a trip to the Venice Film Festival. “I was helping my mother and people from the Italian government organize an Italian film festival in Tunisia. I was looking at the girls on the stage and I wasn’t supposed to be there. Someone p...

Italian Actors Maurizio Nichetti July 29, 2015 9:00 pm by Admin Views: 9 Maurizio Nichetti – Biography & Brief Filmography   Maurizio Nichetti   Maurizio Nichetti is one of Italy’s best-loved comedic talents. Some consider him to be the ‘Italian Woody Allen.’ He was born in Milan on May 8, 1948. Nichetti was educated at the prestigious Leonardo Da Vinci Scientific School. He graduated with a degree in architecture in 1975. While still in school, he began preparing for his career in show business. He studied under Marise Flach, a pupil of Decroux himself, at her Mime School at Milan’s “Il Piccolo Teatro” (the Little Theater).   In 1971, he began his collaboration with cartoon...

Italian Actors Maria Grazia Cucinotta August 3, 2015 6:00 pm by Admin Views: 41   Sexy. Seductive. Voluptuous. Gorgeous. Exotic.   Maria Grazia Cucinotta. Ph. nicogenin on wikicommons   All of these adjectives have been used to identify the Sicilian-born screen goddess, Maria Grazia Cucinotta . They just don’t come close. Maria Grazia Cucinotta is so much more than her face or her figure, which boasts impressive measurements of 39-25.5-35.5 Maria Grazia Cucinotta was born on July 27, 1969 in the town of Messina . She started out as a model in Milan. For her it was nothing more than a summer job. At almost 5 ft. 11 in. tall, Maria Grazia was quite a presence on the catwalk; however, she lon...

Italian Actors Giovanna Mezzogiorno August 4, 2015 4:00 pm by Admin Views: 20 Giovanna Mezzogiorno   Italy had excellent actresses in the past, from the legendary Anna Magnani to Monica Vitti, but for a while the talented actress arena was pretty empty. Have you ever dreamt to get one special wish granted by a genie, something on the lines of ‘you can marry whoever you want’?. Well, if such a thing were to happen, Giovanna Mezzogiorno would probably be my first choice (sorry Giovanna!).  Giovanna Mezzogiono, together with Margherita Buy and Asia Argento , is one of my favourite Italian actresses, so we have to dedicate at least an article to her achievements. The talented Giovanna was born in ...

Italian Actors Paolo Villaggio August 11, 2015 9:00 pm by Anna De Filippo Views: 9 Paolo Villaggio is an Italian actor who became famous especially thanks to his portrayal of the unfortunate and pathetic Fantozzi.   Villaggio has been protagonist of more than 80 films, an amazing career for which he received, in 1992, the Leone D’Oro alla carriera and the Festival del Cinema di Venezia. Villaggio is truly a complete artist: he is also a writer, a playwright, a showman,  a cabaret performer and a film director. A recent photo of Paolo Villaggio (Associazione Amici di Piero Chiara/Flickr) He was born in Genoa, on the 30 th of December 1932. Before making it in the film industry, he had several...

Italian Actors Carlo Verdone August 11, 2015 9:00 pm by Admin Views: 20 Carlo Verdone – Biography & Filmography Italian actor and director, Carlo Verdone   Carlo Verdone was born in Rome on November 17, 1950. His father, Mario Verdone, was a professor of cinema and a drama critic who passed along his love for theater to his child. With his younger brother Luca, Carlo would create Saturday night entertainment for family and friends based on celebrated Italian directors like Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio De Sica. He obtained his degree as a film director from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. In 1969, he took a video camera and created his first film, Solar Poetry, with a soundtrack of Pink Floyd and Grateful Dead: it was based on the psychede...

Italian Actors Movie Legends: Sofia, Giancarlo, Roberto and Isabella August 13, 2015 9:00 pm by Admin Views: 13   The world of acting stretches far beyond the sound stages of Beverly Hills and picturesque film locations across Europe. Many of the world’s most famous and well-known actors and actresses are of Italian descent, but here are a few Italian-born contributors who have added their flair to the world’s entertainment catalog along with some impressive achievements.   Sofia Loren in the late 1950s (wikiwatcher1/wikimedia) Giancarlo Giannini Born August 1, 1942 in La Spezia, Italy, Giancarlo Giannini began his performing career in the early 1960s. In Italy, he is known for a unique, professi...

Italian Actors Edwige Fenech August 2, 2016 2:04 pm by Glauco Ferrari Views: 29 Edwige Fenech Those who fell in love with Edwige Fenech in the 70s will remember her sex appeal , her femininity and the actress’ seductive French accent . Born in French Algeria in 1948 to a Maltese father and a Sicilian mother, the star of the erotic comedies that were once all the rage in Italy had both teenage boys and grown men falling head over heels from her, although some had to do it while hiding from their wives. The comedies that Fenech starred in had basic plots that were built around a bedroom and featured several topless or full frontal nudity scenes, often in showers. Light sex was also shown and many of the s...

Italian Actors Aldo, Giovanni & Giacomo December 1, 2016 6:54 pm by Glauco Ferrari Views: 28 Aldo, Giovanni & Giacomo   Italian cinema has been always labeled as intellectual and artistic, deep in its content and a benchmark for many filmmakers. Masters like De Sica and Rossellini created the neorealism that became worshipped by Hollywood and studied in every single film school in the world. Despite this claim to fame, the genre that has captured Italian moviegoers for decades, and lined the pockets of producers, is comedy. Italian comedies are a bit different from your usual Hollywood comedic fare, yet they nonetheless continue to be both popular and lucrative within Italy. ...