Beautifully photographed and lyrically written, this largely factual account of Mussolini’s disastrous invasion of Russia during World War II tells the story of an Italian regiment through the eyes of a farmer from Emilia, a plumber from Rome, a miner from Puglia and a colonel.
Tag: ITALY
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A background of rising fascism in Venice in 1930s. A music-student, Matthias, mixes with the town’s bourgeoisie and falls in love with a mature teacher, Carla, the mother of his friend Renato, and then with his young colleague, Elena. The themes include blackmail, betrayal, seduction, and eventually murder.
Weary of her very public life in Paris, an aging courtesan takes her orphaned niece from her convent home and relocates to Monte Carlo to begin a new life. Determined to bury the past, the courtesan Madame Bluet becomes the respectable Countess de Secret, and her niece Mistral, Mademoiselle Phantome. Soon, the secretive Countess and the beautiful Mlle. Phantome are the talk of Monte Carlo. Mistral finds herself surrounded by admirers – some with less than honorable intentions, while her aunt plots a long-awaited revenge. Will Mistral’s chance for happiness be destroyed when her aunt’s plot and past are revealed?
The workforce of a factory owned by the patriarchal boss Doberdo are on strike. During a police raid to break the strike, one of the workers is killed. The dead man’s wife, La Califfa, confronts Doberdo several times. On each occasion, the factory owner and the widow feel strangely drawn to one another…
Italy’s response to the Disney classical music/animation hybrid “Fantasia,” this film features a series of cartoon shorts set to the likes of Claude Debussy, Joseph-Maurice Ravel and Antonio Vivaldi. The animated segments feature both the humorous and fantastical: an aged satyr attempts to regain its lost youth, a bee is interrupted mid-meal by two lovers, the myth of Adam and Eve is retold and more. In between cartoons, a filmmaker struggles to complete the film.
The Countess, a wealthy American with an addiction to card games and a large real estate portfolio, has become an expert on the card games of all the countries where she owns houses. The regional favorite in Rome is a card game called “scopone” and the Countess summons a married couple to be her adversaries. The couple are the poorest of the poor, but the Countess supplies them with one million lire to play with, promising them that they can keep the money should they beat her.
In this sword-and-sandal saga set on the steppes of Asia, Rik Battaglia plays Roland, leader of the Paladin troops, who must proves his mettle against the dreaded Saracen invaders, and withstand their evil plots, which primarily consist of sending gorgeous women into their camp to entice and distract them.