Boccaccio '70
Encyclopedia
Boccaccio '70 is a 1962
Italian
portmanteau film directed by Mario Monicelli
, Federico Fellini
, Luchino Visconti
and Vittorio de Sica
, from an idea by Cesare Zavattini
. It is an anthology of four episodes, each by one of the directors, all about a different aspect of morality
and love
in modern times, in the style of Boccaccio
.
The four original episodes were:
The first episode, by Monicelli, was only present in the Italian distribution of the film. Out of solidarity towards Monicelli, the other three directors did not go to the Cannes Film Festival
for the presentation of the film.
In Le Tentazioni del Dottor Antonio, an elderly citizen is fed up with too much immorality in the form of indecent content in print. His anger knows no bounds when a provocative billboard of Anita Ekberg advertising 'Drink more milk' is put up in a park near his residence. Little does he know how that billboard will go on to change his life. The image begins to haunt him with hallucinations in which she appears as a temptress and Dr. Antonio as St. George, to spear the dragon.
Il Lavoro is about an aristocratic couple coming to terms with life and marriage after the husband is caught visiting prostitutes by the press.
La Riffa shows a lottery with the winner entitled to one night with the attractive Zoe (Sophia Loren
). Zoe. however, has other plans.
1962 in film
The year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....
Italian
Cinema of Italy
The history of Italian cinema began just a few months after the Lumière brothers had patented their Cinematographe, when Pope Leo XIII was filmed for a few seconds in the act of blessing the camera.-Early years:...
portmanteau film directed by Mario Monicelli
Mario Monicelli
Mario Monicelli was an Italian director and screenwriter and one of the masters of the Commedia all'Italiana , three times nominated for Oscar.-Biography:...
, Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
, Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo was an Italian theatre, opera and cinema director, as well as a screenwriter. He is best known for his films The Leopard and Death in Venice .-Life:...
and Vittorio de Sica
Vittorio de Sica
Vittorio De Sica was an Italian director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement....
, from an idea by Cesare Zavattini
Cesare Zavattini
Cesare Zavattini was an Italian screenwriter and one of the first theorists and proponents of the Neorealist movement in Italian cinema.-Brief biography:...
. It is an anthology of four episodes, each by one of the directors, all about a different aspect of morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
and love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
in modern times, in the style of Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian author and poet, a friend, student, and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist and the author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular...
.
Cast
- Marisa Solinas as Luciana
- Germano Gilioli as Renzo
- Anita EkbergAnita EkbergKerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg is a Swedish model, actress and cult sex symbol. She is best known for her role as Sylvia in the 1960 Federico Fellini film La Dolce Vita which features the legendary scene of her cavorting in Trevi Fountain alongside Marcello Mastroianni.-Biography:Ekberg was born in...
as Herself - Peppino de FilippoPeppino De FilippoPeppino De Filippo was an Italian actor.De Filippo was born in Naples, brother of actor and playwright Eduardo De Filippo and of Titina. He made his stage debut at the age of six. He played in several movies such as Rome-Paris-Rome, Variety Lights, A Day in Court, Ferdinand I, King of Naples and...
as Dr Antonio Mazzuola - Sophia LorenSophia LorenSophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
as Zoe - Romy SchneiderRomy SchneiderRomy Schneider was an Austrian-born German film actress who also held French citizenship.-Early life:Schneider was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach in Nazi-era Vienna, six months after the Anschluss, into a family of actors that included her paternal grandmother Rosa Albach-Retty, her Austrian...
as Pupe
The four original episodes were:
- Renzo e Luciana (by Mario Monicelli) with Marina Solinas and Germano Gilioli.
- Le tentazioni del dottor Antonio (by Federico Fellini) with Peppino de FilippoPeppino De FilippoPeppino De Filippo was an Italian actor.De Filippo was born in Naples, brother of actor and playwright Eduardo De Filippo and of Titina. He made his stage debut at the age of six. He played in several movies such as Rome-Paris-Rome, Variety Lights, A Day in Court, Ferdinand I, King of Naples and...
and Anita EkbergAnita EkbergKerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg is a Swedish model, actress and cult sex symbol. She is best known for her role as Sylvia in the 1960 Federico Fellini film La Dolce Vita which features the legendary scene of her cavorting in Trevi Fountain alongside Marcello Mastroianni.-Biography:Ekberg was born in...
. - Il lavoro (by Luchino Visconti) with Romy SchneiderRomy SchneiderRomy Schneider was an Austrian-born German film actress who also held French citizenship.-Early life:Schneider was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach in Nazi-era Vienna, six months after the Anschluss, into a family of actors that included her paternal grandmother Rosa Albach-Retty, her Austrian...
and Tomas MilianTomas MilianTomás Milián is a Cuban-American actor best known for having worked extensively in Italian films from the late 1950s to the 1980s.-Career in Italy:...
. - La riffa (by Vittorio de Sica) with Sophia LorenSophia LorenSophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
.
The first episode, by Monicelli, was only present in the Italian distribution of the film. Out of solidarity towards Monicelli, the other three directors did not go to the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
for the presentation of the film.
Plot
In Renzo e Luciana, a young couple tries to hide their marriage and the wife's supposed pregnancy from the draconian book-keeper of their employer, who has banned female employees from getting married and having children but does not mind a few cheap thrills at their expense himself.In Le Tentazioni del Dottor Antonio, an elderly citizen is fed up with too much immorality in the form of indecent content in print. His anger knows no bounds when a provocative billboard of Anita Ekberg advertising 'Drink more milk' is put up in a park near his residence. Little does he know how that billboard will go on to change his life. The image begins to haunt him with hallucinations in which she appears as a temptress and Dr. Antonio as St. George, to spear the dragon.
Il Lavoro is about an aristocratic couple coming to terms with life and marriage after the husband is caught visiting prostitutes by the press.
La Riffa shows a lottery with the winner entitled to one night with the attractive Zoe (Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
). Zoe. however, has other plans.