“It can’t always be about money,” says the infatuated Carletto (Nino Bergamini) to the object of his affection, a country-girl-turned-city-woman named Adelina (Sara Rapisarda) who rejects his marriage proposal because they haven’t yet reached the economic level she desires. In All Screwed Up, Adelina’s refusal to marry a man because of his position, and his violent reaction towards the rejection (he rapes her as she tries to save the new television set she bought for the apartment she shares with other girls) might very well represent the conflict that was at the center of all of Lina Wertmüller’s films, the clash between money and virtue, or more specifically can people be in possession of both?
In films like Swept Away, Seven Beauties and The Seduction of Mimi, Wertmüller displayed a worldview that changed the way people thought about female filmmakers, she made films so bold, unique...
In films like Swept Away, Seven Beauties and The Seduction of Mimi, Wertmüller displayed a worldview that changed the way people thought about female filmmakers, she made films so bold, unique...
- 4/24/2017
- by Jose Solís
- The Film Stage
Above: 1976 Us one sheet for Let’s Talk About Men (Lina Wertmüller, Italy, 1965).In the 1970s, when there were no shortage of things to be excited about in world cinema, Italian director Lina Wertmüller was a bona fide sensation. A small measure of her success can be seen in the poster above (for an early film of hers which was belatedly released in the U.S. after her two major smash hits) in which her name is the most prominent feature of the design. She was impersonated on Saturday Night Live (can even Pedro Almodóvar or Michael Haneke boast that?) and in 1975 she became the first woman to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Director. (There have been only two others in the 40 years since.)She was a polarizing figure back then, but today she is a neglected one. Young cinephiles have probably barely even heard of her, let...
- 4/14/2017
- MUBI
Next month will mark the return of New York City’s Quad Cinema, a theater reshaped and rebranded as a proper theater via the resources of Charles S. Cohen, head of the distribution outfit Cohen Media Group. While we got a few hints of the line-up during the initial announcement, they’ve now unveiled their first full repertory calendar, running from April 14th through May 4th, and it’s an embarassment of cinematic riches.
Including the previously revealed Lina Wertmüller retrospective, one inventive series that catches our eye is First Encounters, in which an artist will get to experience a film they’ve always wanted to see, but never have, and in which you’re invited to take part. The first match-ups in the series include Kenneth Lonergan‘s first viewing Edward Yang‘s Yi Yi, Noah Baumbach‘s first viewing of Withnail and I, John Turturro‘s first viewing of Pather Panchali,...
Including the previously revealed Lina Wertmüller retrospective, one inventive series that catches our eye is First Encounters, in which an artist will get to experience a film they’ve always wanted to see, but never have, and in which you’re invited to take part. The first match-ups in the series include Kenneth Lonergan‘s first viewing Edward Yang‘s Yi Yi, Noah Baumbach‘s first viewing of Withnail and I, John Turturro‘s first viewing of Pather Panchali,...
- 3/21/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Italian auteur Lina Wertmüller is in a category all her own. After working as an assistant director for Federico Fellini on 8½, Wertmüller began a directing career that established her as a confrontational, no-holds-barred artist. Her films often mixed sex and violence, as well as humor and dark themes, to disturbing, challenging, and mesmerizing effects. She didn’t do this in the name of exploitation, or to deliberately discomfit her audience, but to illustrate how comedy and tragedy in life are often inseparable, and the all-too-comfortable categories that distinguish them in film genres are far too convenient to reflect this reality. Wertmüller’s best-known works are the international hit Swept Away (1974, but unfortunately better known today for the failed Guy Ritchie/Madonna remake) and the astounding Seven Beauties (1975), a film about a fascist-sympathetic Don Juan who spends time in a German concentration camp and attempts to seduce the camp’s imposing female officer-in-charge in order to gain food...
- 6/21/2012
- by Landon Palmer
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Yes, summer is a great time to get away to the multiplex to see the latest in Hollywood spectacle. But if you're not feeling like dealing with the crowds, sticky floors, audiences or even the heat on the way to and from the theater, why not kick back at home and catch up on some classic cinema you might have missed? Kino Classics can certainly fill that void, as later this month they'll be releasing the Lina Wertmüller Collection boxset featuring "The Seduction of Mimi" (1972), "Love & Anarchy" (1973) and "All Screwed Up" (1974) on DVD and Blu-ray.
Acclaimed as one of the leading filmmakers of the 1970s, Wertmüller demonstrates her equal skills at both rollicking comedy and rich drama with this trio of classics made during the height of her career. "The Seduction of Mimi" is a raucous sex comedy and a blistering satire of Italy in the 1970s that takes aim at a corrupt government,...
Acclaimed as one of the leading filmmakers of the 1970s, Wertmüller demonstrates her equal skills at both rollicking comedy and rich drama with this trio of classics made during the height of her career. "The Seduction of Mimi" is a raucous sex comedy and a blistering satire of Italy in the 1970s that takes aim at a corrupt government,...
- 6/12/2012
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Well, the dog days of summer are fast approaching, and what better way to duck out of the heat than by spending a cool day inside, AC-blasting, with your Blu-ray player and an endless supply of chilled adult beverages. June sees the release of an Alfred Hitchcock classic (beautifully restored), a trio of Lina Wertmüller gems, a nearly lost Michael Curtiz effort, a movie about the sex lives of ghosts, and a plane crash survival tale sold on the, er, ample merits of its female lead.
“The 39 Steps” (Alfred Hitchcock, 1935)
Why You Should Care: Because “The 39 Steps,” a crackling (86 minutes!) spy thriller from Alfred Hitchcock, is one of the most beloved British movies of all time, coming in at fourth place in the British Film Institute’s poll of top British films, and more recently, named the 21st greatest British film of all time by movie magazine Total Film. The film,...
“The 39 Steps” (Alfred Hitchcock, 1935)
Why You Should Care: Because “The 39 Steps,” a crackling (86 minutes!) spy thriller from Alfred Hitchcock, is one of the most beloved British movies of all time, coming in at fourth place in the British Film Institute’s poll of top British films, and more recently, named the 21st greatest British film of all time by movie magazine Total Film. The film,...
- 6/7/2012
- by Drew Taylor
- The Playlist
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: June 12, 2012
Price: DVD $59.95, Blu-ray $29.95 for each title individually
Studio: Kino Lorber
Kino Lorber’s Lina Wertmüller Collection is a three-dvd anthology of politically charged comedy and drama films by the noted Italian filmmaker: The Seduction of Mimi (1972), Love & Anarchy (1973) and All Screwed Up (1974)
Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato star in The Seduction of Mimi.
During the Seventies, Wertmüller was considered to be one of the most politically outspoken and iconoclastic members of the second generation of Italy’s postwar directors. She was also one of the first female directors to win international recognition and acclaim, becoming the first woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for her 1975 movie Seven Beauties.
The Seduction of Mimi (1972): Taking aim at a corrupt government, compromised labor leaders and the sexual politics of men in power, this comedy-satire looks at a Sicilian laborer, Mimi (Giancarlo Giannini...
Price: DVD $59.95, Blu-ray $29.95 for each title individually
Studio: Kino Lorber
Kino Lorber’s Lina Wertmüller Collection is a three-dvd anthology of politically charged comedy and drama films by the noted Italian filmmaker: The Seduction of Mimi (1972), Love & Anarchy (1973) and All Screwed Up (1974)
Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato star in The Seduction of Mimi.
During the Seventies, Wertmüller was considered to be one of the most politically outspoken and iconoclastic members of the second generation of Italy’s postwar directors. She was also one of the first female directors to win international recognition and acclaim, becoming the first woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for her 1975 movie Seven Beauties.
The Seduction of Mimi (1972): Taking aim at a corrupt government, compromised labor leaders and the sexual politics of men in power, this comedy-satire looks at a Sicilian laborer, Mimi (Giancarlo Giannini...
- 5/30/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
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