Pietro Germi
Directing
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Pietro Germi (14 September 1914, Genoa - 5 December 1974) was an Italian actor, screenwriter, and director. Germi was born in Genoa, Liguria, to a lower-middle class family. He was a messenger and briefly attended nautical school before deciding on a career in acting. He studied acting and directing at Rome's Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. During his time in school, Germi supported himself by working as an extra, bit actor, assistant director, and, on occasion, writer. Germi made his directorial debut in 1945 with the film Il testimone. His early work, this film included, were very much in the Italian Neorealist style; many were social dramas that dealt with contemporary issues pertaining to people of Sicilian heritage. Through the years, Germi shifted away from social drama towards satirical comedies, but retained his loved element of the Sicilian people. In the 1960s, Germi received worldwide success with the films Divorce, Italian Style, Seduced and Abandoned, and Signore e Signori. The latter is better known in the English-speaking world as The Birds the Bees and the Italians. He was nominated for Academy Awards in both directing and writing for Divorce, Italian Style, and, subsequently, won in the writing category. He also won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for Signore e signori. Germi collaborated on the scripts for all the films he directed and appeared as an actor in a few of them. He died in Rome of hepatitis on 5 December 1974.
Known For
No description available.
Cinépanorama
Four inseparable friends try to face their midlife crisis with daytrips and pranks at the expense of their families and the people around them.
My Friends
Ferdinando Cefalù is desperate to marry his cousin, Angela, but he is married to Rosalia and divorce is illegal in Italy. To get around the law, he tries to trick his wife into having an affair so he can catch her and murder her, as he knows he would be given a light sentence for killing an adulterous woman. He persuades a painter to lure his wife into an affair, but Rosalia proves to be more faithful than he expected.
Divorce Italian Style
The film presents the tale of Agnese Ascalone, daughter of prominent miner Vincenzo Ascalone, and takes place in a small town in Sicily. Agnese is seduced by her sister Matilde's fiancé, and has a tryst with him for which she confesses and tries to repent, only to be discovered by her mother and father.
Seduced and Abandoned
An anthology presents three storylines, all set in the Italian town of Treviso: A husband pretends to be impotent as a cover for having an affair; a bank clerk abandons his wife for his mistress, but the rest of the town's husbands become jealous and unite to conspire against them; and local men all seduce a promiscuous young woman, but when her father eventually reveals that she is underage, they all face prosecution for statutory rape.
The Birds, the Bees and the Italians
A police inspector comes into contact with people of all types and dispositions during a grueling murder investigation.
The Facts of Murder
Train operator Andrea Marcocci has to witness the suicide of a desperate man who jumps in front of his train. Under the influence of this shock he starts making mistakes. A check up by a doctor reveals that he's at the brink of becoming an alcoholic. Due to this evaluation he is degraded and must accept a salary cut.
The Railroad Man
After shooting to fame with Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” (1960), actor Marcello Mastroianni (1924-1996) starred in more than 160 films in his nearly half-a-century career. Directors Mario Canale and Annarosa Morri look into the melancholic charm of one of the most famous Italian actors through interviews with his two daughters, Barbara and Chiara; directors Fellini and Luchino Visconti; actresses Claudia Cardinale and Anouk Aimee; and in archival footage of Mastroianni himself. The subject matter ranges from Mastroianni’s passion for kidney-bean pasta and his addiction to the telephone to his famous laziness, humility and talent. Shown in black-and-white, Mastroianni — elegantly holding a cigarette in between his fingers — is undeniably the dandy.
Marcello, una vita dolce
Alfredo, a timid young Italian, lusts after and woos the beautiful Maria Rosa. But when he manages to marry her, he discovers life is not nearly so blissful as he expected.
Alfredo, Alfredo
Serafino, a young and innocent shepherd, inherits a huge fortune. He immediately starts spending the entire sum on presents for his friends, causing the envy of his family.
Serafino
The story of a group of Sicilian miners and their families decide to illegally cross the border to France and their hardships.
The Path of Hope
The death of a wealthy patriarch in 1885 sets off an interfamily power struggle. Son Ferdinando buys out his other relatives in order to gain full control over the dead man's property. But Ferdinando's nephew Amerigo holds out. Amerigo's stance is weakened when he heads for Florence and meets prostitute Bianca.
The Lovemakers
Five Yugoslav women who consorted with the German occupiers are publicly humiliated and banished by the Yugoslav partisans but they take up arms to fend for themselves.
Five Branded Women
Anthology of tragic love. A noblewoman falls for a commoner. A doctor keeps quiet about his patients' infidelities. Expectant father is sent to fight in WWI. A 1920s fascist enjoys Rome's nightlife. WWII airman falls for a girl in Naples.
Mid-Century Loves
A young, by-the-book judge is appointed to a Sicilian village controlled by corrupt leaders and the mafia.
In the Name of the Law
Seduced and abandonned by her fiance, Maria Ferrante leaves home to avoid any scandal. She is trying to find work and place to stay but one misfortune after another comes into her life Venice Film Festival 1940
The Sinner
In the kingdom of Kindaor, traitor Sedesmondo kills his brother, the King of Kindaor, and becomes the tyrant of kingdom. He abandons the prince Arminio to beasts in the woods, but lions don't kill him and breed him as one of them.
The Iron Crown
Called to perform at the Scala, a young baritone begins a transatlantic romance with a famous pianist. The singer, having been skewered by a critic after his last performance in Milan, attempts to find a way to win over the audience and the critics, while wooing his love interest.
Retroscena
Four criminals commit a robbery at a soccer stadium, and then split up to try to hide separately from the police.
The City Defends Itself
A Sicilian nobleman is very jealous of his mistress and when she gets married flies off his handle and commits a murder of which an innocent man is accused. He is however tormented by his conscience.