Biography of Marcello Mastroianni

(Fontana Liri, FR, 1924 - Parigi, 1996)

Italian actor par excellence, undoubtedly the most famous on the international stage in the three decades that followed the war, his rise to fame was a quiet affair, unlike that of others of his generation. After bit parts in films between '38 and '43, he enrolled in drama at the University of Rome after the war, and enjoyed his first major success on stage, in the lead role in "Un tram che si chiama desiderio" (1948, directed by Luchino Visconti). On the big screen, he was perfect in the role of the affable outgoing young man in "Three girls from Rome (Le ragazze di Piazza di Spagna)" (1951) by Luciano Emmer: later, he increasingly found a sense of measure and poise alongside Sophia Loren in "Too bad she's bad (Peccato che sia una canaglia)" (1954), an amiable, polished comedy directed by Alessandro Blasetti. In "Persons unknown (I soliti ignoti)" (1958) by Mario Monicelli he once again demonstrated his talent in the comic-farce genre, but the turning point in his career came with "La Dolce Vita" (1960), the momentous film on Italian society that marked the beginning of a long-lasting and successful partnership with Federico Fellini. A sort of alter ego of the Rimini-born director, he was a mask that expressed to perfection "the vain fancies of a society undergoing transformation". Mastroianni was to be equally convincing in the admirable "Federico Fellini' s 8 1/2 (8 1/2)" (1962), perhaps Fellini's greatest achievement. Multi-faceted like few others, Mastroianni meantime returned to the grotesque in "Divorce - Italian style (Divorzio all'italiana)" (1961) by Pietro Germi, bringing to life the character of Baron Cefalù that was to make him a household name across the world. He was offered new challenges, meanwhile, by film makers of the calibre of Marco Ferreri ("Break-up", 1965; "Love to Etenità (La cagna)", 1972; "Blow - out (La grande abbuffata)", 1973; "Don't touch the white woman (Non toccare la donna bianca!)", 1974; "The story of Piera (Storia di Piera)", 1983), Ettore Scola ("The Great Day (Una giornata particolare)", 1977; "The Terrace (La terrazza)", 1980; "That night in Varennes (Il mondo nuovo)", 1982) the Taviani brothers ("Allonsanfan", 1974), Marco Bellocchio ("Henry IV (Enrico IV)", 1984), and Monicelli ("The two lives of Mattia Pascal (Le due vite di Mattia Pascal)", 1985). In his latter years on screen, international movies gave him his best roles: from "The beekeeper (Il volo)" (1986) by Theo Angelopoulos to the wonderful "Black eyes (Oci ciornie)" (1987) by Nikita Michalkov, from "Pret-à-porter" (1994) by Robert Altman to the portentous "Journey to the Beginning of the World (Viaggio all'inzio del mondo)" (1996) by Manoel de Oliveira, one can see the gradually dying embers of an actor who was ingenious, melancholic, jovial and yet reserved. Finally, the intense and moving images of "I Remember, yes I Remember (Mi ricordo, sì io mi ricordo)" (1997) constitute the priceless farewell of an outstanding man, both familiar and extraordinary, who was such an important part of Italian cinema.

F.T.

Biography of Marcello Mastroianni

(Fontana Liri, FR, 1924 - Parigi, 1996)

Italian actor par excellence, undoubtedly the most famous on the international stage in the three decades that followed the war, his rise to fame was a quiet affair, unlike that of others of his generation. After bit parts in films between '38 and '43, he enrolled in drama at the University of Rome after the war, and enjoyed his first major success on stage, in the lead role in "Un tram che si chiama desiderio" (1948, directed by Luchino Visconti). On the big screen, he was perfect in the role of the affable outgoing young man in "Three girls from Rome (Le ragazze di Piazza di Spagna)" (1951) by Luciano Emmer: later, he increasingly found a sense of measure and poise alongside Sophia Loren in "Too bad she's bad (Peccato che sia una canaglia)" (1954), an amiable, polished comedy directed by Alessandro Blasetti. In "Persons unknown (I soliti ignoti)" (1958) by Mario Monicelli he once again demonstrated his talent in the comic-farce genre, but the turning point in his career came with "La Dolce Vita" (1960), the momentous film on Italian society that marked the beginning of a long-lasting and successful partnership with Federico Fellini. A sort of alter ego of the Rimini-born director, he was a mask that expressed to perfection "the vain fancies of a society undergoing transformation". Mastroianni was to be equally convincing in the admirable "Federico Fellini' s 8 1/2 (8 1/2)" (1962), perhaps Fellini's greatest achievement. Multi-faceted like few others, Mastroianni meantime returned to the grotesque in "Divorce - Italian style (Divorzio all'italiana)" (1961) by Pietro Germi, bringing to life the character of Baron Cefalù that was to make him a household name across the world. He was offered new challenges, meanwhile, by film makers of the calibre of Marco Ferreri ("Break-up", 1965; "Love to Etenità (La cagna)", 1972; "Blow - out (La grande abbuffata)", 1973; "Don't touch the white woman (Non toccare la donna bianca!)", 1974; "The story of Piera (Storia di Piera)", 1983), Ettore Scola ("The Great Day (Una giornata particolare)", 1977; "The Terrace (La terrazza)", 1980; "That night in Varennes (Il mondo nuovo)", 1982) the Taviani brothers ("Allonsanfan", 1974), Marco Bellocchio ("Henry IV (Enrico IV)", 1984), and Monicelli ("The two lives of Mattia Pascal (Le due vite di Mattia Pascal)", 1985). In his latter years on screen, international movies gave him his best roles: from "The beekeeper (Il volo)" (1986) by Theo Angelopoulos to the wonderful "Black eyes (Oci ciornie)" (1987) by Nikita Michalkov, from "Pret-à-porter" (1994) by Robert Altman to the portentous "Journey to the Beginning of the World (Viaggio all'inzio del mondo)" (1996) by Manoel de Oliveira, one can see the gradually dying embers of an actor who was ingenious, melancholic, jovial and yet reserved. Finally, the intense and moving images of "I Remember, yes I Remember (Mi ricordo, sì io mi ricordo)" (1997) constitute the priceless farewell of an outstanding man, both familiar and extraordinary, who was such an important part of Italian cinema.

F.T.