Il bacio della pantera

Nastassja Aglaia Nakszyński in arte Nastassja Kinski a Taormina (foto Mittiga)

Prima del pugno di dollari

OGGI

Duello nel Texas oggi è ricordato solo per essere uno dei trenta italici western girati prima del pugno leoniano, e perché ancora dopo cinquanta anni la Società degli Autori ed Editori riscuote i diritti delle musiche per poi versarle nelle tasche dell’inconsapevole, a quei tempi, Maestro. Due brani di quelle musiche circolarono dapprima in 45 rpm, poi nelle compilation in vinile come in quelle digitali; venne fuori anche un bootleg;  solo da poco hanno visto la luce del laser che riproduce il cd ufficiale con l’intera partitura.

Il Maestro non è il solo a comparire nella lista dei nomi che concorsero a realizzarlo e che sono comuni all’opera che spartirà le acque marcando il prima ed il dopo Per un pugno di dollari.

Ci sono gli ignavi produttori della Jolly Film - Unidis, Papi e Colombo e vi è anche uno dei maggiori datori di luci del cinema italiano: Massimo Dallamano.

Mario Caiano, all’ora alle prime armi lo diresse, assieme a Ricardo Blasco, con mano sinistra e velocemente per farlo arrivare nelle sale al più presto e passare al successivo lavoro. E’ stato uno di quegli oscurati lavoratori che servivano a sfornare opere di tutti i generi per dare pellicola ai proiettori della Cinemeccanica disseminati nella penisola per poi passare a quelli della Fumeo nei cinema parrocchiali. Nelle storie ufficiali del cinema non lo troverete, la sua notorietà oggi la deve ai cinefili bloggers di tutto il mondo, e non è poco.

Rimane Richard Harrison, la cui foto Papi e Colombo misero, inutilmente, tra le candidature dell’uomo col poncho.

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Marlon Brando's speech

Marlon Brando, Littlefeather and the Best Actor Oscar In 1973 as part of the 45th Academy Awards® Marlon Brando was nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather. His fellow nominees where Paul Winfield (Sounder), Michael Caine (Sleuth), Laurence Olivier (Sleuth) and Peter O'Toole (The Ruling Class.)
 When Marlon Brando was announced as the winner, a young woman in full Indian garb rose to accept the award. Her name was Sacheen Littlefeather and she was an activist with the American Indian Movement. She had come to tell the Academy that Marlon Brando was refusing the award as means of protesting what he saw was a negative portrayal of American Indians in Hollywood movies and television shows. Marlon had given Miss. Littlefeather a very long speech to read but the producers of the show refused to let her read it. She instead made the following comments: "Marlon Brando has asked me to tell you, in a very long speech which I cannot share with you presently — because of time — but I will be glad to share with the press afterward, that he must ... very regretfully ... cannot accept this very generous award. And the reason for this being ... are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry ... excuse me ... and on television in movie re-runs, and also the recent happenings at Wounded Knee. I beg at this time that I have not intruded upon this evening and that we will, in the future ... our hearts and our understanding will meet with love and generosity. Thank you on behalf of Marlon Brando."
 The speech was met with both boos and clapping from the audience. Later in the telecast Clint Eastwood made a sarcastic comment about the incident and John Wayne who as attending the awards that year was said to be very angry. Marlon Brando never took possession of the Oscar and do this day nobody knows what happened to it.
Text of Marlon Brando's Undelivered Speech That Unfinished Oscar Speech By MARLON BRANDO BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- For 200 years we have said to the Indian people who are fighting for their land, their life, their families and their right to be free: ''Lay down your arms, my friends, and then we will remain together. Only if you lay down your arms, my friends, can we then talk of peace and come to an agreement which will be good for you.'' When they laid down their arms, we murdered them. We lied to them. We cheated them out of their lands. We starved them into signing fraudulent agreements that we called treaties which we never kept. We turned them into beggars on a continent that gave life for as long as life can remember. And by any interpretation of history, however twisted, we did not do right. We were not lawful nor were we just in what we did. For them, we do not have to restore these people, we do not have to live up to some agreements, because it is given to us by virtue of our power to attack the rights of others, to take their property, to take their lives when they are trying to defend their land and liberty, and to make their virtues a crime and our own vices virtues. But there is one thing which is beyond the reach of this perversity and that is the tremendous verdict of history. And history will surely judge us. But do we care? What kind of moral schizophrenia is it that allows us to shout at the top of our national voice for all the world to hear that we live up to our commitment when every page of history and when all the thirsty, starving, humiliating days and nights of the last 100 years in the lives of the American Indian contradict that voice? It would seem that the respect for principle and the love of one's neighbor have become dysfunctional in this country of ours, and that all we have done, all that we have succeeded in accomplishing with our power is simply annihilating the hopes of the newborn countries in this world, as well as friends and enemies alike, that we're not humane, and that we do not live up to our agreements. Perhaps at this moment you are saying to yourself what the hell has all this got to do with the Academy Awards? Why is this woman standing up here, ruining our evening, invading our lives with things that don't concern us, and that we don't care about? Wasting our time and money and intruding in our homes. I think the answer to those unspoken questions is that the motion picture community has been as responsible as any for degrading the Indian and making a mockery of his character, describing his as savage, hostile and evil. It's hard enough for children to grow up in this world. When Indian children watch television, and they watch films, and when they see their race depicted as they are in films, their minds become injured in ways we can never know. Recently there have been a few faltering steps to correct this situation, but too faltering and too few, so I, as a member in this profession, do not feel that I can as a citizen of the United States accept an award here tonight. I think awards in this country at this time are inappropriate to be received or given until the condition of the American Indian is drastically altered. If we are not our brother's keeper, at least let us not be his executioner. I would have been here tonight to speak to you directly, but I felt that perhaps I could be of better use if I went to Wounded Knee to help forestall in whatever way I can the establishment of a peace which would be dishonorable as long as the rivers shall run and the grass shall grow. I would hope that those who are listening would not look upon this as a rude intrusion, but as an earnest effort to focus attention on an issue that might very well determine whether or not this country has the right to say from this point forward we believe in the inalienable rights of all people to remain free and independent on lands that have supported their life beyond living memory. Thank you for your kindness and your courtesy to Miss Littlefeather. Thank you and good night.

L'originale è qui :http://www.destinationhollywood.com/movies/godfather/feature_littlefeather.shtml

Pocahontas meets Marlon Brando

Brando, Littlefeather and the Academy Awards

By Dina Gilio-Whitaker

The social turbulence of the 1970's was a time of great and much-needed change in Indian country. Native American people were in the bottom strata of all social indicators, and it was clear to American Indian youth that the change was not going to happen without dramatic action. By March of 1973 the Alcatraz Island occupation was two years in the past, Indian activists had taken over the Bureau of Indian Affairs building the year before, the siege of Wounded Knee was underway in South Dakota, and the Vietnam War showed no end in sight despite massive protests. No one was without an opinion and certain Hollywood stars are remembered for the stand they would take, even if unpopular and controversial. Marlon Brando was one of them.

American Indian Movement

AIM coalesced out of the frustration of Native American college students in the cities and activists on the reservations who understood all too well the conditions they were living under were a result of oppressive government policies. Drastic problems called for drastic actions and although attempts were made at non-violent protest (the year and a half long Alcatraz occupation was completely non-violent), there were times when violence seemed like the only way to get the attention that was needed.

Tensions came to a head on the Pine Ridge reservation in February 1973 when a group of heavily armed Oglala Lakota and their American Indian Movement supporters overtook a trading post in the town of Wounded Knee, the site of the 1891 massacre of 300 Lakota men, women and children. Demanding regime change of the United States- backed tribal government which had been terrorizing citizens, resulting in dozens of uninvestigated murders on the reservation, the occupiers found themselves in a 71-day armed battle against the FBI and United States Marshal Service with the eyes of the nation watching every night on the evening news.

Marlon Brando: Civil Rights and the Academy Awards

Brando had a long history of supporting various social movements, dating back to at least 1946 when he supported the Zionist movement for a Jewish homeland. He had also participated in the March on Washington in 1963 and supported the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, even donating money to the Black Panthers. In later years he became critical of Israel and supported the Palestinian cause.

Brando was also highly critical of the way Hollywood treated American Indians and the way they were represented in the movies. When he was nominated for an Oscar for the role of Don Corleone in "The Godfather," he refused to attend and instead sent Sacheen Littlefeather (born Marie Cruz), a young Apache/Yaqui activist who had participated in the Alcatraz Island occupation, and a budding model and actress, to represent him. When his name was announced as the winner she went on stage dressed in full native regalia and delivered a short speech on behalf of Brando declining acceptance of the award. He had written a 15-page speech explaining his reasons, but Littlefeather would recount later that she had been threatened with arrest if she attempted to read the entire speech. Instead, she was given 60 seconds in which all she could say was:

"Marlon Brando has asked me to tell you, in a very long speech which I cannot share with you presently-because of time-but I will be glad to share with the press afterward, that he must... very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award.

"And the reason [sic] for this being... are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry… excuse me… and on television in movie re-runs, and also the recent happenings at Wounded Knee.

"I beg at this time that I have not intruded upon this evening and that we will, in the future...our hearts and our understanding will meet with love and generosity.

"Thank you on behalf of Marlon Brando."

The crowd cheered and booed. The speech was shared at a press conference after the ceremony and was published in its entirety in the New York Times.

The Speech

In 1973 Native Americans had virtually no representation in the film industry and were primarily used as extras while lead roles depicting Indians in several generations of Westerns were almost always given to white actors. Native film scholars have identified different phases of the predominant stereotypes that were perpetuated in Hollywood films since their advent in the late 1800's (see the film "Reel Injuns" for an in-depth look at Native American stereotypes in the film industry). Brando's speech addressed these stereotypes, at a time long before the subject would be taken seriously in the industry:

"Perhaps at this moment you are saying to yourself what the hell has all this got to do with the Academy Awards? Why is this woman standing up here, ruining our evening, invading our lives with things that don't concern us, and that we don't care about? Wasting our time and money and intruding in our homes.

"I think the answer to those unspoken questions is that the motion picture community has been as responsible as any for degrading the Indian and making a mockery of his character, describing his as savage, hostile and evil. It's hard enough for children to grow up in this world. When Indian children watch television, and they watch films, and when they see their race depicted as they are in films, their minds become injured in ways we can never know."

But true to his political sensibilities, Brando also minced no words about America's treatment of American Indians:

"For 200 years we have said to the Indian people who are fighting for their land, their life, their families and their right to be free: 'Lay down your arms, my friends, and then we will remain together...

"When they laid down their arms, we murdered them. We lied to them. We cheated them out of their lands. We starved them into signing fraudulent agreements that we called treaties which we never kept. We turned them into beggars on a continent that gave life for as long as life can remember. And by any interpretation of history, however twisted, we did not do right. We were not lawful nor were we just in what we did. For them, we do not have to restore these people, we do not have to live up to some agreements, because it is given to us by virtue of our power to attack the rights of others, to take their property, to take their lives when they are trying to defend their land and liberty, and to make their virtues a crime and our own vices virtues."

Littlefeather

As a result of her intervention at the Academy Awards, Sacheen Littlefeather received phone calls from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s widow Coretta Scott King and Ceasar Chavez congratulating her for what she'd done. But she also received death threats, was lied about in the media (including allegations that she wasn't Indian), and was blacklisted in Hollywood. Yet, her speech made her famous literally overnight and her fame would be exploited by Playboy magazine. In 1972 Littlefeather and a handful of other Native American women had posed for Playboy but the photos had never been published until October 1973, not long after the Academy Awards incident. Because she had signed a model release she had no legal recourse to contest their publication.

Littlefeather has long been an accepted and highly respected member of the Native American community despite lingering speculation about her identity. She continued her social justice work for Native Americans from her home in the San Francisco Bay area. She worked as an advocate for Native American AIDS patients, did other health education work, and worked with Mother Theresa doing hospice care for AIDS patients.

 l'originale lo trovate qui:

http://nativeamericanhistory.about.com/od/controversies/a/Brando-Littlefeather-And-The-Academy-Awards.htm



don Vito Andolini alias Corleone

La leggenda vuole che quando Franceschino (Francis Ford) Coppola ebbe in mano definitivamente, dopo varie offerte a diversi registi che andavano per la maggiore in quel momento, tra cui il sommo Sergio Leone Tolstoi, il compito di dirigere Il Padrino (The Godfather), si chiuse in clausura con l’autore del romanzo, tale Mario Puzo, per redigere la sceneggiatura del film.

Un giorno di quelli, si presentò davanti a lui, che era un giovanottone ben nutrito, con una faccia che alcuni confondevano con quella di Jerry (Grateful Dead) Garcia, folti capelli neri, barba nera da cui spuntava solo l naso sormontato dagli occhiali, si presentò dicevamo, infrangendo l’isolamento,  Marlon Brando già truccato da don Vito Corleone.

Coppola, folgorato da quella visione inaspettata, dovette faticare non poco per imporre ai tycoons della Paramount l’attore, che a quei tempi, dopo Queimada, si era fatta la reputazione d’uomo irascibile. Alla fine, e per la maggior gloria del film, il regista la spuntò e Marlon Brando ebbe il ruolo compresa la silhouette nei titolo e sui manifesti.

Qui non è il caso di ripetere quanto è già stato scritto sul film che ormai ha superato i quarant’anni suonati. A noi interessa il lavoro di Marlon Brando e la sua presenza  nel film. Egli si muove da vecchio saggio, padre di famiglia con autorità ponderata. A ben guardare la recitazione di tutti gli altri interpreti, quando lui è in scena, sembra essere direttamente portata avanti da lui: Al Pacino, James Caan, John Cazale, Robert Duvall  e gli altri stanno sotto la ala protettrice e questo succederà anche nel sequel, Il Padrino parte II, dove Robert De Niro, don Vito da giovane, reciterà il ruolo non del personaggio bensì dell’attore Marlon Brando.

Giunto nelle sale il film esplose portando soldi nelle tasche dei produttori, fortuna a Coppola come ad Al Pacino. Marlon Brando rinnovò la sua notorietà vincendo la seconda statuetta per la migliore interpretazione maschile ed a ritirarla, senza farsi smentire, mandò Sacheen Littlefeather  , che lesse un proclama sui diritti civili dei nativi americani.

A questo punto mi preme dire soltanto una cosa: i due ” Padrino”, sono opere che come poche altre, riescono a marcare un distacco tra lo spettatore e le vite turbolente di uomini spietati, al contrario di quanto avviene oggi ed in specie nel tubo catodico, da  cui lo spettatore è portato a convincersi di poter condurre anch’egli  la vita degli  intrallazzatori di ogni specie o di donne di dubbia virtù.

Le comparse di Messina

Le comparse si scatenano per L’avventura

Siamo a Messina, per la scena della De Poliolo. Antonioni ha chiesto quattrocento comparse. Ne sono presenti cento. Bisogna reclutarne altre. Tutti si mettono a fermare i passanti, pregandoli di partecipare ad una ripresa cinematografica. C’è una sola difficoltà: siamo in gennaio, e fa freddo. La scena, invece, deve svolgersi in piena estate. Tutti debbono abbandonare cappotti e golf.

Lentamente le comparse improvvisatesi scaldano, si eccitano, si scatenano. Ormai nessuno le controlla più. E’ stato detto loro di far chiasso, e stanno ammucchiando le sedie e i tavoli del bar. Tra poco forse, romperanno i vetri. Gridano come ossessi. Non resta che girare, con due macchine, e raccomandarsi alla buona stella dei registi.

Michelangelo Antonioni, L’avventura, ed Nuova  Universale Cappelli

Purtroppo non ho potuto scannerizzare meglio la foto in alto ma vi assicuro che quell'albero spoglio sorretto dal tutore ligneo e fasciato dal copertone è ancora lì nelle stesse  condizioni e senza una foglia
dopo cinquant'anni. L'isolato alle spalle di Anonioni era la casa dei nonni di L., di fronte alla mia sede storica di lavoro per oltre venticinque anni. Il bar Oriente dove furono girate le scene in questione era all'angolo col viale Europa. Dopo la demolizione dell'isolato che lo ospitava fu  spostato proprio di fronte a quella sede di lavoro e dopo quarant'anni ha chiuso le serrande. Ce ne siamo andati tutti ed il viale San Martino è preda solo del "provvidente" tram.

From Steely Dan to Maestro

A Talk with Ennio Morricone

Fagen: Maestro, the picture I have of Italian filmmaking comes mainly from Fellini films like 8 1/2 and La Dolce Vita. When you were scoring spaghetti westerns in the '60's, was the scene really swinging?

Morricone: La Dolce Vita focused on a small group of people who got up at 11 P.M. and lived at night. While I, then as now, got up at five in the morning to compose and was asleep by nine in the evening.

Fagen: Your music has always had a life here in America apart from the films. In the past few years, though, your influence has surfaced in a lot of rock music and in the works of "avant-garde" composers. Why is this music from 25-year old Italian westerns the talk of the town?

Morricone: I don't know. You tell me.

Fagen: Well...

Morricone: But I have a hypothesis. When I begin a theme in a certain key, say, D minor, I never depart from this original key. If it begins in D minor, it ends in D minor. This harmonic simplicity is available to everyone.

Fagen: But isn't it true that the Leone films, with their elevation of mythic structures, their comic book visual style and extreme irony, are now perceived as signaling an aesthetic transmutation by a generation of artists and filmmakers? And isn't it also true that your music for those films reflected and abetted Leone's vision by drawing on the same eerie catalog of genres - Hollywood western, Japanese samurai, American pop, and Italian Opera? That your scores functioned both "inside" the film as a narrative voice and "outside" the film as the commentary of a winking jester? Put it all together and doesn't it spell "postmodern", in the sense that there has been a grotesque encroachment of the devices of art and, in fact, an establishment of a new narrative plane founded on the devices themselves? Isn't that what's attracting lower Manhattan?

Morricone: [ shrugs ]

Fagen: What about your use of unusual solo instruments? You've hired Zamfir, master of the pan-flute. You've featured whistlers and the human voice. Do you hear a specific color when you watch a scene?

Morricone: When I write a passage, I find out who's available. If the violinist I want is out of town, I'll use, say, a great flute player who is on a day layover in Rome. Sometimes its even simpler. In The Mission, the character in the film plays the oboe, so...

Fagen: After scoring so many films, it must be hard to come up with fresh ideas.

Morricone: I saw The Untouchables on Monday, I thought of the main theme in the cab back to the hotel and played it for De Palma on Tuesday.

Fagen: You've worked with many directors, each who must present a different set of problems for the composer. I have a list here. What was it like working for Bertolucci?

Morricone: Bellisimo!

Fagen: Pontecorvo?

Morricone: He is my old friend, bellisimo!

Fagen: John Boorman?

Morricone: Bellisimo!

Fagen: Terence Malick?

Morricone: A man with bad luck but bello, bellisimo!

Fagen: Roman Polanski?

Morricone: Bellisimo!

Fagen: Brian De Palma?

Morricone: Bellisimo!

Fagen: Leone?

Morricone: Bellisimo!

Fagen: Your scores for Leone in particular had a very sly humor. Will you be composing for any comic or semicomic films in the near future?

Morricone: If they offer. I can only choose from the films that are offered me.

Fagen: Maestro, are there days when you wish you were still playing the trumpet?

Morricone: The trumpet was exhausting. I have always wanted to compose.

L'originale è qui:
http://www.steelydan.com/premiere2.html

per saperne di più:
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steely_Dan
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Fagen

Opening Casanova

I DUE più beI film della storia del cinema

OGGI

AL CINEFORUM PEPPUCCIO TORNATORE

Mi rammento: una malinconia terribile aveva invaso tutto il mio essere; avevo una gran voglia di piangere; tutto destava in me sorpresa e mi rendeva inquieto. In modo più spaventoso ancora, mi opprimeva la sensazione che tutto era, ai miei occhi, estraneo, e comprendevo benissimo che quell'essere tutto estraneo mi uccideva. Rammento di essermi sottratto a questa prostrazione e a quel buio la sera in cui, giunto a Basilea, misi piede sul suolo svizzero per la prima volta... Mi fece tornare in me il raglio d'un asino sulla piazza del mercato. L'asino mi colpì fortemente e, al contempo, mi piacque molto: e, da quel momento, tutto parve rischiararsi nella mia mente. Fedor Dostoevskij L’idiota

"Ho rispettato John Ford fin dall'inizio. Inutile dirlo, io ho posto molta attenzione alle sue produzioni, e penso che sono influenzato da loro." Akira Kurosawa

Per molto tempo ho stimato che il più bel film della storia del cinema fosse Sentieri Selvaggi (The Searches) realizzato verso la metà degli anni 50 da John Ford.

Inaspettatamente pochi giorni or sono mi sono ricreduto vedendo L’idiota (Hakuchi) del giapponese Akira Kurosawa realizzato qualche anno prima del capolavoro fordiano.

Non mi sono allontanato di molto perché Kurosawa considerava Ford tra i suoi maestri e ne L’idiota la parte figurativa deve molto al maestro di origini irlandesi.

Io i miei feticci li tengo sull’altare e questo lo ripeto fino alla vergogna ed in questa occasione non mi pare il caso di nominarli, ma il culto non ha nulla a che vedere con la rappresentazione reale dei sentimenti e degli stati d’animo.

Per farvi un altro esempio,  uno dei miei scrittori di culto è Raymond (Il grande sonno)Chandler; tuttavia i sentimenti e gli stati d’animo li ho scoperti attraverso Lev Nicolaevic Tolstoj e Fedor Dostoevskij, ed ancora una volta il passo dall’uno agli altri è la distanza tra il pollice ed il mignolo della mia mano.

Fedor Dostoevskij è l’autore de L’idiota romanzo da cui Akira Kurosawa trasse il film che porta lo stesso titolo. L’idiota di Kurosawa risulta essere, pur nella versione finale massacrata dai produttori, il regista ne aveva approntata una che superava le quattro ore di durata,la migliore trasposizione per immagini di un testo scritto. Con grande maestria il regista giapponese ha trasportato l’azione dell’opera di Dostoevskij dalla Russia zarista al Giappone dell’immediato dopoguerra e tutto il lavoro è climatizzato dalla quantità di neve che copre gli esterni del film.

Lev Nicolaevic, il principe Myskin, nobile decaduto, diviene un reduce, Kameda, di Okinawa preso talvolta dagli spasmi del mal caduco.

I nomi dei protagonisti cambiano ma i caratteri di Rogozin, Nastas’ja Filippovna, Aglaia permangono intatti. Come identica è la tensione che agita i personaggi i ogni qualvolta entrano in contatto tra di loro. Nella sua lievità è un’opera che va direttamente al cuore e vi rimane murata.

Quanto ho scritto l’avevo dapprima riservato al film di John Ford e i due film Sentieri Selvaggi e L’idiota coesistono  insieme dentro di me.

Akama: Hai paura di una ragazzina? [riguardo ad Ayako]
Taeko Nasu: Sì. Ho paura perfino di guardarla. Lei è l'incarnazione di tutti i miei sogni. Lei ha... tutto ciò che io ho perduto.

« Adoro Dostoevskij, ma non filmerò mai L'idiota dopo Kurosawa » Andrej Arsen'evič Tarkovskij

Piccoli fuochi

Valeria Golino a Taormina (polaroid Mittiga)

Quelli che fecero il cinema

Due uomini hanno fatto il cinema: Méliès e Griffith. Poi venne Chaplin. Più indietro Mack Sennett.

Orson Welles

Antonio (De Curtis) e Cleopatra

OGGI

Dall'Egitto con amore

OGGI

Nel 1959 con Le Legioni di Cleopatra sotto le apparenze del genere storico-mitologico, gli autori del soggetto e della sceneggiatura arrivano a darci un film politico ed a tentare di spiegarci i fatti del passato un po’ come il Queimada di Gillo Pontecorvo.

In Italia Vittorio Cottafavi è noto soprattutto per alcuni illustri sceneggiati televisivi. Per citarne uno io preferisco ricordare A come Andromeda, mentre i più ricordano meglio I racconti di Padre Brown.

Oltralpe invece è riverito ed osannato per il genere storico-mitologico, i frutti migliori sono suoi, che faceva molti più incassi nei cinema parrocchiali come il ben noto Cinema Loreto di Platì.

Le critiche per questo genere di film erano esclusive di un famoso recensore chiamato Vice. Questi aveva tanti volti per quanti erano i quotidiani disseminati lungo la penisola: dalla Stampa di Torino al Giornale di Sicilia di Palermo.

Le legioni di Cleopatra risulta un notevole lavoro: la regia si districa alla grande specie nelle scene dominate dai fondali dipinti a mano e dalla carta pesta come nei passaggi comico grotteschi. Il tutto lavorando con meno soldi di quelli che disponeva Joseph L. Makiewicz per tenere a freno Liz Taylor e Richard Burton, quest’ultimo anche lontano dalla bottiglia di Nero d’Avola.

Curridio (Ettore Manni) è inviato in Egitto dal futuro dittatore, nonché imbavagliatore di intelletti, Augusto per cercare di far ragionare Antonio (Georges Marchal) e farlo passare sotto la sua tunica,tradendo i pepli e la bellezza di Cleopatra(Linda Cristal), ballerina anonima nei locali notturni di Alessandria e seduttrice dello stesso Curridio.

La storia, l’abbiamo risentita tante volte , porrà Ottaviano Augusto sul piedistallo -  i suoi contemporanei fecero di meglio,lo divinizzarono - dopo essersi sbarazzato di Antonio e Cleopatra, pur tuttavia rimpiangendo l’immagine di quest’ultima, all’insaputa della titolare del letto coniugale, la perfida Livia.

Curridio, ultimo repubblicano, a missione compiuta, sceglierà l’esilio e l’avventura in terre oltre l’impero, lontano dalla corte e dai meschini cortigiani e cortigiane.

Tra gli interpreti citati sopra vorrei ricordare un caratterista che appariva  in questo genere di film e richiamato spesso da Vittorio Cottafavi: il nano Salvatore Furnari.

Great political movies

Great political movies (No17) Queimada (Burn!) Posted on February 7, 2011 by matthewashton

 Everyone seems to have seen The Battle of Algiers, which I reviewed last week. However for some reason it’s follow-up, Queimada, better known by its title in the US, ‘Burn!’, is now undeservedly forgotten. The director Gillo Pontecorvo revisits many of the themes of his earlier work, such as colonialism and revolution but this time has a significantly bigger budget to play around with. As result the film is made in colour and features Hollywood’s most mercurial talent, Marlon Brando, as it’s star. Queimada is a historical epic that tells the story of a decade in the life of a small Portuguese colony in the 19th century. Sir William Walker, played by Brando, is an English agent sent to the colony to help stir up revolution for the benefit of the British Empire. He arrives to discover that the man who was going to be the leader of the rebel army has just been executed by the authorities, and so sets about manufacturing himself a new one. He quickly tricks porter Jose Delores, played by newcomer Evaristo Marquez, into first robbing a bank, then killing a Portuguese guard and then taking up arms against the government. At the same time he is also fermenting revolution amongst the white settlers by making them promises of the benefits free trade will bring. The revolution is a success, but parties on all sides quickly discover that once taken power is a difficult thing to wield. Of course this isn’t Sir Walker’s problem as he is seen departing the island for similar work in Indo-China (a nod to the ongoing Vietnam War). The film then flashes forward ten years as he returns to the island to help put down the native rebellion that he created in the first place. This is one of the best ever films to explore the issues of racism and colonialism from a Marxist perspective. For instance, in the scene below Walker explains to the colonists the benefits of freeing their slaves, not because it is the right things to do, but because of the economic benefits of having a more flexible workforce, (warning: some nudity and a lot of sexism): Later in order to destroy the rebel army, Walker orders all of the crop fields to be burnt down. A representative of the sugar trading company is appalled because it will damage their profits. Walker coolly tells him that it will only impact their profits for a few years and that they have hundreds left to exploit the island. He also points out that the company has dozens of possessions like this one where the workers might be encouraged to rebel, which is why the revolution must be put down with such force. Rarely has the relationship between big business and colonial empire been given such a thorough economic critique on film. While Brando is clearly the villain of the piece, it’s a fantastic piece of acting on his part. He plays Walker as being cheerfully amoral, a man who knows the value and price of everything but is largely unconcerned by the consequences of his actions. At one stage he even admits that he is not well paid for his services but does it because he enjoys it. Apparently the film shoot was a nightmare for all concerned and they were beset by technical and language difficulties. There should probably be a rule for filmmakers that if you want to film an epic, don’t film it in the jungle with Marlon Brando. As Francis Ford Coppola discovered a decade later with Apocalypse Now, it rarely ends well. The lessons of Queimada are still relevant today. For instance, the idea of a colonial power creating a rebel movement for its own ends, but then loosing control of it, has parallels with the USA’s role in supporting the Taliban in the 1980s. It also asks the question of what happens when a revolution leaves you less free than before? Finally if that doesn’t convince you then the film also boosts one of Ennio Morricone’s best scores, as used here over the opening credits:

L'originale è qui:
http://drmatthewashton.com/2011/02/07/great-political-movies-no17-queimada-burn/