Tagged: Italy
Summertime: Rossano Brazzi’s Gray Suit
Rossano Brazzi as Renato de Rossi in Summertime (1955)
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Rossano Brazzi as Renato de Rossi, antique store owner
Venice, Summer 1954
Film: Summertime
Release Date: June 21, 1955
Director: David Lean
Costume Designer: Rosi Gori (uncredited)
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Prolific Italian actor and director Rossano Brazzi was born 110 years ago tomorrow on September 18, 1916. An on-screen fixture of Italian cinema since the late 1930s, Brazzi rose to global fame after three consecutive roles as a suave Italian romancing American women visiting his country in The Barefoot Contessa (1954), Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), and Summertime (1955).
The latter paired Brazzi opposite Katharine Hepburn, who portrayed American secretary Jane Hudson visiting Venice at the end of her lifelong dream vacation to Europe. Over evening drinks in Piazza San Marco, she spies the dashing antiques dealer Renato de Rossi (Brazzi), who romantically pursues her with goblets and gardenias until the two embark on a brief but passionate aestival affair.
With summertime officially ending after this weekend, let’s explore how Brazzi dressed for, well, the ending of Summertime. Continue reading
Terence Stamp’s Layered Neutrals in Teorema
Terence Stamp in Teorema (1968)
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Terence Stamp as “The Visitor”, enigmatic young seducer
Milan, Italy, Spring 1968
Film: Teorema
(English title: Theorem)
Release Date: September 7, 1968
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Costume Designer: Roberto Capucci (credited for Silvana Mangano’s clothes)
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
After Terence Stamp’s death last year, I realized how little of the actor’s filmography I had seen, particularly from early in his career when he and his then-roommate Michael Caine were the toasts of swinging London. Naturally, the first place I turned was the Criterion Channel, which included Teorema—a surrealist psychological drama that was director Pier Paolo Pasolini’s first film to feature primarily professional actors.
Stamp stars as a mysterious man known only as “the visitor”, whose seduction of every member of a bourgeois household forces the family to confront difficult truths about themselves—and whose eventual departure leaves an existential void in each person’s soul.
Translated to “Theorem”, as it was known in some English-speaking countries, Teorema premiered 58 years ago yesterday on September 4, 1968 during the 29th Venice International Film Festival, where it received a special award from the International Catholic Film Office—only for the award to be swiftly withdrawn after the Vatican criticized the film’s sexual content. It was widely released three days later. Continue reading
Eddie Albert’s Casual Attire in Roman Holiday
Eddie Albert in Roman Holiday (1953)
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Eddie Albert as Irving Radovich, expatriate newspaper photographer
Rome, Summer 1952
Film: Roman Holiday
Release Date: August 27, 1953
Director: William Wyler
Costume Designer: Edith Head
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
It’s not easy to command attention when sharing the screen with icons like Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, but Eddie Albert shined so brightly alongside them in Roman Holiday that the actor’s supporting performance received one of the film’s ten Academy Award nominations! Continue reading
Purple Noon: Alain Delon’s Blue Ivy-Style OCBD, Cream Jeans, and Loafers
Alain Delon as Tom Ripley in Purple Noon (1960)
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Alain Delon as Tom Ripley, charming American con artist
Italy, Summer 1959
Film: Purple Noon
(French title: Plein soleil)
Release Date: March 10, 1960
Director: René Clément
Costume Designer: Bella Clément
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
French screen and style icon Alain Delon died one year ago this week on August 18, 2024. One of the actor’s most celebrated and stylish roles remains his portrayal of Tom Ripley in Purple Noon, René Clément’s adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s psychological thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley.
The French/Italian co-production (released in France as Plein soleil) was the first cinematic adaptation of Highsmith’s novel, followed by Anthony Minghella’s 1999 film The Talented Mr. Ripley and Steven Zaillain’s 2024 Netflix miniseries Ripley. Clément was inspired to cast Delon after spotting the young actor in the 1959 comedy Women are Weak, and his enigmatic performance as Tom Ripley eventually launched him to wider global recognition.
Highsmith’s own opinion about the film ranged from cheers for Henri Decaë’s stunning cinematography to jeers against Clément’s bastardized ending, though the author fully praised Delon’s “excellent” portrayal of her devious creation. Continue reading
Summertime: Rossano Brazzi’s Glen Plaid Suit
Rossano Brazzi as Renato de Rossi in Summertime (1955)
Vitals
Rossano Brazzi as Renato de Rossi, antique store owner
Venice, Summer 1954
Film: Summertime
Release Date: June 21, 1955
Director: David Lean
Costume Designer: Rosi Gori (uncredited)
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Summertime is here! And by that I mean both the fact that Friday was the summer solstice and that David Lean’s Venetian romance Summertime was released in the United States seventy years ago yesterday on June 21, 1955, nearly a month after its Venice premiere.
Like Lean’s 1940s dramas Brief Encounter and The Passionate Friends, Summertime lushly depicts the intense romance between two strangers—in this case, the American tourist Jane Hudson (Katharine Hepburn) and the dashing local antiques dealer Renato de Rossi (Rossano Brazzi), whom she meets during her long-awaited summer vacation to Venice.
Lazing across a few chairs in Piazza San Marco, Renato first observes Jane while she’s filming the square. She’s initially oblivious to his attention, then becomes uncomfortably befuddled by it and hurries out of the area. Continue reading
The White Lotus: Ethan’s Cream Jacket and Navy Cap in Sicily
Will Sharpe as Ethan Spiller on The White Lotus (Episode 2.01: “Ciao”)
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Will Sharpe as Ethan Spiller, prosperous tech entrepreneur
Sicily, Summer 2022
Series: The White Lotus
Episode: “Ciao” (Episode 2.01)
Air Date: October 30, 2022
Director: Mike White
Creator: Mike White
Costume Designer: Alex Bovaird
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The White Lotus returns tonight with the premiere of its third season, set in Thailand. Each season of Mike White’s darkly comic anthological series is loosely connected, following different casts of characters across exotically located resorts under the fictional White Lotus hospitality chain. The first season was set in Hawaii, chosen as its seclusion provided ideal conditions for filming under safety protocols informed by the then-new COVID-19 restrictions. Following the success of the premiere season, the sophomore season took the action to Sicily, retaining the themes of illicit drugs, romantic intrigue, and unexpected violence.
The appropriately named second-season premiere “Ciao” welcomed the guests arriving at the White Lotus resort in Taormina for the week, including the newly wealthy but emotionally unfulfilled Ethan Spiller (Will Sharpe) and his wife Harper (Aubrey Plaza), a haughty lawyer initially repulsed by his gauche college pal Cameron Sullivan (Theo James). A gregarious finance-bro to Ethan’s sullen tech-bro, Cam and his trophy wife Daphne (Meghann Fahy) approach life with more outward enthusiasm, though Harper initially pushes through to discover the imperfect cracks of the Sullivans’ surprisingly complex union. Continue reading
Marcello Mastroianni in 8½
Marcello Mastroianni in 8½ (1963)
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Marcello Mastroianni as Guido Anselmi, disillusioned Italian film director
Rome, Summer 1962
Film: 8½
(Italian title: Otto e mezzo)
Release Date: February 13, 1963
Director: Federico Fellini
Costume Designer: Piero Gherardi
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Italian screen and style icon Marcello Mastroianni was born 100 years ago today on September 28, 1924. A five-time winner of the David di Donatello Award for Best Actor and three-time Oscar nominee, Mastroianni may be best known for co-starring opposite Sophia Loren eight times and his half-dozen collaborations with director Federico Fellini, beginning with La Dolce Vita (1960) and including Fellini’s quasi-autobiographical 8½ (1963).
After cycling through a few titles more relevant to the fantastic chaos depicted on screen, Fellini reinforced the metafictional aspects with a title referring to the fact that this would be his eighth-and-a-half film—including six features, two shorts, and his 1951 directorial debut Luci del varietà, co-directed with Alberto Lattuada.
Often considered one of the best movies of all time by sources like the British Film Institute and director Martin Scorsese, 8½ centers around Guido Anselmi, an Italian filmmaker struggling with creative block amidst his romantic turmoil. Mastroianni was transformed for Guido to resemble Fellini himself, from his mannerisms and gait to his appearance with graying hair under that distinctive hat. Continue reading
The Italian Connection: Woody Strode’s Plaid Sports Coat
Woody Strode in The Italian Connection (1972)
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Woody Strode as Frank Webster, taciturn Mafia hitman
Milan, Italy, Spring 1972
Film: The Italian Connection
(Italian title: La mala ordina)
Release Date: September 2, 1972
Director: Fernando Di Leo
Costume Designer: Francesco Cuppini
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Trailblazing actor and athlete Woody Strode was born 110 years ago today on July 25, 1914 in Los Angeles. Following his service in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, Strode was one of four Black players to break the NFL’s postwar color barrier when he signed with the Rams in 1946. In the years to follow, Strode continued both wrestling and acting, though he became significantly better known for the latter and was also one of the first Black performers to be nominated for a Golden Globe, recognizing his performance in Spartacus (1960).
With a filmography that also includes The Ten Commandments (1956), Pork Chop Hill (1959), Sergeant Rutledge (1960), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1962), Genghis Khan (1965), The Professionals (1966), and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), it was difficult to find one of Strode’s prominent roles that wasn’t in a western, war film, or historical drama so that I could highlight the actor dressed in a contemporary wardrobe. (He did have a significant role in the 1960 disaster drama The Last Voyage, but his costume as the sinking ship’s crewman Hank Lawson consisted only of a neckerchief and dark jeans.)
Following his appearance Once Upon a Time in the West, Strode joined fellow other American actors—think the fictional Rick Dalton—by appearing in Italian films through the ’70s, including the 1972 “poliziottesco” The Italian Connection, starring alongside Henry Silva as New York mob hitmen Frank Webster and Dave Catania. Continue reading
Succession: Connor’s Sailboat Shirt in Tuscany
Alan Ruck as Connor Roy on Succession (Episode 3.09: “All the Bells Say”)
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Alan Ruck as Connor Roy, delusional millionaire and long-shot presidential hopeful
Val d’Orcia, Tuscany, Italy, Summer 2020
Series: Succession
Episode: “All the Bells Say” (Episode 3.09)
Air Date: December 12, 2021
Director: Mark Mylod
Creator: Jesse Armstrong
Costume Designer: Michelle Matland
Background
When I think about which Succession character most shares my sense of style (as one does), I’m realizing that the answer—for better or worse—is probably the doomed presidential hopeful Connor Roy (Alan Ruck).
It makes sense, as each of us are positioned relatively far from the corporate world and thus can afford to dress more for ourselves than any greater ambition… at least until Connor, who was interested in politics at a young age, starts pinning that American flag to his lapel as he hits the campaign trail.
This thought reoccurred to me as I was packing for my weeklong vacation to the beach this week, and I realized that the only Roy who may canonically share my affinity for printed summer shirts is the [actual] eldest son, who briefly sports a sailboat-printed shirt while the family debriefs in Tuscany over a game of Monopoly at the start of Succession’s third season finale, “All the Bells Say”. Continue reading
Don’t Look Now: Donald Sutherland’s Glen Plaid Jacket
Donald Sutherland in Don’t Look Now (1973)
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Donald Sutherland as John Baxter, architect and grieving father
Venice, Italy, Winter/Spring 1973
Film: Don’t Look Now
Release Date: October 16, 1973
Director: Nicolas Roeg
Wardrobe Credit: Anna Maria Feo
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today’s post pays tribute to the late, great Donald Sutherland (1935-2024), the Canadian-born actor who died last week at the age of 88. One of the actor’s most-discussed films is Nicolas Roeg’s haunting horror tale Don’t Look Now, for which he received a BAFTA nomination. Continue reading
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