And the best of her De Sica collaborations: the 1965 MARRIAGE ITALIAN STYLE a splendid version of that great play "Filumena" with its multi-layered story of how a bitter Loren tricks long time lover Mastroianni into finally marrying her, by revealing that one of her 3 sons is his. It amusingly shows their courtship during the war and how she runs his business but longs for the respectability of marriage.
Monica and Claudia are both extraordinary and should be celebrated (personally, never cared much for Gina), but Sophia...what a woman! I think if she had been around in ancient times, she would have been hailed as a Goddess. Her beauty in her prime was jaw-dropping, and she could act too! My favorites (that I've seen) are "Houseboat", "Arabesque", "Two Women" and "Marriage-Italian Style". Really need to see "A Special Day", "The Gold of Naples" and many others.
ReplyDeleteI so agree - and I like Gina too ! The Gold of Naples does not seem to be available here in the UK, but even as 12 year old I loved Boy On A Dolphin, Legend of the Lost, Houseboat, It Started in Naples, The Millionairess, El Cid. etc. I featured Arabesque last week.
ReplyDeleteIts been fun catching up with items like That Kind of Woman, 5 Miles to Midnight etc. and those early Italian ones like Too Bad She's Bad and Woman of the River. Its an amazing career with so many highlights - people made so many movies back then! When she appeared in London to sign her book back in 1979 Selfridges store was packed with people and it was great seeing her up close. She still looks amazing now ... as per latest post !