Monday, March 23, 2009

Sunday, March 22, 2009

The Recent Death of Salvatore Samperi

(Picture borrowed from: http://www.italica.rai.it/cinema/biografie/samperi/1.jpg)

Salvatore Samperi, an Italian film director, died on March 4th, 2009 at the age of 64. He was best known for directing erotic comedies which tested the ethical beliefs of Italy’s middle class population. He died at his house situated approximately 30 miles north of Rome, on Lake Bracciano. His brother declined to give the reason for Samperi’s death. He left behind a wife and son.

Salvatore Samperi directed 24 films including “Malizia” (Malice), “La Bonne” (The Corruption), and “Scandalo” (Scandal). In addition to directing many films he also wrote, produced and acted as well. Most people consider Samperi’s biggest achievement to be the release of “Malizia” in 1973. The film turned the actress, Laura Antonelli, into a star and a sexual icon. Salvatore Samperi struggled with his career immediately after “Malizia”, so he began working on television shows when he got older, until his death.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

The Release of Gommorah

The Italian Film Commission’s release of Gommorah, a Martin Scorsese presentation, is said to be the next big mafia film release. The film has won the grand prize at Cannes Film Festival and other European awards. It was filmed in Naples, Scampia, and Venice, directed by Matteo Garrone. In a quote taken from www.filminginitaly.com, Lisa Schwarzbaum (Entertainment Weekly) quoted, "No matter how many Mafia movies you've seen, no matter how wise you think you are about wiseguy culture, you've never seen anything like GOMORRAH. An electrifying dramatization of Roberto Saviano's jolting book. This is one of the very best movies I've seen in 2008, and it'll be a knockout for lucky viewers all over again in 2009." The author of the book that inspired the film, Roberto Saviano, has been forced to live under police protection since the publication of the book because of its contents.