Franco Cicero "I'm not an artist, I consider myself a good craftsman and has not said that my film does not reach to the artistry of this result." Luigi Comencini was the same in the best way to summarize his extraordinary career with 50 titles that made him one of the most popular and beloved directors of Italy.
long inactivity forced by a long illness - his last was in 1992 directed the remake of "Marcellino bread and wine" - Luigi Comencini died at his home in Rome, assisted by his daughters, Cristina and Francesca, both directors, and Paola, costume designer.
In nearly fifty-year career he has accompanied protagonist, the passage of the best Italian cinema from Neorealism to the great tradition of the equally crucial "Italian comedy". Comencini was with Dino Risi, Ettore Scola and Mario Monicelli, the master of a genre typically national, all too often judged to be of mere consumption but instead re-evaluated and, fortunately, largely faithful mirror of social evolution and creativity of our country. And he directed the play as samples Sordi, Manfredi, Tognazzi, Mastroianni.
With a title like "Bread, Love and Dreams" (1953), Comencini was reputedly the father of the "pink neorealism", with "Everybody Go Home" (1960) took part the glorious season of film review of recent national history, thanks to "misunderstood" and, among others, the television show "Pinocchio" was considered "the director of children".
many times that they actually contain only one: that of "Craftsman" - to use its definition - that could look at reality without ever forgetting that cinema has the mission to entertain, to amuse and to think.
Luigi Comencini was born in Salo, in Brescia, 8 June 1916. His first love was architecture, but during his studies he became a friend of Alberto Lattuada which participated alla rivista milanese “Corrente”, fondata nel 1938 da Ernesto Treccani. Comencini scriveva le critiche cinematografiche, un’attività che continuò anche nell’immediato dopoguerra dapprima nell’“Avanti!” e poi nel settimanale “Il Tempo”. Una sapienza di scrittura che gli ha consentito di essere quasi sempre anche il soggettista e sceneggiatore dei suoi film. L’amore per il cinema lo portò, assieme a Lattuada e Mario Ferrari, a promuovere il salvataggio delle pellicole di valore, fondando la Cineteca Italiana, da autentico antesignano.
Nel ’46, Comencini debuttò nella regia con un documentario, “Bambini in città”, assai apprezzato e destinato to become a constant in his work. In fact, the same Comencini once said that he had a particular interest in the world of childhood. But he, as a stern and a bit 'gruff intellectual Lombard, had found in the freshness of the look of children a unique perspective to describe the profound social transformations. Even in his first feature film, "Forbidden steal" of '48, the protagonists are children, street urchins of Naples, accompanied by a courageous priest, played by Adolfo Celi.
At that point, Comencini could really craft a career, it was reliable both in directing comedies such as "The Emperor of Capri" with Toto (1950), and dramatic films, like "shutters closed" ('51) and "white slavery" ('52).
Instead came the extraordinary turn of "Bread, Love and Dreams", just encore in '54 with "Bread, love and jealousy," thanks to the overflowing Gina Lollobrigida, Vittorio De Sica and ineffable unbeatable Tina Pica following the perfection of the director's intuition to tell the Italian province in a smiling, but no less effective than did the masters of neo-realism.
With "The Belle of Rome" ('55) Comencini meets talent Alberto Sordi that will peak five years later, in "Everybody Go Home," a title has become emblematic in evoking the attitude after the Italian armistice of 8 September 1943. Again with the Deaf, turned in '62 "The Commish" and in '64, "My lady" and then meet again in the '70s with the excellent "The scopone science" ('72, with Bette Davis, Joseph Cotten , Silvana Mangano and Domenico Modugno), "Those weird occasions" ('76) and "traffic jam" ('79)
Meanwhile, Comencini had directed films in the late 50's commercial as "Husbands in the City "and" dangerous woman ", but was feeling the need to engage in a play: after experiencing a bittersweet mingling in" Riding the Tiger "('61) in '63 found an opportunity to transpose on the big screen the novel by Carlo Cassola "Bebo's Girl" with Claudia Cardinale.
In '67, with "Misunderstood" from the novel by Florence Montgomery, Comencini confirms excellent conductor of small actors, as well as respectful of the written page. It is the prelude to his masterpiece of television, "The Adventures of Pinocchio" '72 that the miracle of reviving the famous Collodi's book, thanks to perfect the casting (the "fairy" Lollobrigida, "Geppetto" Manfredi, Franchi and Ingrassia "cat and fox) and the wonderful soundtrack by Fiorenzo Carpi.
A delicacy in dealing with themes of childhood and adolescence Comencini then reiterated in "Turn around Eugene ('80), in television," Heart "('84) and" The Story "('86) and" In a boy of Calabria "('87), with Gian Maria Volonte, Diego Abatantuono and the young Calabrian Holy Polimeno. Until the end, "Marcellino bread and wine."
not be forgotten many other film "nazionalpopolari" but never trivial, such as, "Comrade Don Camillo" ('65), "Children, vocation and early experiences of Giacomo Casanova, veneziano" ('69), "My God, how I fell down "('74). With notable peaks such as "The Sunday Woman" ('75), taken from the yellow and Fruttero Lucentini, or "The Cat" ('77).
When the Italian comedy that seemed close to becoming a self-celebration, as demonstrated by film in episodes filmed in the mid-70s along with Nanni Loy and Luigi Magni ("Just do not know it around," "Those strange occasions," "Ladies and gentlemen, good night"), Comencini had started to be a bit 'part. But always looking for new and original ideas, like the bizarre "Wanted Jesus" ('82), with Beppe Grillo, or "Merry Christmas, Happy New Year" ('89). The latter film, starring Michel Serrault and Virna Lisi, should perhaps be regarded as the true sublime leave a filmmaker, "the director of children" had been able to look with equal attention to the world of senior citizens, once again anticipating the evolution of Italian society with keen foresight.
long inactivity forced by a long illness - his last was in 1992 directed the remake of "Marcellino bread and wine" - Luigi Comencini died at his home in Rome, assisted by his daughters, Cristina and Francesca, both directors, and Paola, costume designer.
In nearly fifty-year career he has accompanied protagonist, the passage of the best Italian cinema from Neorealism to the great tradition of the equally crucial "Italian comedy". Comencini was with Dino Risi, Ettore Scola and Mario Monicelli, the master of a genre typically national, all too often judged to be of mere consumption but instead re-evaluated and, fortunately, largely faithful mirror of social evolution and creativity of our country. And he directed the play as samples Sordi, Manfredi, Tognazzi, Mastroianni.
With a title like "Bread, Love and Dreams" (1953), Comencini was reputedly the father of the "pink neorealism", with "Everybody Go Home" (1960) took part the glorious season of film review of recent national history, thanks to "misunderstood" and, among others, the television show "Pinocchio" was considered "the director of children".
many times that they actually contain only one: that of "Craftsman" - to use its definition - that could look at reality without ever forgetting that cinema has the mission to entertain, to amuse and to think.
Luigi Comencini was born in Salo, in Brescia, 8 June 1916. His first love was architecture, but during his studies he became a friend of Alberto Lattuada which participated alla rivista milanese “Corrente”, fondata nel 1938 da Ernesto Treccani. Comencini scriveva le critiche cinematografiche, un’attività che continuò anche nell’immediato dopoguerra dapprima nell’“Avanti!” e poi nel settimanale “Il Tempo”. Una sapienza di scrittura che gli ha consentito di essere quasi sempre anche il soggettista e sceneggiatore dei suoi film. L’amore per il cinema lo portò, assieme a Lattuada e Mario Ferrari, a promuovere il salvataggio delle pellicole di valore, fondando la Cineteca Italiana, da autentico antesignano.
Nel ’46, Comencini debuttò nella regia con un documentario, “Bambini in città”, assai apprezzato e destinato to become a constant in his work. In fact, the same Comencini once said that he had a particular interest in the world of childhood. But he, as a stern and a bit 'gruff intellectual Lombard, had found in the freshness of the look of children a unique perspective to describe the profound social transformations. Even in his first feature film, "Forbidden steal" of '48, the protagonists are children, street urchins of Naples, accompanied by a courageous priest, played by Adolfo Celi.
At that point, Comencini could really craft a career, it was reliable both in directing comedies such as "The Emperor of Capri" with Toto (1950), and dramatic films, like "shutters closed" ('51) and "white slavery" ('52).
Instead came the extraordinary turn of "Bread, Love and Dreams", just encore in '54 with "Bread, love and jealousy," thanks to the overflowing Gina Lollobrigida, Vittorio De Sica and ineffable unbeatable Tina Pica following the perfection of the director's intuition to tell the Italian province in a smiling, but no less effective than did the masters of neo-realism.
With "The Belle of Rome" ('55) Comencini meets talent Alberto Sordi that will peak five years later, in "Everybody Go Home," a title has become emblematic in evoking the attitude after the Italian armistice of 8 September 1943. Again with the Deaf, turned in '62 "The Commish" and in '64, "My lady" and then meet again in the '70s with the excellent "The scopone science" ('72, with Bette Davis, Joseph Cotten , Silvana Mangano and Domenico Modugno), "Those weird occasions" ('76) and "traffic jam" ('79)
Meanwhile, Comencini had directed films in the late 50's commercial as "Husbands in the City "and" dangerous woman ", but was feeling the need to engage in a play: after experiencing a bittersweet mingling in" Riding the Tiger "('61) in '63 found an opportunity to transpose on the big screen the novel by Carlo Cassola "Bebo's Girl" with Claudia Cardinale.
In '67, with "Misunderstood" from the novel by Florence Montgomery, Comencini confirms excellent conductor of small actors, as well as respectful of the written page. It is the prelude to his masterpiece of television, "The Adventures of Pinocchio" '72 that the miracle of reviving the famous Collodi's book, thanks to perfect the casting (the "fairy" Lollobrigida, "Geppetto" Manfredi, Franchi and Ingrassia "cat and fox) and the wonderful soundtrack by Fiorenzo Carpi.
A delicacy in dealing with themes of childhood and adolescence Comencini then reiterated in "Turn around Eugene ('80), in television," Heart "('84) and" The Story "('86) and" In a boy of Calabria "('87), with Gian Maria Volonte, Diego Abatantuono and the young Calabrian Holy Polimeno. Until the end, "Marcellino bread and wine."
not be forgotten many other film "nazionalpopolari" but never trivial, such as, "Comrade Don Camillo" ('65), "Children, vocation and early experiences of Giacomo Casanova, veneziano" ('69), "My God, how I fell down "('74). With notable peaks such as "The Sunday Woman" ('75), taken from the yellow and Fruttero Lucentini, or "The Cat" ('77).
When the Italian comedy that seemed close to becoming a self-celebration, as demonstrated by film in episodes filmed in the mid-70s along with Nanni Loy and Luigi Magni ("Just do not know it around," "Those strange occasions," "Ladies and gentlemen, good night"), Comencini had started to be a bit 'part. But always looking for new and original ideas, like the bizarre "Wanted Jesus" ('82), with Beppe Grillo, or "Merry Christmas, Happy New Year" ('89). The latter film, starring Michel Serrault and Virna Lisi, should perhaps be regarded as the true sublime leave a filmmaker, "the director of children" had been able to look with equal attention to the world of senior citizens, once again anticipating the evolution of Italian society with keen foresight.
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