Dedications: My four late friends Rory, Stan, Bryan, Jeff - shine on you crazy diamonds, they would have blogged too. Then theres Garry from Brisbane, Franco in Milan, Mike now in S.F. / my '60s-'80s gang: Ned & Joseph in Ireland; in England: Frank, Des, Guy, Clive, Joe & Joe, Ian, Ivan, Nick, David, Les, Stewart, the 3 Michaels / Catriona, Sally, Monica, Jean, Ella, Anne, Candie / and now: Daryl in N.Y., Jerry, John, Colin, Martin and Donal.

Monday 9 April 2012

A Special Day

From The Videohound's Independent Film Guide:


They can do anything to Sophia Loren: strip her of makeup, stuff her in dumpy dresses, rip her stockings, frazzle her hair - anything, and she'll still take your breath away. In A SPECIAL DAY (1977)
she plays an unappreciated housewife who befriends a disgraced homosexual (Marcello Mastroianni - in another teaming with Loren). Ettore Scola films Ruggero Maccari's script rather like a play, with the two characters providing a dash of reality against the unreal backdrop of an unseen Hitler/Mussolini parade. The stars, as usual, make 105 minutes seem like ten and a half. Golden Globe 1978 Best Foreign Film / Nomimations: 1977 Best Actor, Best Foreign Film.


Twenty five years earlier Sophia was just starting out, still in her teens, having bit parts in films like ANNA (Italian label), and that first teaming with Marcello in 1954's TOO BAD SHE'S BAD; then of course their hits in the '60s like YESTERDAY TODAY & TOMORROW and MARRIAGE ITALIAN STYLE and SUNFLOWER for Vittorio De Sica; here in 1977 with Scola, and that final teaming of theirs for Robert Altman in the '90s for PRET A PORTER. Marcello died in 1996 aged 72, Sophia sails on at 77, as per other posts on her here.
I remember how much Pauline Kael liked A SPECIAL DAY, as she did that other Scola THE PIZZA TRIANGLE (right), too long unseen here, with teamed bricklayer Marcello with flower-seller Monica Vitti and pizza baker Giancarlo Giannini - it was a hilarious comedy-tragedy, from 1970.

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