Alessandro Blasetti
Alessandro Blasetti | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 1 February 1987 Rome, Italy | (aged 86)
Occupation | Film director |
Years active | 1917–1981 |
Alessandro Blasetti (3 July 1900 – 1 February 1987) was an Italian film director and screenwriter who influenced
Early life
Blasetti was born in
Director
In 1929 Blasetti made his directorial debut with Sun, a fictional story set against the ongoing draining of the Pontine Marshes. The film was well received at a time when there were few Italian films being made. Benito Mussolini described it as "the dawn of the Fascist film".[3] Like many of his early productions, it had elements that were a precursor to neorealism.
The strong reception for Sun led to Blasetti receiving an offer from
In 1934 Blasetti directed the play 18 BL a "mass theatre" performed outdoors with 2,000 amateur actors.[5]
Blasetti was a driving force in the revival of the Italian film industry in the 1930s, having lobbied for greater state funding and support. One outcome was the construction of the large Cinecittà studios in Rome.
His approach to budget and use of regular people, non-professional actors, also set a precedent that followed in the form of Neo-Realism. In addition, his range of film genres was unique for its time in which set directors played to given and set styles, such as comedy and drama. Instead, his work involved from historic to comedy to drama to theatre content.
Later life
He played himself in Luchino Visconti's film Bellissima starred by Anna Magnani, a Roman mother who desires to make her daughter a filmstar in Cinecittà where Blasetti makes the screen test for the child actors.
He was president of the jury at the 1967 Cannes Film Festival. His 1969 film Simón Bolívar was entered into the 6th Moscow International Film Festival.[6]
Selected filmography
- Sun (1929)
- Nerone (1930)
- Resurrectio(1931)
- Mother Earth (1931)
- The Table of the Poor (1932)
- Palio (1932)
- The Haller Case (1933)
- 1860 (1934)
- The Old Guard (1934)
- Aldebaran (1935)
- The Countess of Parma (1936)
- Ettore Fieramosca (1938)
- Backstage (1939)
- Un'avventura di Salvator Rosa(1940)
- La corona di ferro(1941)
- The Jester's Supper (1942)
- Quattro passi fra le nuvole(1943)
- Men of the Mountain (1943)
- Un giorno nella vita (1946)
- Fabiola (1949)
- Prima comunione(1950)
- Altri tempi(1951)
- Peccato che sia una canaglia (1954)
- A Slice of Life (1954)
- La fortuna di essere donna(1956)
- Love and Chatter (1957)
- Europa di notte (1959)
- I Love, You Love (1961)
- Three Fables of Love (1962)
- Liolà (1963)
- Io, io, io... e gli altri(1966)
- Simón Bolívar (1969)
References
- ^ Moliterno p. 40
- ^ Moliterno p. 41
- ISBN 0253109140.
- ^ Moliterno pp. 40–41
- ISBN 157181762X.
- ^ "6th Moscow International Film Festival (1969)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
Bibliography
- Moliterno, Gino (2008). Historical Dictionary of Italian Cinema. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810860732.
External links
- Alessandro Blasetti at IMDb