The Star Maker (1995 film)
L'uomo delle stelle (The Star Maker) | |
---|---|
Rita Cecchi Gori Vittorio Cecchi Gori | |
Starring | |
Music by | Ennio Morricone |
Production companies | Cecchi Gori Group RAI-Radiotelevisione Italiana |
Distributed by | Variety Distribution Cecchi Gori Distribuzione[1] |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 113 minutes |
Country | Italy |
Language | Italian |
The Star Maker (
Plot
In 1953, Joe Morelli is traveling rural Sicily, offering to take screen tests of wannabe actors for a fee. He claims to work for big Roman film studios, but in reality he is a fraud. He meets several people who express their deepest feelings and secrets in front of the camera. At one of his stops he meets a young girl, Beata, a convent girl who becomes attached to him despite his protestations.
Joe and Beata's relationship gradually evolves into a romantic one, when he's exposed as a fraud, beaten, and arrested. After serving his prison term, Joe comes back to seek Beata, but finds her in a mentally disturbed state assuming Joe died. Pretending to be Joe's friend, he conveys to her a message that she was the love of his life, and promises he shall come back with money and take care of her.
Cast
- Sergio Castellitto as Joe Morelli (Giuseppe Romolo)
- Tiziana Lodato as Beata
- Leopoldo Trieste as The Mute
- Leo Gullotta as Vito
- Franco Scaldati as Brigadiere Mastropaolo
- Salvatore Billa as The Prince
- Jane Alexander as The Princess
- Clelia Rondinella as Anna's Mother
- Tony Sperandeo as Primo Badalamenti
- Tano Cimarosa as Bordanaro
Production
When filming began, Tiziana Lodato was still a minor, but she said she was already 18 when she played the explicit sex scene with Sergio Castellitto.[3]
Release
Following its success at the Venice Film Festival, the film was released on 22 September 1995 in Italy, grossing $371,000 in its opening weekend from 49 screens in Italy's key cities.[4][5]
Reception
The Star Maker has an approval rating of 75% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 12 reviews, and an average rating of 6.5/10.[6]
See also
- List of submissions to the 68th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Italian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- ^ "L'uomo delle stelle (1995)". Archivio del Cinema Italiano. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "The 68th Academy Awards (1996) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
- ^ "Tiziana Lodato Sono fuggita per un sogno ma se torno parlo in dialetto". ricerca.repubblica.it. 19 February 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ^ Groves, Don (2 October 1995). "O'seas auds boost B.O. of U.S. pix". Variety. p. 32.
- ^ "International box office". Variety. 2 October 1995. p. 32.
- ^ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_maker
External links
- The Star Maker at IMDb
- The Star Maker at Variety Distribution