Tag Archives: pier paolo pasolini

15 FOR 15 — CELEBRATING RIALTO PICTURES: NIGHTS OF CABIRIA

Giulietta Masina is unforgettable in Fellini masterpiece NIGHTS OF CABIRIA

NIGHTS OF CABIRIA (LE NOTTI DI CABIRIA) (Federico Fellini, 1957)
Film Society of Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St. at Amsterdam Ave.
Wednesday, March 28, 1:30
Series runs through March 29
212-875-5601
www.filmlinc.com

Giulietta Masina was named Best Actress at Cannes for her unforgettable portrayal of a far-too-trusting street prostitute in Nights of Cabiria. Directed by her husband, Federico Fellini, produced by Dino De Laurentiis, and written in collaboration with Pier Paolo Pasolini, the film opens with Cabiria taking a romantic stroll by the river with her boyfriend, Giorgio (Franco Fabrizi), who suddenly snatches her purse and pushes her into the water, running off as she nearly drowns. Such is life for Cabiria, whose sweet, naive nature can turn foul tempered in an instant. Over the course of the next few days, she gets picked up by movie star Alberto Lazzari (Amedeo Nazzari), goes on a religious pilgrimage with fellow prostitutes Wanda (Franca Marzi) and Rosy (Loretta Capitoli), gets hypnotized by a magician (Ennio Girolami), and falls in love with a tender stranger named Oscar (François Périer). But nothing ever goes quite as expected for Cabiria, who continues to search for the bright side even in the direst of circumstances. Masina is a delight in the film, whether yelling at a neighbor, dancing the mambo with Alberto, or looking to confess her sins, her facial expressions a work of art in themselves, ranging from sly smiles and innocent glances to nasty smirks and angry stares. Fellini’s second film to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film (after La Strada), Nights of Cabiria is screening March 28 as part of the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s “15 for 15: Celebrating Rialto Pictures” series honoring the fifteenth anniversary of the art-house distributor founded by Film Forum programmer extraordinaire Bruce Goldstein, who also worked on the updated translation for the 1998 restoration of this Fellini masterpiece.

ZOMBO ITALIANO: DEMONS 2

Zombies invade museum at MAD screening Saturday night

DEMONS 2 (DÈMONI 2: L’INCUBO RITORNA) (Lamberto Bava, 1987)
Museum of Arts & Design
2 Columbus Circle at 58th St. & Broadway
Saturday, July 24, $7-$10, 7:00
212-299-7777
www.madmuseum.org

Written by Dario Argento and director Lamberto Bava, DEMONS 2 (DÈMONI 2: L’INCUBO RITORNA) will be screening on Saturday night at the Museum of Arts & Design as part of “Zombo Italiano: The Italian Zombie Film Movement, 1972-1985.” (The first DEMONS film will be shown Friday night, July 23, at 7:00.) A sweet sixteen party goes terribly wrong in this loud, bloody film, which stars David Edwin Knight, Nancy Brilli, Asia Argento, and Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni. Tickets are $10, but you’ll save three bucks at the door if you come in a zombie costume or just happen to be a zombie yourself. Cataldi-Tassoni will introduce the screening and participate in a Q&A afterward. And for even more of the actress/artist, be sure to check out her latest exhibit, “Smart Innocence,” on view at the Tuscan Mexican restaurant Matilda on East Eleventh St. through September 30. “Zombo Italiano” concludes on July 29 with a rare presentation of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1969 flesh-eater, PIGSTY (PORCILE).