Le streghe (1967)

Directors:

Mauro Bolognini
Vittorio De Sica

Writers:

Mauro Bolognini (segment)
Fabio Carpi (segment)

Release Date:

12 March 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot Keywords:

Italian Comedy | Episodic | Actress Playing Multiple Roles | Commedia All'italiana | Omnibus

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Silvana Mangano	...	Gloria (segment "Strega Bruciata viva, La") / Lady in a hurry (segment "Senso civico") / Assurdina Caì (segment "Terra vista dalla luna, La") / Nunzia (segment "Siciliana, La") / Giovanna (segment "Sera come le altre, Una")
Annie Girardot	...	Valeria (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Francisco Rabal	...	Valeria's Husband (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Massimo Girotti	...	Sportsman (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Véronique Vendell	...	Young Girl Friend (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Elsa Albani	...	Gossip (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Clara Calamai	...	Ex-actress (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Marilù Tolo	...	Waitress (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Nora Ricci	...	Gloria's secretary (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Dino Mele	...	Waiter (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Helmut Berger	...	Young man at Hotel (segment "La Strega Bruciata Viva") (as Helmut Steinbergher)
Bruno Filippini	...	Singer (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Leslie French	...	Industrialist (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Alberto Sordi	...	Truckdriver (segment "Senso Civico")
Totò	...	Ciancicato Miao (segment "La terra vista dalla luna")

Also Known As:

Les sorcières (France)
The Witches (USA)

Runtime:

Germany:121 min | Spain:120 min | USA:105 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Sound Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Portugal:M/16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica

Trivia:

Clint Eastwood was given 20,000 dollars and a brand new Ferrari by the producer Dino De Laurentiis to play a small part in the movie. He got on well with Silvana Mangano and the director Vittorio De Sica.

Movie Connections:

References Mandrake the Magician (1939)

1966 - Italy - 'nuff said!

These five shorts have an undeniable breezy quality, commenting on the freewheeling Italian lifestyle of the swingin' sixties and also offering some timeless "period" storytelling. The favorite is "The Witch Burned Alive". Visconti's work is redolent of Fellini's "Juliet of the Spirits"' upper class shenanigans, with the celebrity angle making Woody Allen's comments nearly half a century later seem, well, tired and inferior. Silvana Mangano appears a bit, well, exhausted in this film and others of the series, like Chrisitna Applegate on a bad day, but the costuming and Kitzbuehl apres ski setting in a chalet make Visconti's short irresistible. The Pasolini work is charming in a semi-dada-esque way, especially with the knowledge that the young male pimply faced "actor' may well have been really a boy toy from the streets of Roma. The story has a punk rock feel that rings with folkloric quirkiness and white magic.

"Civic Spirit" is the most emblematic of the five, very au courant of the era, using an injured man as an excuse to barrel through Rome traffic at top speed under the guise of being hospital bound, while the driving beauty is really just using the poor hapless man as a shill to get to a rendezvous on time-- very cute, and Silvana looks fabulous once again, as she rushes to meet her playboy date. This film is on cable on occasion late at night and worth sitting through for the afficionado of these fine directors. Brava to Silvana, an actress largely forgotten in the pantheon of stars of international merit. Two pinkies held semi-high.