The Birds, the Bees and the Italians (1966)
"Signore & signori" (original title)

A citizen of the Veneto in her sixties. Three stories of "love in the country": a pseudo Don Giovanni confesses his impotence to the doctor in confidence but he becomes betrayed by him - ... See full summary »

Director:

Pietro Germi

Writers:

Pietro Germi (story), Agenore Incrocci (screenplay),

Stars:

Virna Lisi, Gastone Moschin, Alberto Lionello

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 7 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Virna Lisi	...	Milena Zulian
Gastone Moschin	...	Osvaldo Bisigato
Alberto Lionello	...	Toni Gasparini
Olga Villi	...	Ippolita Gasparini
Beba Loncar	...	Noemi Castellan
Franco Fabrizi	...	Lino Bebedetti
Nora Ricci	...	Gilda Bisigato
Gigi Ballista	...	Giacinto Castellan
Gia Sandri	...	Betty Scodeler
Quinto Parmeggiani	...	Giovanni Soligo
Moira Orfei	...	Giorgetta Casellato
Aldo Puglisi	...	Carabiniere Mancuso
Gustavo D'Arpe	...	Scarabello
Alberto Rabagliati	...	Commend. Galeazzo Casellato
Patrizia Valturri	...	Alda Cristofoletto

Storyline

A citizen of the Veneto in her sixties. Three stories of "love in the country": a pseudo Don Giovanni confesses his impotence to the doctor in confidence but he becomes betrayed by him - the medic speaks about his patient with some befriend gossips; a bank employee, after a tormented affair with the young waitress of a bar, returns to be single - disappointed and made bitter; some boys exploit the gratitude of an ingenuous girl from the vicinity. Her father denunciates them but withdraws all efforts after getting a compensation and saves them from jail.

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Plot Keywords:

impotence | gossip | bank employee | cheating husband | commedia all'italiana | 

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Taglines:

Everybody does it - but nobody is famous for it except...

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

10 February 1966 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Birds, the Bees and the Italians

Filming Locations:

Conegliano, Veneto, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dear Film Produzione, Les Films du Siècle, R.P.A. Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in L'uomo dal sigaro in bocca (1997)

User Reviews

(All'italiana) Comedy Masterpiece

The Italian Comedy of the Sixties has been internationally recognised as one of the most innovative and original cinema genres produced in that decade. This forgotten movie stands as one of the best examples of such genre. Three stories from the same bunch of middle aged guys from the North of Italy (the nice location is Treviso) are portrayed in this very enjoyable comedy. It is an almost Fellinesque movie, in the sense that it is grotesque, funny and clever at the same time. It mainly is a satire on the human relationships and the hypocrisy of people. Obviously all of this is depicted in a totally hilarious "Italian way". The actresses are simply irresistible (Virna Lisi looks awesome!), the actors very convincing, the story simply too good compared to nowadays scripts, while music, photography and direction are almost perfect. It won the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival together with "Un homme une famme". To be rediscovered. a convinced 10/10.