La mortadella (1971)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Mario Monicelli

Writers:

Renato W. Spera (story)
Leonard Melfi (writer) ...

Release Date:

5 May 1972 (Finland)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Can a girl from a little sausage factory in Italy find romance and happiness in a pizzeria in New York?

Plot:

Maddalena and Michele fall in love in Italy in the 1960s, while working at a meat factory in Emilia stormed by the workers' protest...

Plot Keywords:

Italy | Divorce | Custom | Restaurant | Food In Title

Cast

Sophia Loren	...	Maddalena Ciarrapico
William Devane	...	Jock Fenner
Gigi Proietti	...	Michel Bruni
Beeson Carroll	...	Dominic
David Doyle	...	O'Henry
Danny DeVito	...	Fred Mancuso
Susan Sarandon	...	Sally
Robert Glaudini	...	Georgie
William J. Daprato	...	Pasquale (as Bill Daprato)

Also Known As:

Lady Liberty (USA)
The Sausage (Italy)

Runtime:

USA:95 min | Argentina:97 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | USA:PG | West Germany:16 (f) | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Carpi, Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Company:

Compagnia Cinematografica Champion

Trivia:

Edward Herrmann's film debut.

Great entertainment for people who like this sort of film and Sofia Loren fans.

I disagree with any negative comments about this film. This film is special because the majority of the plot takes place in one location, a U.S. immigration area of an airport(NY I think). The film was so engaging, that I had not thought of where the scenes had taken place until after I had seen the film. Also, I saw the film in spoken Italian with English subtitles, while I was living in Italy. I was self-teaching myself the Italian language while I lived there, and found this a handy way to enhance my listening skills.

The fact that the whole film revolves around a 'Mortadella', and that it is eaten within a day or so, thus bringing an end to the reason the character is being held in customs is hysterical! It is a great portrayal of how a country (American isn't the only one!) will maintain and abide by laws that are simply absurd and not practical. With every rule there is usually some exception to it that has not yet been thought of. And this film very comically displays such an example.

I highly recommend this film, but not to one with a short attention span, as there are no car chases. This film will entertain anyone who is patient and can appreciate cultural differences, a great actress such as Sofia Loren, and perhaps a bit of Salami, Pastrami, Bologna or even Mortadella. (Make sure you have this when watching the film. Trust me, you will get hungry.) I also recommend it is viewed in the original Italian Language with English subtitles, as so much can be lost through dubbing.

I look forward to watching more 'old' Sophia Loren movies, they are very entertaining.

Thanks for reading.

Marie