The Sensuous Sicilian (1973)
"Paolo il caldo" (original title)

From his youth, Paolo Castorini, a Sicilian baron, is as attracted to women as they to him. Giovanna, a servant girl, Lillian, a serious girlfriend in Rome, a hostess at a post-war party, ... See full summary »

Director:

Marco Vicario

Writers:

Vitaliano Brancati (novel), Marco Vicario

Stars:

Giancarlo Giannini, Rossana Podestà, Riccardo Cucciolla

Cast

Credited cast:
Giancarlo Giannini	...	Paolo Castorini
Rossana Podestà	...	Lilia
Riccardo Cucciolla	...	Paolo's Father
Lionel Stander	...	Paolo's Grandfather, Baron Castorini
Gastone Moschin	...	Uncle Edmondo
Adriana Asti	...	Beatrice - wife of Lorenzo
Marianne Comtell	...	Paolo's Mother
Vittorio Caprioli	...	Salvatore - pharmacist
Ornella Muti	...	Giovanna - young maid
Bruno Scipioni	...	Vincenzo Torrisi
Pilar Velázquez	...	Ester
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Neda Arneric	...	Caterina - wife of Paolo
Andrea Aureli
Barbara Bach	...	Daughter of Pharmacist
Femi Benussi	...	Prostitute in red

Storyline

From his youth, Paolo Castorini, a Sicilian baron, is as attracted to women as they to him. Giovanna, a servant girl, Lillian, a serious girlfriend in Rome, a hostess at a post-war party, Paolo makes love to them all. He also feels dissatisfied with a life only of the body, compared to his journalist friend Vincenzo and his own father, a sober and serious thinker. When his father is on his deathbed, Paolo learns of syphilis in the family and something of the curse of dissolution. Some years later, he resolves to marry Katrina, the pure daughter of the woman he should have married. He wants her purity to redeem him so he can make something of his life. But is it too late?

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Plot Keywords:

womanizer | urination | nudity | erotica | female nudity | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

24 October 1973 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Sensuous Sicilian

Filming Locations:

Catania, Sicily, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Atlantica Cinematografica Produzione Films, Medusa Produzione, Seven Hills Properties Associates

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Edited into Lo schermo a tre punte (1995)

User Reviews

Needs subtitles

The Sensual Man stars Giancarlo Giannini, dapper as ever, as a sexually obsessed Italian nobleman, and details his erotic exploits over the course of the early to mid 20th century. We first meet him as a randy schoolboy peeking under the skirts of the household help, and the film follows him over the years with brief stopovers during the 1936 Fascist-era conquest of Ethiopia and the postwar comedown. By film's end our desperate hero is still trying to pick up women from the confines of his motor car, as he tearfully tries to break his sexual addiction. The film also features a typically over the top performance by Lionel Stander, here playing--believe it or not--Giannini's grandfather. This is not a film that plays well in English: the dubbing is adequate, but much of the film relies on close understandings of Italian character, society, and history, and these aspects of the story are poorly conveyed by the translation. Unfortunately, the dubbed version is the only version readily available in your local video emporium. Shot in autumnal hues by the great Tonino Delli Colli, The Sensual Man benefits from a romantic if unoriginal score by Armando Trovajoli.