Reviews & Ratings for
Summer Night, with Greek Profile, Almond Eyes and Scent of Basil More at IMDbPro »Notte d'estate con profilo greco, occhi a mandorla e odore di basilico (original title)

5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
A Greek profile, almond eyes and the aroma of basil., 24 August 2006

Author: jotix100 from New York

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

We don't have a clue as to why Fulvia wants Beppe, the kidnapping bandit that has been wrecking hell in Italy. The explanation in our mind seems to be to avenge hew own kidnapping. But no, we later realize Fulvia is part of a group of people that are after Beppo and want him to pay the money he has stolen from them, a sort of 'treasure hunter', perhaps.

When Fulvia and her bodyguards take Beppe to the private island, they chain him and blindfold him. He has no idea who she is, but his sense of smell will never betray him. It's inevitable that Fulvia and Beppe will fall for one another and they will be sexually aroused as each one desires the other in ways no one could have predicted. The ironic twist at the end reverses roles with one variation, Beppe wants double the amount Fulvia has demanded from him!

Lina Wertmuller's film seems to be a variation on a previously seen film: "Swept Away". For viewers that haven't seen the earlier film, this one will probably appeal to their taste, but Ms. Wertmuller doesn't break any new ground with a story she has already told, much better!

Again, Mariangela Melato returns as the haughty Fulvia. With her Milanese accent, her good looks and the fabulous costumes created for her by Valentino, Ms. Melato never has looked better. One misses not seeing her more often. Michele Placido, who spends the film tied up, gives a sexually charged performance and he is perfect playing against Ms. Melaton. Roberto Herlitzka is the secret agent that plots the kidnapping of Beppe and how to deal with him.

The film has a great look that the cinematographer, Camilo Bazzoni's elegant camera work gave the movie. The musical score is by Pino D'Anzio and plays well in the background. Ms. Wertmuller has always given her characters great dialog as the battle between the sexes play in the background and the eternal struggle for power is again at center stage.

5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Unnecessary variation on a theme, 18 December 2004

Author: lawfella from New Jersey, USA

Get this -- an opinionated, imperious, upper-class Italian woman is confronted with an equally opinionated, earthy, lower-class Italian male. The result is political argument, sexual passion, male dominance and female submission. Sounds like that great Lina Wertmuller film, Swept Away . . . . True, but that is also the plot of this mediocre Lina Wertmuller film, Summer Night with Greek Profile, etc., as well as the plot of that other mediocre Lina Wertmuller film, the remake of Swept Away. The first Swept Away was terrific. There was never any need to redo it.

The mechanism employed by Summer Night to bring the rich lady and the man of the people together is ridiculous and contrived. And this rich lady is less interesting, being more one-dimensional, than the one appearing in Swept Away, even though both were played by the same fine actress, Mariangela Melato. Summer Night's working class male, Michele Placido, is excellent, but it is impossible to watch this film without feeling disappointed that he is not the great Giancarlo Giannini, who played his counterpart in Swept Away.

Really can't figure why La Wertmuller made this flick, or the Swept Away remake, unless she is trying to relive what may have been her finest hour. Skip this and see Swept Away again. Or try one of her other fine movies that don't involve the rich woman/working man theme.

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
A great theme, like last nights supper, warmed up in the micro, 30 May 2007

Author: fred-houpt from toronto

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I bought this because I love to watch Mariangela Melato. At her peak, she was certainly, hands down, one of the most gorgeous woman to grace any film screen. Gifted with incredibly beautiful green eyes and a body like a sleek yacht, she was just so....well, you know: watchable.

It is probably not unfair to say that she has done her very best work with the equally talented and very funny Giancarlo Giannini. This particular film "Summer Nights" (never mind the long title, it's just a Wertmuller quirk) suffers from the obvious comparisons that her fans will do with the much better "Swept Away". SA came out in 1974 and by the time SN came out in 1986, Lina had already said what she wanted to about the sexes and politics. So, you have to wonder what more she wanted to say with this film? I mean, she wrote and directed it, so? With SA we have a much more interesting film, superior dialog and screen heat between two actors that has rarely been achieved and in my view not exceeded in any language. SA was shocking on several levels when it came out. By 1986 the world had grown a whole lot more corrupt and even though no where near the nadir of human woes of 2007, there was little to spark the imagination of the audience when it came out (at least I cannot think of any). SN big attraction is Ms. Melato. At that age she could still steam up the screen and make a lot of men melt in their seats. She was very sexy, sensual and as usual capable of putting everyone in their place with her inimitable rapid fire speaking manner. Other than her sexual persona, there really is little else to save this film from appearing like hundreds of other Italian films. With Italian films there is a fine line between stereotypes and original characters and most of the cast are not very imaginative in their depiction.

All in all, its a funny but ultimately silly film. Stick around for the very last second of the film: it is quite hilarious. For my money Swept Away did just that to this film. Much better on any account.

2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Blurb., 3 December 2001
Author: Gerald A. DeLuca (italiangerry@gmail.com) from United States

The director of SWEPT AWAY, SEVEN BEAUTIES, LOVE AND ANARCHY, and SOTTO SOTTO has given us another of her offerings on the battle of the sexes, Italian style. Its full title translates as "Summer Night with Greek Profile, Almond Eyes and Scent of Basil". Mariangela Melato plays a tarantula-like Milanese industrialist, while Michele Placido is a brutish Sicilian bandit leader. In an update of the class warfare struggle and a reversal of the kidnapping roles, this super-rich dame abducts the handsome bandit/beast, has him bound in designer Enrico Coveri chains and transported to her plush villa where she provides him with some exquisitely vengeful torture and lovin'. It is a kinky and sometimes funny movie, but one hears the unsubtle voice of Wertmuller repeating itself ad nauseam from film to film and this ultimately has a tiresome effect. The most pleasing Wertmuller films of the past decade have not been sexual/political diatribes like this but the more human and humane charmers CIAO, PROFESSORE (IO, SPERIAMO CHE ME LA CAVO) and SATURDAY, SUNDAY, AND MONDAY with Sophia Loren.

This movie has the poetic beauty promised, but not much else., 14 April 1999

Author: Carterz from Toronto, Canada

As the title promises, this movie comes with poetic beauty. Wertmuller's sight gags are still strong, but certainly this movie lacks the social-political timing and punching power that Swept Away ... and Seven Beauties had.

0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
I waited but nothing new or unexpected occurred, 16 August 2007

Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida

The film is a very convoluted tale of a strange rich woman who kidnaps a Sicilian mobster and holds him for ransom. Again and again, what occurred in the film made very little sense and the plot gave me a headache.

First, why she exactly kidnapped this pig of a man is uncertain. Supposedly a syndicate of rich folks backed her efforts because they wanted revenge for all this the kidnappings this mobster did to them. This made sense. However, on the DVD case, it mentioned that the lady was interested in "ecological preservation", and although she briefly mentioned something about this in the film, it was as if this HAD been part of the film but most of it had been excised--leaving a lot of loose ends. Was it about revenge or punishing an eco-terrorist? I think it was just about revenge and the other aspect was barely mentioned.

Second, while the plan made sense at first, having the man taken from a secure cell where he was chained and putting him in a giant luxury tent made my head hurt. Why, why, why???!!! And for the good plan to suddenly be tossed aside so this seemingly smart lady can talk, talk, talk to her "victim" made no sense. Was she smart or an idiot--the film didn't seem sure.

Third, you kidnap an evil man and feed him caviar and get him prostitutes--even after he shows no submission and most kidnappers would have just worked him over with a rubber hose or applied some electric shocks to various and sundry parts of his body. Hmmmm...now the caviar and whores--THAT'S a clever plan.

Fourth, and this is the worst part for me, is that the film just seemed like a rehash and reworking of director Wertmüller's previous success, SWEPT AWAY. While Giancarlo Giannini was not in the film, the man filling this role looked a heck of a lot like him--complete with the beard and pig-like manners. And, of course, Mariangela Melato (who was in SWEPT AWAY) is back playing much the same role--a spoiled rich idiot who is eventually conquered by the power of lower class animalistic sex. It's supposed to be a metaphor for the struggle between the rich and the proletariat, though the comparison is stupid--the "worker" is a mafioso--hardly a man of the people. And, if the rich were all like Melato, then it's impossible to imagine how they all came to power, given they are idiots. As a result, her message was certainly not subtle nor was it particularly convincing.

If you insist on watching a Wertmüller film, try SWEPT AWAY--it was much more original and seemed to have an excellent message. Oh, and by the way, this is an EXTREMELY sexual movie--don't let the kiddies see it!

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