Sandra (1965)

Sandra returns to her childhood village to take care of family business, but her childhood memories and secrets soon overcome her.

Director:

Luchino Visconti

Writers:

Suso Cecchi D'Amico (story and screenplay), Enrico Medioli (story and screenplay)

Stars:

Claudia Cardinale, Jean Sorel, Michael Craig

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Claudia Cardinale	...	Sandra Dawdson
Jean Sorel	...	Gianni Wald-Luzzati
Michael Craig	...	Andrew Dawdson
Renzo Ricci	...	Antonio Gilardini
Fred Williams	...	Pietro Formari
Amalia Troiani	...	Fosca, la domestica
Marie Bell	...	Corinna Gilardini, madre di Sandra e Gianni
Vittorio Manfrino
Giovanni Rovini
Renato Moretti
Paola Piscini
Isacco Politi

Storyline

Sandra comes back to Volterra, in Tuscany, the little town where she spent her childhood. She is with her American husband, Andrew. She wishes to pay homage to her father who died in Auschwitz where she was still a little child. In Volterra, Andrew meets for the first time Gianni, Sandra's brother. He soon realizes that Sandra and Gianni have a secret since their childhood.

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Plot Keywords:

scientist | concentration camp | auschwitz | deportation | stepfather | 

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Taglines:

SANDA has a husband - SANDRA has a brother - SANDRA loves one of them much too much. (original USA poster)

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | War

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian Hebrew French English

Release Date:

16 January 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sandra

Filming Locations:

Geneva, Canton de Genève, Switzerland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vides Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the first films in which Claudia Cardinale (who was born In Tunisia and whose first language was French) dubbed herself in Italian.

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Connections

Referenced in Luchino Visconti (1999)

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Soundtracks

If You Don't Want
Written by Cassano and Lo Re

User Reviews

Still magical!

After watching "Sandra...", for the first time in mi life I wanted to know who the director was. It was 1966 and me 15, so until that moment, I was only interested in who starred what but never fully understood the director's work enormous importance. Since then, Visconti not only became one of my favorite directors ever but a parameter when judging a film. Actually, I had seen The leopard years before, when I was to young to notice more than the beauty in Cardinale and the sumptuous sets. About "Sandra" I still remember vividly not only how beautiful and glamorous Cardinale looked but how handsome and elegant Sorel was; how mysterious the whole black and white atmosphere was and the intriguing plot... which I didn't fully understood because even if the action seemed to say something, the subtitles said something else!. I thought then my mother was right when she used to tell me: You are too young to understand this and that. Well, not without relief, I learn, years later, than the subtitles had been made in Spain, during the Franco's days, so its censorship had erased all incest traces. After that, a new copy was made to match subtitles and story (and thats, thankfully, what you can find, at least in Spanish!). But even after so many years, and in my adulthood, I find Sandra as magical as the first time and still is one of my favorite movies, as many Visconti's works like Rocco and his brothers, Death in Venice or The dammed, as well, of course, The Leopard.