Amarcord (1973)

A series of comedic and nostalgic vignettes set in a 1930s Italian coastal town.

Director:

Federico Fellini

Writers:

Federico Fellini (story), Tonino Guerra (story)

Stars:

Magali Noël, Bruno Zanin, Pupella Maggio

Won 1 Oscar. Another 18 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pupella Maggio	...	Miranda
Armando Brancia	...	Aurelio
Magali Noël	...	Gradisca (as Magali' Noel)
Ciccio Ingrassia	...	Teo
Nando Orfei	...	Patacca
Luigi Rossi	...	Lawyer
Bruno Zanin	...	Titta
Gianfilippo Carcano	...	Baravelli
Josiane Tanzilli	...	La Volpina
Maria Antonietta Beluzzi	...	Tobacconist
Giuseppe Ianigro	...	Grandpa
Ferruccio Brembilla	...	Fascist
Antonino Faà di Bruno	...	Count (as Antonino Faa' Di Bruno)
Mauro Misul	...	Philosophy Professor
Ferdinando Villella	...	Prof. Fighetta

Storyline

One year in a small northern Italian coastal town in the late 1930s is presented. The slightly off-kilter cast of characters are affected by time and location, the social mores dictated largely by Catholicism and the national fervor surrounding Il Duce aka Benito Mussolini and Fascism. The stories loosely center on a mid-teen named Titta and his household including his adolescent brother, his ever supportive mother who is always defending him against his father, his freeloading maternal Uncle Lallo, and his paternal grandfather who slyly has eyes and hands for the household maid. Other townsfolk include: Gradisca, the town beauty, who can probably have any man she wants, but generally has no one as most think she out of their league; Volpina, the prostitute; Giudizio, the historian; a blind accordionist; and an extremely buxom tobacconist. The several vignettes presented include: the town bonfire in celebration of spring; life at Titta's school with his classmates and teachers; ...

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Plot Keywords:

group of friends | men masturbate together | big breasts | satire | surrealism | 

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Taglines:

The Fantastic World of Fellini!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian Greek, Ancient (to 1453)

Release Date:

19 September 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amarcord

Filming Locations:

Anzio, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

F.C. Produzioni,PECF

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

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Goofs

The banners promoting the Mille Miglia indicate that it was the seventh event (VII). However, the seventh running of the event was in 1933, and Beau Geste was not released until 1939. The Mille Miglia was not held in 1939.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Miranda: The puffballs.
Aurelio Biondi, Titta's Father: When the puffballs come, cold winter's almost gone.

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Alternate Versions

An exclusive digital restoration of the film was done by Criterion in 1995 for their laserdisc. The disc contains a before-and-after demonstration of the restoration process and has the option of either the original Italian soundtrack or the English-dubbed soundtrack.

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Connections

Referenced in Side by Side (2012)

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Soundtracks

Stormy Weather
(uncredited)
Written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler
This tune is heard several times during the film.

User Reviews

Elaborate Nostalgia Piece

Federico Fellini's "Amarcord" is perhaps the flamboyant directors most entertaining and autobiographical film. His personal recollections on growing up in 1930's pre-war Italy under control of Fascism and the Church, are recorded with lively, colorful images. Fellini stylishly evokes his unique vision of provincial Rimini(Where he was born)through an adolescent viewpoint. The youthful irreverence, casual vulgarity. and tawdry exuberance of the characters flow unrestrained throughout the narrative. Fellini vividly recreates a carnival-like atmosphere filled with incident and observation. He excelled at constructing private worlds; distinct and spirited in their sense of community and place. In "Amarcord" childhood perceptions and improbable encounters are summoned via symbols, dreams, and illusions. Similar to Pirandello, the nature of truth becomes suspect. Fellini does little to dispel this notion. He once stated that 'nothing stifles the imagination more than a good memory'. Fabrication with Fellini often times blends imperceptibly with reality. "Amarcord"(The title translates as "I Remember") is structured in a series of loosely connected tales. Detailed vignettes of public school shenanigans; curious instruction; and the hyper-critical approach of the church. Cinematographer Guiseppe Rotuno favors shooting with a short lense to exaggerate the perspective. He frequently films the sizable features of the actors in extreme close-up contributing to the film's overstated visuals. Fellini was notorious for his preference of using actors with strange and unusual faces. He favored grotesqueness over craft for the most part. (The majority of the cast were selected from amateur groups all over Northern Italy. "Amarcord" is filled with memorable and eccentric characters including a blind accordianist; a foul-mouthed midget nun; a buxom tobacco store owner with a penchant for young men; a lascivious and gaseous grandfather; Volpina the town nymph; Theo the sexually-repressed, mad uncle; and an ever present dim-witted street vendor. Erratic personalities who consistently insist on indulging their illusions. The film uses an on-screen narrator who comments directly into the camera about Rimini's storied past. The pedantic commentator's articulate and austere tone is comically undercut by some off-screen antics.(Ill-timed, loud raspberries; well-tossed snowballs; general heckling, etc.) In the course of the film, an array of odd processions confront the spectator from every conceivable angle. Several of Fellini's films share this infinite movement of characters. Much of the scenario is taken up by the presentation of these large groups of comic figures as they interact around town. "Amarcord", Fellini's last commercial success, is an elaborate nostalgia piece populated with exotic individuals. Endearing misfits who seem to fit perfectly in the director's unconventional universe. One may not know where Fellini is heading half the time, but that's part of his lasting appeal. And in "Amarcord, make no mistake, Fellini is ALL over the place. KB