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; ...

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

The Fantastic World of Fellini!

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

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

The first movie ever released on home video in the "letterbox" format (on an RCA SelectaVision CED videodisc, January, 1984), preceding the letterbox laserdisc release of Woody Allen's Manhattan (1979) by eight months.

---

Goofs

When the carriage is hidden behind the farmhouse, its position in relation to the shadow changes between shots. As it is driven behind the building, it is in shadow; when next shown it is out of the shadow.

---

Quotes

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

---

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.

---

Connections

Edited into Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen (2012)

---

Soundtracks

La Cucaracha
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played at the dance

User Reviews

Good? Bad? What Amarcord means to me.

It's truly astonishing to see the range of response for other reviewers on IMDB.

This movie has a history for me. I first saw it when I was young, and it impressed me greatly. Would I like it today? I'm not sure. I'm thinking of renting it again to find out.

Here's what I remember: Excellent score by Rota; sitting here, typing this, I can hum one of the melodies. The sequence where we meet a number of teachers; priceless. The bricklayer/poet's poem about not having a house. The unyeilding emotional black hole that is the hero's father; "take him to the whorehouse...". Teo. The village. The technical fact of the tabacconist's shadow growing larger against the wall as she moves "away" from the light, just like Mickey Mouse in The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Gradisca. Snow. The spring cottonwood wisps that offer a gently rocking temporal cradle to a story which traipses on the edge between straight narrative and emotional space. Gradisca's wedding. Time becoming a wash as we give up our dreams and settle down. The end of an era.

Will all this fine feeling and high emotional tone work for me today? If it doesn't, does this reflect on me or this movie? Stay tuned....