Conversation Piece (film)
Encyclopedia
Conversation Piece is an award-winning 1974 film by Italian director
Luchino Visconti
.
The film features an international cast including the American actor Burt Lancaster
, the Austrian Helmut Berger
and the Italians Silvana Mangano
and Claudia Cardinale
(in a very short role as the professor's wife) and the French actress Dominique Sanda
in a cameo as the professor's mother. It was shot in English language, however, an Italian dubbed version was also produced at the time, in which Lancaster's and Berger's lines are dubbed into Italian by other actors.
The film was censored in Spain
for the nude
and political
content and because Francisco Franco
's daughter and son-in-law are mentioned. However, it was re-released there, uncut, in 1983. The word cunt
was removed from its UK original release but restored on the British DVD
edition.
) lives a solitary life in a luxurious palazzo
in Rome
. He is confronted by a vulgar Italian marchesa (Silvana Mangano
) and her companions: her lover (Helmut Berger
), her daughter (Claudia Marsani) and her daughter's boyfriend (Stefano Patrizi) and is forced to rent to them an apartment on an upper floor of his home. From this point on, his quiet routine is turned into chaos by his tenants' machinations, and everybody's life takes an unexpected but inevitable turn.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo was an Italian theatre, opera and cinema director, as well as a screenwriter. He is best known for his films The Leopard and Death in Venice .-Life:...
.
The film features an international cast including the American actor Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
, the Austrian Helmut Berger
Helmut Berger
Helmut Berger is an Austrian-born German film and television actor. He is most famous for his work with Luchino Visconti, particularly in his performance as King Ludwig II of Bavaria in Ludwig, for which he received a special David di Donatello award.He appears primarily in European cinema, but...
and the Italians Silvana Mangano
Silvana Mangano
Silvana Mangano was an Italian actress.Raised in poverty during World War II, Mangano trained as a dancer and worked as a model before winning a "Miss Rome" beauty pageant in 1946...
and Claudia Cardinale
Claudia Cardinale
Claudia Cardinale is an Italian actress, and has appeared in some of the most prominent European films of the 1960s and 1970s. The majority of Cardinale's films have been either Italian or French...
(in a very short role as the professor's wife) and the French actress Dominique Sanda
Dominique Sanda
Dominique Sanda is a French actress and former fashion model.Sanda was born as Dominique Marie-Françoise Renée Varaigne in Paris to Lucienne and Gérard Varaigne...
in a cameo as the professor's mother. It was shot in English language, however, an Italian dubbed version was also produced at the time, in which Lancaster's and Berger's lines are dubbed into Italian by other actors.
The film was censored in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
for the nude
Nudity
Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
and political
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
content and because Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
's daughter and son-in-law are mentioned. However, it was re-released there, uncut, in 1983. The word cunt
Cunt
Cunt is a vulgarism, primarily referring to the female genitalia, specifically the vulva, and including the cleft of Venus. The earliest citation of this usage in the 1972 Oxford English Dictionary, c 1230, refers to the London street known as Gropecunt Lane...
was removed from its UK original release but restored on the British DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
edition.
Plot
Retired American professor (Burt LancasterBurt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
) lives a solitary life in a luxurious palazzo
Palazzo
Palazzo, an Italian word meaning a large building , may refer to:-Buildings:*Palazzo, an Italian type of building**Palazzo style architecture, imitative of Italian palazzi...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. He is confronted by a vulgar Italian marchesa (Silvana Mangano
Silvana Mangano
Silvana Mangano was an Italian actress.Raised in poverty during World War II, Mangano trained as a dancer and worked as a model before winning a "Miss Rome" beauty pageant in 1946...
) and her companions: her lover (Helmut Berger
Helmut Berger
Helmut Berger is an Austrian-born German film and television actor. He is most famous for his work with Luchino Visconti, particularly in his performance as King Ludwig II of Bavaria in Ludwig, for which he received a special David di Donatello award.He appears primarily in European cinema, but...
), her daughter (Claudia Marsani) and her daughter's boyfriend (Stefano Patrizi) and is forced to rent to them an apartment on an upper floor of his home. From this point on, his quiet routine is turned into chaos by his tenants' machinations, and everybody's life takes an unexpected but inevitable turn.
Cast
- Burt LancasterBurt LancasterBurton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
(The Professor) - Helmut BergerHelmut BergerHelmut Berger is an Austrian-born German film and television actor. He is most famous for his work with Luchino Visconti, particularly in his performance as King Ludwig II of Bavaria in Ludwig, for which he received a special David di Donatello award.He appears primarily in European cinema, but...
(Konrad Huebel) - Silvana ManganoSilvana ManganoSilvana Mangano was an Italian actress.Raised in poverty during World War II, Mangano trained as a dancer and worked as a model before winning a "Miss Rome" beauty pageant in 1946...
(Marquise Bianca Brumonti) - Claudia Marsani (Lietta Brumonti)
- Stefano Patrizi (Stefano)
- Elvira Cortese (Erminia)
- Philippe Hersent (Porter)
- Guy Tréjan (Antiquario)
- Jean-Pierre Zola (Blanchard)
- Umberto Raho
- Enzo FiermonteEnzo FiermonteEnzo Fiermonte , sometimes credited as William Bird, was a boxer and actor. Fiermonte was born on July 17, 1908 in Bari, Puglia, Italy. He married Madeleine Astor on November 27, 1933 in New York City, but was divorced on June 11, 1938. In his early life he was a boxer, but later became a film actor...
(Police chief) - Romolo ValliRomolo ValliRomolo Valli was an Italian actor.Valli was born in Reggio Emilia. He was one of the best known Italian actors from the 1950s to his death. He worked both for the stage and the silver screen...
(Michelli) - Dominique SandaDominique SandaDominique Sanda is a French actress and former fashion model.Sanda was born as Dominique Marie-Françoise Renée Varaigne in Paris to Lucienne and Gérard Varaigne...
(Professor's mother [in flashbacks, uncredited]) - Claudia CardinaleClaudia CardinaleClaudia Cardinale is an Italian actress, and has appeared in some of the most prominent European films of the 1960s and 1970s. The majority of Cardinale's films have been either Italian or French...
(Professor's wife [in flashbacks, uncredited])
Cultural references
- The main character of the professor was inspired to Visconti by the Italian literary critic Mario PrazMario PrazMario Praz KBE was an Italian-born critic of art and literature, and a scholar of English literature. His best-known book, The Romantic Agony , was a comprehensive survey of the erotic and morbid themes that characterized European authors of the late 18th and 19th centuries...
. In an interview Praz recalls how the situation described in the movie (a group of young and loud tenants moving in the same old palace where he lived, disrupting his own peace) happened for real a few months after the movie was released. - The professor is a collector of conversation pieceConversation pieceConversation piece is a term for an informal group portrait, especially those painted in Britain in the 18th century, beginning in the 1720s. They are distinguished by their portrayal of the group apparently engaged in genteel conversation or some activity, very often outdoors...
18th century English paintings. Arthur Devis is mentioned. - In the film, the cult song by Iva ZanicchiIva ZanicchiIva Zanicchi is an Italian pop singer.Iva Zanicchi's career began in 1962 at the Castrocaro Festival of New Voices, where she gained third place. She won the Sanremo song festival in 1967 with Non pensare a me, in 1969 with Zingara and again in 1974 with Ciao cara, come stai?...
Testarda Io is heard. The aria "Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio!", and the Sinfonia Concertante, K. 364, both by Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
are heard. - The film refers to Golpe BorgheseGolpe BorgheseThe Golpe Borghese was a failed Italian coup d'état allegedly planned for the night of 7 or 8 December 1970. It was named after Junio Valerio Borghese, an Italian World War II commander of the notorious Xª MAS unit, the "Black Prince", convicted of war crimes, but still a hero in the eyes of many...
, Red BrigadesRed BrigadesThe Red Brigades was a Marxist-Leninist terrorist organisation, based in Italy, which was responsible for numerous violent incidents, assassinations, and robberies during the so-called "Years of Lead"...
and terrorism acts in the History of the Italian Republic in the earliest 70s. Konrad (Helmut Berger) fought in Berlin at May 1968. - Lietta (Claudia Marsani) recites a poem that is attributed to W. H. AudenW. H. AudenWystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
, "There's no sex life in the grave". - The film is a critique of the world of the Jet setJet set"Jet set" is a journalistic term that was used to describe an international social group of wealthy people, organizing and participating all around the world in social activities that are unreachable to ordinary people...
following Federico FelliniFederico FelliniFederico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
's La Dolce VitaLa Dolce VitaLa Dolce Vita is a 1960 comedy-drama film written and directed by the critically acclaimed director Federico Fellini. The film is a story of a passive journalist's week in Rome, and his search for both happiness and love that will never come...
.
Awards
- Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Nastro d'ArgentoNastro d'ArgentoThe Nastro d'Argento is a movie award assigned each year, since 1946, for cinematic performances and production by Sindacato Nazionale dei Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani, the association of Italian film critics...
- Winner: Best Director (Regista del Miglior Film Italiano) – Luchino ViscontiLuchino ViscontiLuchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo was an Italian theatre, opera and cinema director, as well as a screenwriter. He is best known for his films The Leopard and Death in Venice .-Life:...
- Winner: Best Cinematography (Migliore Fotografia) – Pasqualino De Santis
- Winner: Best New Actress (Migliore Attrice Esordiente) – Claudia Marsani
- Winner: Best Producer (Migliore Produttore Italiano)
- Winner: Best Production Design (Migliore Scenografia) – Mario GarbugliaMario GarbugliaMario Garbuglia was an Italian set designer. He won the David di Donatello, the Nastro d'Argento and a BAFTA.- Life :...
- Winner: Best Director (Regista del Miglior Film Italiano) – Luchino Visconti
- David di DonatelloDavid di DonatelloDavid di Donatello, named after Donatello's David, is a movie award assigned each year for cinematic performances and production by Ente David di Donatello, part of Accademia del Cinema Italiano. It is the Italian equivalent to the Academy Award. There are 24 categories as of 2006.- History :The...
- Winner: Best Film
- Winner: Best Foreign Actor (Migliore Attore Straniero) – Burt Lancaster
- Japan Academy Prize
- Winner: Best Foreign Film
- SeminciSeminciValladolid International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in Valladolid, Spain since 1956....
, Valladolid Film Festival, Spain- Winner: Best Film
External links
- http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews21/conversation_piece_dvd_review.htm
- French site about Visconti: http://emmanuel.denis.free.fr/visconti.html
- Review by Pauline KaelPauline KaelPauline Kael was an American film critic who wrote for The New Yorker magazine from 1968 to 1991. Earlier in her career, her work appeared in City Lights, McCall's and The New Republic....