Franco Cristaldi
Encyclopedia
Franco Cristaldi was an Italian film producer, credited with producing (or co-producing) more than 60 feature films from the 1950s to the 1990s.
In the 1950s, Cristaldi changed his attention to feature films and moved to Rome. During his long career, he worked with directors and screenwriters such as Francesco Rosi
, Pietro Germi
, Mario Monicelli
, Federico Fellini
, Luchino Visconti
, and Giuseppe Tornatore
. A noted film producer from some years in his native Italy, some of Cristaldi's most successful films internationally included The Name of the Rose
and Nuovo cinema Paradiso
. (The former winning a César
and two BAFTA
s, and the latter winning several BAFTAs, the Grand Prix
at Cannes
, and Best Foreign Language Film
at the 62nd Academy Awards
).
In 1977 Cristaldi was elected president of the International Federation of Film Producers Associations, and was a member of the jury at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival
.
in 1924, and studied at university for a time before taking up his interest in film.
He married Carla Simonetti with whom he had a son - Massimo. Cristaldi applied to have this marriage annulled, and in 1966 he married Claudia Cardinale
. He mentored Claudia Cardinale through her own film career, until their divorce in 1975. In 1983, he married Eritrean actress Zeudi Araya
, who starred in several films produced by him.
Cristaldi died in Montecarlo in 1992 and was survived by his wife Araya, son Massimo, and adopted son Patrick, the Son of Claudia Cardinale.
Career
In 1946 Cristaldi founded Vides Cinematografica in Turin. This production company initially produced short and documentary films, and would later be renamed to Cristaldifilm in the 1980s.In the 1950s, Cristaldi changed his attention to feature films and moved to Rome. During his long career, he worked with directors and screenwriters such as Francesco Rosi
Francesco Rosi
Francesco Rosi is an Italian film director. He is the father of actress Carolina Rosi.-Biography:After studying Law, but hoping to study film, Rosi entered the industry as an assistant to Luchino Visconti on La Terra trema...
, Pietro Germi
Pietro Germi
Pietro Germi was an Italian actor, screenwriter, and director. Germi was born in Genoa, Liguria, to a lower-middle class family. He was a messenger and briefly attended nautical school before deciding on a career in acting.He studied acting and directing at Rome's Centro Sperimentale di...
, Mario Monicelli
Mario Monicelli
Mario Monicelli was an Italian director and screenwriter and one of the masters of the Commedia all'Italiana , three times nominated for Oscar.-Biography:...
, Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini
Federico 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...
, 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:...
, and Giuseppe Tornatore
Giuseppe Tornatore
-Life and career:Born in Bagheria near Palermo, Tornatore developed an interest in acting and the theatre from at least the age of 16 and put on works by Luigi Pirandello and Eduardo De Filippo.He worked initially as a freelance photographer...
. A noted film producer from some years in his native Italy, some of Cristaldi's most successful films internationally included The Name of the Rose
The Name of the Rose (film)
The Name of the Rose is a 1986 film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, based on the book of the same name by Umberto Eco. Sean Connery is the Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and Christian Slater is his apprentice Adso of Melk, who are called upon to solve a deadly mystery in a medieval...
and Nuovo cinema Paradiso
Nuovo Cinema Paradiso
Nuovo cinema Paradiso , internationally released as Cinema Paradiso, is a 1988 Italian drama film written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore...
. (The former winning a César
César Award
The César Award is the national film award of France, first given out in 1975. The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma....
and two BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
s, and the latter winning several BAFTAs, the Grand Prix
Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival)
The Grand Prix is an award of the Cannes Film Festival bestowed by the jury of the festival on one of the competing feature films. It is the second-most prestigious prize of the festival after the Palme d'Or...
at Cannes
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, and Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
at the 62nd Academy Awards
62nd Academy Awards
The 62nd Academy Awards were presented March 26, 1990 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. The venue, half the size of the one used the previous year, prompted Gil Cates and Karl Malden to put a memo to "our friends in the industry" in the March 13th edition of the Daily...
).
In 1977 Cristaldi was elected president of the International Federation of Film Producers Associations, and was a member of the jury at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival
1984 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Dirk Bogarde *Franco Cristaldi *Michel Deville *Stanley Donen *Istvan Dosai *Arne Hestenes *Isabelle Huppert *Ennio Morricone...
.
Personal life
Cristaldi was born in TurinTurin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
in 1924, and studied at university for a time before taking up his interest in film.
He married Carla Simonetti with whom he had a son - Massimo. Cristaldi applied to have this marriage annulled, and in 1966 he married 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...
. He mentored Claudia Cardinale through her own film career, until their divorce in 1975. In 1983, he married Eritrean actress Zeudi Araya
Zeudi Araya
Zeudi Araya is an Eritrean-Italian actress.-Biography:Daughter of an Eritrean politician and niece of a diplomat in Rome, Araya became Miss Ethiopia in 1969. On a journey to Italy, she recorded a commercial for coffee, and was discovered by the director Luigi Scattini, who cast her in his movie La...
, who starred in several films produced by him.
Cristaldi died in Montecarlo in 1992 and was survived by his wife Araya, son Massimo, and adopted son Patrick, the Son of Claudia Cardinale.
Selected filmography
- A Hero of Our TimesA Hero of Our TimesA Hero of Our Times is a 1955 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Monicelli and starring Alberto Sordi.-Cast:* Alberto Sordi as Alberto Menichetti* Franca Valeri as Vedova De Ritis* Giovanna Ralli as Marcella* Tina Pica as Clotilde...
(1955) - Mio figlio Nerone, 1956;
- Le notti biancheLe notti biancheLe Notti Bianche is a 1957 Italian film directed by Italian neorealist Luchino Visconti. The movie takes its title and basic plot from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s 1848 short story, White Nights.-Plot:...
, 1957; - A Man of StrawA Man of StrawA Man of Straw is a 1958 Italian drama film directed by Pietro Germi. It was entered into the 1958 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Pietro Germi - Andrea* Franca Bettoia - Rita* Luisa Della Noce - Luisa* Edoardo Nevola - Giulio* Saro Urzì - Beppe...
, 1958; - Big Deal on Madonna StreetBig Deal on Madonna StreetBig Deal on Madonna Street is a 1958 Italian criminal-comedy film, directed by Mario Monicelli, and considered to be among the masterpieces of Italian cinema. Its original title translates as "the usual unknown persons", a journalistic and bureaucratic euphemism for "unidentified criminals" or...
, 1958; - KapòKapòKapò is an Italian film about the Holocaust directed by Gillo Pontecorvo in 1959. It was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film. It was an Italian-French co-production filmed in Yugoslavia.-Plot:...
, 1959; - Piece of the SkyPiece of the SkyPiece of the Sky is a 1959 Italian comedy film directed by Aglauco Casadio.-Cast:* Silvio Bagolini* Nicola Bongiorno* Salvatore Cafiero* Marina De Giorgio - Mary II* Luigi De Martino* Franca Droghetti* Lia Ferrel - Mary I* Ettore Jannetti...
, 1959; - Ghosts of RomeGhosts of Rome-Cast:* Marcello Mastroianni - Reginaldo / Federico di Roviano / Gino* Vittorio Gassman - Caparra, pittore del '600, rivale del Caravaggio* Belinda Lee - Eileen* Sandra Milo - Donna Flora* Eduardo De Filippo - Don Annibale, Principe di Roviano...
, 1961; - The AssassinThe Assassin (1961 film)The Assassin is a 1961 Italian crime film directed by Elio Petri. It was entered into the 11th Berlin International Film Festival.- Cast :* Marcello Mastroianni - Nello Poletti* Micheline Presle - Adalgisa de Matteis* Cristina Gaioni - Antonella Nogara...
, 1961; - Divorce, Italian StyleDivorce, Italian StyleDivorce, Italian Style is a 1961 Italian comedy film directed by Pietro Germi. The screenplay was written by Ennio De Concini, Pietro Germi, Alfredo Giannetti, and Agenore Incrocci; based on the novel Un delitto d'onore by Giovanni Arpino...
, 1961; - Seduced and AbandonedSeduced and AbandonedSeduced and Abandoned is a 1964 Italian film directed by Pietro Germi. It was entered into the 1964 Cannes Film Festival.-Synopsis:The film presents the tale of Agnese Ascalone, daughter of prominent miner Vincenzo Ascalone, and takes place in a small town in Sicily, as was Germi's previous film...
, 1964; - Vaghe stelle dell'OrsaVaghe stelle dell'OrsaVaghe stelle dell'Orsa is a 1965 Italian film directed by Luchino Visconti. It was released as Sandra Of A Thousand Delights in the USA and as Of These Thousand Pleasures in the UK.-Plot:...
, 1965 - AlibiAlibi (1969 film)Alibi is a 1969 comedy film directed by Adolfo Celi and starring Vittorio Gassman.-Cast:* Vittorio Gassman - Vittorio* Adolfo Celi - Adolfo* Luciano Lucignani - Luciano* Tina Aumont - Filli* Franco Giacobini - Luca* Jovanna Knox - La contessa...
1969 - The Red TentThe Red Tent (film)The Red Tent is a joint Soviet/Italian 1969 film directed by Mikhail Kalatozov.The film is based on the story of the mission to rescue Umberto Nobile and the other survivors of the crash of the Airship Italia. It features Sean Connery as Roald Amundsen and Peter Finch as Nobile. The script was...
, 1969 - Oh, Grandmother's DeadOh, Grandmother's DeadOh, Grandmother's Dead is a 1969 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Monicelli and starring Sergio Tofano.-Cast:* Sirena Adgemova as Sparta* Carole André as Claretta* Wanda Capodaglio as Adelaide Ghia, the grandmother* Peter Chatel as Guido...
(1969) - L'udienzaL'udienzaL'udienza is a 1971 Italian-French drama film directed by Marco Ferreri. It was entered into the 22nd Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Enzo Jannacci - Amedeo* Claudia Cardinale - Aiche* Ugo Tognazzi - Aureliano Diaz...
, 1971 - AmarcordAmarcordAmarcord is a 1973 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini, a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale about Titta, an adolescent boy growing up among an eccentric cast of characters in the fictional town of Borgo in 1930s Fascist Italy...
, 1973 - Christ Stopped at EboliChrist Stopped at Eboli (film)Christ Stopped at Eboli is a 1979 film adaptation of the book of the same name by Carlo Levi. It was directed by Francesco Rosi and stars Gian Maria Volonté as Carlo Levi, with Paolo Bonacelli, Alain Cuny, Léa Massari, and Irene Papas....
, 1979 - Café ExpressCafé Express (film)Café Express is a 1980 comedy film directed by Nanni Loy and starring Nino Manfredi.Michele Abbagnano ekes out a living by abusively selling coffee, hot milk and cappuccino on the night trains running between Naples and Vallo della Lucania; each night, his goods held in a set of vacuum flasks...
, 1980 - E la nave vaE la Nave VaAnd the Ship Sails On is a 1983 Italian film by Federico Fellini. It depicts the events on board a luxury liner filled with the friends of a deceased opera singer who have gathered to mourn her.- Plot :...
, 1983; - The Name of the RoseThe Name of the Rose (film)The Name of the Rose is a 1986 film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, based on the book of the same name by Umberto Eco. Sean Connery is the Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and Christian Slater is his apprentice Adso of Melk, who are called upon to solve a deadly mystery in a medieval...
, 1986; - Nuovo cinema ParadisoNuovo Cinema ParadisoNuovo cinema Paradiso , internationally released as Cinema Paradiso, is a 1988 Italian drama film written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore...
, 1988