The House with Laughing Windows
Encyclopedia
The House with Laughing Windows (Italian title: La casa dalle finestre che ridono) is a 1976
Italian
mystery
-horror film
co-written and directed by Pupi Avati
. The movie was filmed in Lido degli Scacchi, Ferrara
, Emilia-Romagna
, Italy (the villa where the main chararacter lives). It was nominated for the 1983 International Fantasy Film Award for Best Film at Fantasporto
.
of the slaughter of Saint Sebastian which is painted on a rotting church wall. While living temporarily in a house previously owned by the two sisters of the long dead artist, Stefano begins a romance with a beautiful teacher, Francesca (Francesca Marciano). He hears from various townspeople that the painter was a madman who created his art from real life. The artist, assisted by his two equally insane sisters, had viciously tortured people to death as inspiration for his horrific paintings. Some of the villagers are brutally killed and Stefano comes to believe that the murderer is trying to stop him from learning even more of the village's depraved secrets.
1976 in film
The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...
Italian
Cinema of Italy
The history of Italian cinema began just a few months after the Lumière brothers had patented their Cinematographe, when Pope Leo XIII was filmed for a few seconds in the act of blessing the camera.-Early years:...
mystery
Mystery film
Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...
-horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
co-written and directed by Pupi Avati
Pupi Avati
Giuseppe Avati, better known as Pupi Avati is an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter.-Early life and career:...
. The movie was filmed in Lido degli Scacchi, Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
, Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
, Italy (the villa where the main chararacter lives). It was nominated for the 1983 International Fantasy Film Award for Best Film at Fantasporto
Fantasporto
Fantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to commercial feature films, auteur films and experimental projects from all over the world, Fantasporto has created enthusiastic audiences, ranging from...
.
Plot synopsis
Stefano (Lino Capolicchio) arrives in a rural Italian village to restore a frescoFresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
of the slaughter of Saint Sebastian which is painted on a rotting church wall. While living temporarily in a house previously owned by the two sisters of the long dead artist, Stefano begins a romance with a beautiful teacher, Francesca (Francesca Marciano). He hears from various townspeople that the painter was a madman who created his art from real life. The artist, assisted by his two equally insane sisters, had viciously tortured people to death as inspiration for his horrific paintings. Some of the villagers are brutally killed and Stefano comes to believe that the murderer is trying to stop him from learning even more of the village's depraved secrets.
Cast
- Lino CapolicchioLino CapolicchioLino Capolicchio is an Italian actor, screenwriter, and film director. He won a special David di Donatello acting award for his role in Vittorio de Sica's 1970 film, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis....
.... Stefano - Francesca Marciano .... Francesca
- Gianni CavinaGianni CavinaGianni Cavina is an Italian film actor. He has appeared in over 45 films since 1949.He was born in Bologna, Italy.-Selected filmography:* Flashback * The House with Laughing Windows * The Big Operator...
.... Coppola - Giulio Pizzirani .... Antonio Mazza
- Vanna Busoni .... Teacher
- Andrea Matteuzzi .... Poppi
- Bob Tonelli .... Solmi
- Pietro Brambilla .... Lidio
- Ferdinando Orlandi .... Marshall
- Ines Ciaschetti .... Concierge
- Flavia Giorgi .... Poppi's Wife
- Eugene WalterEugene WalterEugene Ferdinand Walter, Jr. was an American screenwriter, poet, short-story author, actor, puppeteer, gourmet chef, cryptographer, translator, editor, costume designer and well-known raconteur. During his years in Paris, he was nicknamed Tum-te-tum...
.... Priest - Carla Astolfi .... Chambermaid
- Tonino Corazzari .... Buono Legnani
- Pina Borione .... Laura Legnani