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Post by delon on Mar 31, 2018 22:52:51 GMT
Le Notti Bianche is an adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky's short story of the same name, directed by an Italian master Luchino Visconti. It is about an indigent young man Mario(Marcello Mastroianni), who encounters a disfunctional lonely young woman Natalia (Maria Schell) during the night on a city square. Having found her in a very destructive state, he approaches her and gradually starts to interact with her. Throughout the next 4 days, they continue to meet regularly, as Mario's love towards her progressively intensifies. However her heart is already occupied by a man( Jean Marais), who may never return to her again.
Characteristically for Visconti's films, the visuals are sculptured in a very distinct and meticulous manner. The first thing that's noticable of the bat are the dark,gloomy and barely lighted city streets in which most of the film takes place, adding an intended neorealistic l tone to it. Mesmerizing ambient that Visconti constructed is unquestionably the film's strongest asset. Marcello Mastroianni is instrumental as an introverted, melancholic and fatalistic young clerk, giving arguably the performance of his life only rivaled by his showing in Valerio Zurlini's stunning technicolor drama " Cronaca Familiare (1962)", five years later.
As the plot unravels and distance between the characters grows apparent, pitiful Mario desprately tries to hold on to the magic of the night and dreams of love. One of the most riveting sequences that greatly elavated my already deep admiration for the film was the dancing scene at the night club. Serving as a phenomenal metaphore for the uncomfortable relationship between Mario and Natalia and symbolizing the inevitable doom of their untried romance and a theme of non-reciprocal love.
14 years later, Robert Bresson would bring Dostoevsky's story to life with his less known film " Quatre nuits d'un rêveur (1971) ".
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Post by petrolino on Mar 31, 2018 23:33:47 GMT
I saw 'Le Notti Bianche' for the first time a couple of years ago and was bowled over. It's so enchanting. I love the set construction, that intimate little fantasy world Luchino Visconti creates in the studio, like a winter's fairy tale. Reading what you've written has brought some things back to me (and the clip). I've not seen the Robert Bresson short film. Thanks for the recommendation.
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Post by delon on Mar 31, 2018 23:48:28 GMT
I saw 'Le Notti Bianche' for the first time a couple of years ago and was bowled over. It's so enchanting. I love the set construction, that intimate little fantasy world Luchino Visconti creates in the studio, like a winter's fairy tale. Reading what you've written has brought some things back to me (and the clip). I've not seen the Robert Bresson short film. Thanks for the recommendation. Agreed. The intimitate ambient is what makes it so special. Do you like any other of Visconti's films? I'm a huge admirer of his work. Unfortunately, I haven't seen Bresson's verson either. I wanted to, but learned it was rather difficult to obtain.
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Post by petrolino on Apr 1, 2018 1:04:26 GMT
I saw 'Le Notti Bianche' for the first time a couple of years ago and was bowled over. It's so enchanting. I love the set construction, that intimate little fantasy world Luchino Visconti creates in the studio, like a winter's fairy tale. Reading what you've written has brought some things back to me (and the clip). I've not seen the Robert Bresson short film. Thanks for the recommendation. Agreed. The intimitate ambient is what makes it so special. Do you like any other of Visconti's films? I'm a huge admirer of his work. I think he's one of the great filmmakers, without doubt, and I'm fond of his work. Burt Lancaster said Visconti opened his eyes to happiness and a new way of living. This is a bit of a crude way of ranking them, but these are his movies I've seen with a tiny comment indicative of my feelings attached ... 1943 Ossessione - Groundbreaking but I prefer Tay Garnett's 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' (1946) 1948 La terra trema - Extraordinary filmmaking 1951 Bellissima - Wonderful 1954 Senso - Important 1957 Le notti bianche - Stunning 1960 Rocco e i suoi fratelli - Interesting 1963 Il gattopardo - Masterpiece of cinema 1965 Vaghe stelle dell'Orsa - Beautiful 1969 La caduta degli dei - Hard work but rewarding 1971 Morte a Venezia - Don't care for this 1974 Gruppo di famiglia in un interno - Gripping 1976 L'innocente - Interesting Not seen ... 1967 Lo straniero 1972 Ludwig (imdb2 user JulieKohler recommends this) Which are your favourites?
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Post by delon on Apr 1, 2018 1:52:41 GMT
Agreed. The intimitate ambient is what makes it so special. Do you like any other of Visconti's films? I'm a huge admirer of his work. I think he's one of the great filmmakers, without doubt, and I'm fond of his work. Burt Lancaster said Visconti opened his eyes to happiness and a new way of living. This is a bit of a crude way of ranking them, but these are his movies I've seen with a tiny comment indicative of my feelings attached ... 1943 Ossessione - Groundbreaking but I prefer Tay Garnett's 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' (1946) 1948 La terra trema - Extraordinary filmmaking 1951 Bellissima - Wonderful 1954 Senso - Important 1957 Le notti bianche - Stunning 1960 Rocco e i suoi fratelli - Interesting 1963 Il gattopardo - Masterpiece of cinema 1965 Vaghe stelle dell'Orsa - Beautiful 1969 La caduta degli dei - Hard work but rewarding 1971 Morte a Venezia - Don't care for this 1974 Gruppo di famiglia in un interno - Gripping 1976 L'innocente - Interesting Not seen ... 1967 Lo straniero 1972 Ludwig (imdb2 user JulieKohler recommends this) Which are your favourites? You've seen quite a lot, Petrolino ! Here's how I'd rank his filmography at the moment, with short commentary attached. 1. Rocco e i suoi fratelli (1960) - Visconti's magnum opus, belongs in my personal top 10 2. Le notti bianche (1957) / La caduta degli dei (1969) - both outstanding films 3. La terra trema - one of the finest exponents of Italian Neorealism 4. Il gattopardo - spectacularly sumptous and an amazing recreation of risorgimento period 5. Ossessione (1943 ) - I do prefer over Garnett's version due to better screen chemistry between two leads 6. Bellissima (1951 ) - Visconti's film that I've seen most recently. Anna Magnani is a joy to watch ! 7. Lo straniero (1967) - very good, but pales in comparison to Camus novel 8. Senso (1954) - strong finish, but admittedly I was bored through majority of its course 9. Morte a Venezia (1971) - visually stunning, but I didn't particularly care for it as well Ludwig has been on the top of my watchlist for quite a while. I've postphoned watching due to its intimidating running time, but I hope to watch it soon. I also look forward to Gruppo di famiglia in un interno. Your comment for Vaghe stelle dell'Orsa is definitely encouraging, since it's generally considered as his lesser work.
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Post by petrolino on Apr 1, 2018 2:13:37 GMT
I think he's one of the great filmmakers, without doubt, and I'm fond of his work. Burt Lancaster said Visconti opened his eyes to happiness and a new way of living. This is a bit of a crude way of ranking them, but these are his movies I've seen with a tiny comment indicative of my feelings attached ... 1943 Ossessione - Groundbreaking but I prefer Tay Garnett's 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' (1946) 1948 La terra trema - Extraordinary filmmaking 1951 Bellissima - Wonderful 1954 Senso - Important 1957 Le notti bianche - Stunning 1960 Rocco e i suoi fratelli - Interesting 1963 Il gattopardo - Masterpiece of cinema 1965 Vaghe stelle dell'Orsa - Beautiful 1969 La caduta degli dei - Hard work but rewarding 1971 Morte a Venezia - Don't care for this 1974 Gruppo di famiglia in un interno - Gripping 1976 L'innocente - Interesting Not seen ... 1967 Lo straniero 1972 Ludwig (imdb2 user JulieKohler recommends this) Which are your favourites? You've seen quite a lot, Petrolino ! Here's how I'd rank his filmography at the moment, with short commentary attached. 1. Rocco e i suoi fratelli (1960) - Visconti's magnum opus, belongs in my personal top 10 2. Le notti bianche (1957) / La caduta degli dei (1969) - both outstanding films 3. La terra trema - one of the finest exponents of Italian Neorealism 4. Il gattopardo - spectacularly sumptous and an amazing recreation of risorgimento period 5. Ossessione (1943 ) - I do prefer over Garnett's version due to better screen chemistry between two leads 6. Bellissima (1951 ) - Visconti's film that I've seen most recently. Anna Magnani is a joy to watch ! 7. Lo straniero (1967) - very good, but pales in comparison to Camus novel 8. Senso (1954) - strong finish, but admittedly I was bored through majority of its course 9. Morte a Venezia (1971) - visually stunning, but I didn't particularly care for it as well Ludwig has been on the top of my watchlist for quite a while. I've postphoned watching due to its intimidating running time, but I hope to watch it soon. I also look forward to Gruppo di famiglia in un interno. Your comment for Vaghe stelle dell'Orsa is definitely encouraging, since it's generally considered as his lesser work. Dude has a strong filmography.
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