Locked-Down Cinema

Film reviews of all the films I should have seen but didn't...

What do you do if you receive a Christmas present that is a membership to the British Film Institute when there's a pandemic on...?

"La Visita" / "The Visit", Dir: Antonio Pietrangeli, 1963

Ravi Swami

May 29, 20216 min read

"La Visita" / "The Visit", Dir: Antonio Pietrangeli, 1963

"La Visita" stars Sandra Milo as "Pina" - by this point a regular in Pietrangelo's films - with the French actor François Périer as "Adolfo"

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"The Bachelor"/ "Lo Scapolo", Dir: Antonio Pietrangeli, 1955

Ravi Swami

May 29, 20213 min read

"The Bachelor"/ "Lo Scapolo", Dir: Antonio Pietrangeli, 1955

I came across his 1955 "Commedia All'Italiana" film starring Alberto Sordi, an actor most associated with the genre...

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"Les Amants", Dir: Louis Malle, 1958 & "Adua and Her Friends", Dir: Antonio Pietrangeli, 1960

Ravi Swami

May 23, 20219 min read

"Les Amants", Dir: Louis Malle, 1958 & "Adua and Her Friends", Dir: Antonio Pietrangeli, 1960

There's nothing particularly thematic to connect these two films that I watched recently, one on BFI Player and the other via Amazon Prime..

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"The Magnificent Cuckold", Dir: Antonio Pietrangeli, 1964

Ravi Swami

May 19, 20213 min read

"The Magnificent Cuckold", Dir: Antonio Pietrangeli, 1964

It's probably fair to say that I've become a little addicted to "Commedia Al'Italiana" as I discover the vast output of the genre..

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"La Bella Di Lodi" / "The Girl From Lodi", Dir: Mario Missiroli, 1963

Ravi Swami

May 11, 20215 min read

"La Bella Di Lodi" / "The Girl From Lodi", Dir: Mario Missiroli, 1963

This time Sandrelli is cast as "Roberta", a young go-getter from a wealthy family with interests in agriculture and real estate...

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A Pair Of Shorts - Martin Scorcese & Chantal Akerman, 1974 , 1968

Ravi Swami

Apr 11, 20213 min read

A Pair Of Shorts - Martin Scorcese & Chantal Akerman, 1974 , 1968

Tucked away in amongst a series of shorts on the theme of films made in a single location...

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"Il Bidone"- with commentary, Dir:Federico Fellini, 1955

Ravi Swami

Mar 31, 20215 min read

"Il Bidone"- with commentary, Dir:Federico Fellini, 1955

That said, I watched "Il Bidone" - a film that could best be described as the least "Fellini-esque" of his work...

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"Ieri Oggi Domani", Dir: Vittorio De Sica, 1963

Ravi Swami

Mar 23, 20216 min read

"Ieri Oggi Domani", Dir: Vittorio De Sica, 1963

Outside of Italy, Sophia Loren tends to be more well-known for a number of blousy, big-budget Hollywood films..

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"Alfredo Alfredo", Dir: Pietro Germi, 1972

Ravi Swami

Mar 13, 20215 min read

"Alfredo Alfredo", Dir: Pietro Germi, 1972

I was expecting a comic romp along the lines of "Seduced and Abandoned"..

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"Seduced and Abandoned", Dir: Pietro Germi, 1964

Ravi Swami

Jan 31, 20212 min read

"Seduced and Abandoned", Dir: Pietro Germi, 1964

I'd been meaning to avoid watching "Seduced and Abandoned", directed by Piero Germi...

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"Un Maledetto Imbroglio", Dir: Pietro Germi, 1959

Ravi Swami

Jan 26, 20213 min read

"Un Maledetto Imbroglio", Dir: Pietro Germi, 1959

...and details the investigation of a murder of a wealthy woman, by her friend the police inspector Ciccio Ingravalo..

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"Divorce Italian Style"/"Divorzio Al La Italiana", Dir: Pietro Germi, 1961

Ravi Swami

Jan 23, 20214 min read

"Divorce Italian Style"/"Divorzio Al La Italiana", Dir: Pietro Germi, 1961

Super-smooth Italian heartthrob Marcello Mastroianni plays "Ferdinando Cefalù", the son of an impoverished Sicilian nobleman..

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"I Knew Her Well", Dir: Antonio Pietrangeli, 1965

Ravi Swami

Jan 17, 20215 min read

"I Knew Her Well", Dir: Antonio Pietrangeli, 1965

It's been rare so far in my lockdown viewing to say that I've stumbled on a real find..

231 views0 comments

"The Basilisks", Dir: Lina Wertmüller, 1963

Ravi Swami

Jan 10, 20213 min read

"The Basilisks", Dir: Lina Wertmüller, 1963

First films are developing into a bit of a trend here, though not intentionally - "The Basilisks" directed by Lina Wertmüller

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Three Fellini's, Dir Federico Fellini, 1954-1967

Ravi Swami

Dec 2, 20204 min read

Three Fellini's, Dir Federico Fellini, 1954-1967

It's possibly a bit unfair to combine 3 films of Federico Fellini, spanning a period of 14 years, into a single post..

20 views0 comments

Ravi Swami

Nov 28, 20205 min read

"Eve" / "Eva", Dir: Joseph Losey, 1962

Once again, my reason for choosing Joseph Losey's adaptation of a James Hadley Chase novel entitled "Eve" was Jeanne Moreau.

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"I Vitteloni" - Dir: Federico Fellini, 1953

Ravi Swami

Nov 19, 20202 min read

"I Vitteloni" - Dir: Federico Fellini, 1953

"I Vitelloni" mines similar territory to, and anticipates, Luchino Visconti's 1960 "Rocco and His Brothers"

45 views0 comments

Ravi Swami

Oct 20, 20204 min read

"81/2", Dir: Federico Fellini, 1963

Federico Fellini's "81/2", (1963) is generally considered to be a high point in the directors' work

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"Rocco & His Brothers", Dir:Luchino Visconti, 1960

Ravi Swami

Oct 12, 20203 min read

"Rocco & His Brothers", Dir:Luchino Visconti, 1960

I'd heard of Luchino Visconti before but had never actually watched any of his films and "Rocco & His Brothers"...

87 views0 comments

"L'Avventura", "La Notte", "L'Eclisse" - Dir : M. Antonioni - 1960/62

Ravi Swami

Aug 4, 20203 min read

"L'Avventura", "La Notte", "L'Eclisse" - Dir : M. Antonioni - 1960/62

What I find interesting more than anything else is the snapshot of Rome and Milan in the 60's..

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Thanks for your interest in Lockdown Cinema. For more information, feel free to get in touch and I will get back to you soon! - Ravi

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London, United Kingdom

thenakedswami@gmail.com

Locked-Down Cinema

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