The Divine Comic
The Cinema of Roberto Benigni
1st Edition
Published on 17. July 2001
160 pages
978-1-4616-7270-8 (ISBN)
Description
Roberto Benigni, the Italian comedian, actor, director, and writer, gained international fame when his film La vita è bella/ Life Is Beautiful (1997) won three Oscars in 1999, including Best Foreign Film and Best Actor. Benigni has been a steady presence in Italian popular culture since the mid-1970s. This book introduces Benigni's performances in film, stage, and television, little known outside of Italy, with an emphasis on the cultural and intellectual backdrops that characterize his films, including his origins among the Tuscan rhyming poets and his experiences in the Roman avant-garde theater. Benigni's statements about his experiences and apprenticeships with cinema notables like Cesare Zavattini and Federico Fellini reveal a wealth of fresh information and confirm the sense that there is more to this madcap buffoon than meets the eye.
More details
Series
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
Basingstoke
United States
ISBN-13
978-1-4616-7270-8 (9781461672708)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
07/2001
Scarecrow Press
€81.00
Shipment within 10-20 days
Person
Carlo Celli is Assistant Professor of Italian and Film Studies at Bowling Green State University. He has published articles in Cinema Journal, Italica, Journal of Popular Film and Television, and Critical Inquiry, among others.
Content
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Table of Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1. Biographical Summary
- Ancient Tuscan Origins
- Benigni and Dante
- 2. Benigni's Cioni Persona, from Theater to Film
- 3. Cioni on Film
- Berlinguer ti voglio bene/Berlinguer I Love you
- 4. Cioni on Television
- Onda Libera/Free Wave, Vita Da Cioni/Cioni's Dog Life
- Later Television Appearances
- 5. Film Apprenticeships and Cameos, 1979-1989
- Four Cameos in 1979
- Renzo Arbore
- Marco Ferreri: Chiedo Asilo/Seeking Asylum
- Cesare Zavattini
- Citti and Echoes of Pasolini: II Minestrone
- Jim Jarmusch: Down by Law and Night on Earth
- Federico Fellini: La Voce Della Luna/The Voice of the Moon
- 6. Benigni's Religious Parody on Stage
- The Little Devil Meets Schopenhauer
- 7. Benigni as Director
- Religious Parody and Tu mi turbi/You Bother Me
- Stopping Columbus with Troisi: Non Ci Resta Che Piangere/Nothing Left to do but Cry
- From Bertolucci to Cerami
- 8. Cioni in the City: Part 1
- 9. Cioni in the City: Part 2
- 10. Cioni in the City: Part 3
- 11. La Vita è Bella/Life is Beautiful
- Homage to Chaplin
- Tackling a Fascist Past with Childhood Innocence
- Intellectuals and Riddles
- Fable versus Realism
- Afterword
- Appendix
- Interview with Roberto Benigni Conducted
- Benigni on La Vita è bella/Life is Beautiful Conducted
- Bibliography
- Theatrical work
- Filmography
- As Actor
- As Director
- Index
- About the Author
