TONTI, ALDO

(1910-1988)

Cinematographer. Having worked for a number of years as a news photographer, Tonti moved toCinecittain the mid-1930s, originally employed as a still photographer and cameraman. His first film as director of photography was Flavio Calzavara'sPiccoli naufraghi(Young Castaways, 1938), followed by several films directed byGoffredo AlessandriniincludingAbuna Messias(Cardinal Messias, 1939),Caravaggio, il pittore maledetto(Caravaggio, the Cursed Painter, 1941), andNozze di Sangue(Blood Wedding, 1941).After working withAugusto GeninaonBengasi(1942), Tonti collaborated with fellow cinematographer Domenico Scala to create the extraordinary visual style ofLuchino Visconti's landmarkOssessione(Obsession, 1943).

In the immediate postwar period Tonti worked onAldo Vergano'sIl sole sorge ancora(Outcry, 1946) andAlberto Lattuada'sIl bandito(The Bandit, 1946),Senza pieta(Without Pity, 1948), andIl mulino del Po(The Mill on the Po, 1948). Having photographedIl miracolo(The Miracle), the second episode ofRoberto Rossellini'sL'amore(Ways of Love, 1948), he returned to work with Rossellini onEuropa '51(The Greatest Love, 1952),Dov'e la liberta(Where Is Freedom?1954), andIndia:Matri Bhumi(India, 1959), while also serving as cinematographer onFederico Fellini'sLe notti di Cabiria(Nights of Cabiria, 1957). In the 1960s he filmedCarlo Lizzani'sIl gobbo(The Hunchback of Rome, 1960) andMarco Ferreri'sLa donna scimia(The Ape Woman, 1964), and was also the cinematographer on John Huston'sReflections in a Golden Eye(1967).

With over 120 films to his credit, Tonti retired from the industry after directing photography on the big-budget action adventureAshanti(1979), directed by Richard Fleisher.