MASTROIANNI, MARCELLO

Mastroianni, Marcello: translation

(1924-1996)

Actor. Undoubtedlytheactor who most came to represent Italian cinema in the postwar period, Mastroianni began acting in films from a relatively young age, making early appearances as an uncredited extra inAlessandro Blasetti'sLa corona di ferro(The Iron Crown, 1941) andVittorio De Sica'sI bambini ci guardano(The Children Are Watching Us, 1943). After carrying out his military service during World War II, he returned to Rome and entered the theater, where he worked withLuchino Visconti. By the early 1950s he had returned to films, at first doing minor parts, as inLuciano Emmer'sDomenica d'agosto(A Sunday in August, 1950) andLe ragazze di Piazza di Spagna(Three Girls from Rome, 1952), but soon taking on more significant supporting roles, as inCarlo Lizzani'sCronache di poveri amanti(Chronicle of Poor Lovers, 1954). His interpretation of the male romantic lead inGiuseppe De Santis'sGiorni d'amore(Days of Love, 1954) earned him his firstNastro d'argento. Thanks to Alessandro Blasetti he was soon paired withSophia Lorenin the first of many films they would make together, beginning with Blasetti'sPeccato che sia una canaglia(Too Bad She's Bad, 1954) andLa fortuna di essere donna(Lucky to Be a Woman, 1955). Two years later his moving portrayal of Mario in Visconti'sLe notti bianche(White Nights, 1957) earned him another Nastro d'argento. Having conquered drama, his considerable talent for comedy was then fully brought to the fore inMario Monicelli's hilariousI soliti ignoti(Big Deal on Madonna Street, 1958).

With his reputation now securely established, in the early 1960s he appeared in most of the key films of both established and up-and-coming directors, includingMauro Bolognini'sIl bell'Antonio(Bell'Antonio, 1960),Michelangelo Antonioni'sLa notte(Night, 1961),Valerio Zurlini'sCronaca familiare(Family Diary, 1962), and, perhaps most memorably, as the lovable scoundrel of a husband inPietro Germi'sDivorzio all'italiana(Divorce Italian Style, 1961), a finely modulated interpretation that earned him his first Oscar nomination.By this time, however, he had already become well known to international audiences playing the wayward journalist Marcello inFederico Fellini's landmark film,La dolce vita(1960), for which he had received another Nastro d'argento. He subsequently became Fellini's onscreen alter ego in the Oscar-winningOtto e mezzo(8'A, 1963). At the same time he continued to garner both national and international acclaim playing opposite a fiery Sophia Loren at the peak of her prowess in De Sica'sIeri, oggi e domani(Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, 1963), which was awarded the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1965, andMatrimonio all'italiana(Marriage Italian Style, 1964), also nominated for an Oscar.

In the next decade he continued to work with all the major directors, appearing in, among others, Visconti'sLo straniero(The Stranger, 1967),Ettore Scola'sDramma della gelosia—tutti iparticolari in cronaca(Drama of Jealousy, 1970),Paolo and Vittorio Taviani'sAllonsanfan(1973),Marco Ferreri'sLa grande abbuffata(The Grande Bouffe, 1973), andLuigi Comencini'sLa donna della domenica(The Sunday Woman, 1976). Arguably his best performance during this period was as Gabriele, the homosexual radio journalist in Scola'sUna giornata particolare(A Special Day, 1976), a role that saw him again paired with Sophia Loren and that brought out the very best in both of them. In the 1980s he again worked with Fellini inLa citta delle donne(The City of Women, 1980) andGinger e Fred(Ginger and Fred, 1986) and gave a magisterial performance as Casanova in Scola'sLa nuit de Varennes(That Night in Varennes, 1982). By the end of the 1980s, however, he was tending toward more fatherly roles as in Scola'sChe ora e?(What Time Is It?1989) andGiuseppe Tornatore'sStanno tutti bene(Everybody's Fine, 1990). Nevertheless, in 1994 he was induced by Robert Altman to team up again with Sophia Loren in a reprise of their legendary performance inMarriage Italian Stylefor Altman's satire on the fashion industry,Pret-a-Porter(Ready to Wear, 1994). After playing the title role inRoberto Faenza'sSostiene Pereira(According to Pereira, 1996) and a man with four personalities in Raul Ruiz'sTrois vies et une seule mort(Three Lives and Only One Death, 1996), Mastroianni made his final film appearance in Manoel de Oliviera'sViagem ao Principio do Mundo(Voyage to the Beginning of the World, 1997), where, rather fittingly perhaps, after a life devoted to the cinema, he played the part of an aging film director traveling with a film crew through Portugal in search of the origins of a famous French actor.

Having already received innumerable prizes for his appearances in some 140 films, in 1997 Mastroianni was awarded both a Special Nastro d'Argento and a David di Donatello for his career in cinema. Before dying he recounted his life story inMarcello Mastroianni:Mi ricordo, si mi ricordo(Marcello Mastroianni:I Remember, 1997), a three-hourdocumentarydirected by his long-time companion, Anna Maria Tato.