VITTI, MONICA

(1931-)

(Born Maria Luisa Ceciarelli.) Actress. Although outside Italy Vitti is probably best remembered for her intensely dramatic roles in the films ofMichelangelo Antonioni, in Italy she has always been better known as a comic actress, a talent that quickly came to the fore at the Rome Academy of Dramatic Art, from which she graduated in 1953. Her first (uncredited) film role was inRidere, Ridere, Ridere(Laugh, Laugh, Laugh, 1954), a series of comic sketches directed by Edoardo Anton. While pursuing her career on the stage with the Sbragia-Lisi-Ronconi company she met Antonioni, who used her voice to dubAlida Valliin hisIl grido(The Cry, 1957).There followed the major Antonioni filmsL'avventura(The Adventure, 1960),La notte(The Night, 1961),L'eclisse(The Eclipse, 1962), andIl deserto rosso(The Red Desert, 1964), intense portraits of ennui and alienation in which Vitti became the perfect mouthpiece for Antonioni himself.

After more stage work, which included a 1964 production of Arthur Miller'sAfter the Fall, directed byFranco Zeffirelli, she moved decisively to film comedy, from then on starring in a host ofcommedie all'italianaincludingMario Monicelli'sLa ragazza con la pistola(Girl with a Pistol, 1968),Amore mio aiutami(Help Me My Love, 1969), in which she acted with and was directed byAlberto Sordi, andDino Risi'sNoi donne siamo fatte cost(That's How We Women Are, 1971). At the same time she worked with international directors, appearing in, among others, Joseph Losey'sModesty Blaise(1966), Miklos Jancso'sLa pacifista(The Pacifist, 1970), and Luis Bunuel'sLe fantdme de la liberte(The Phantom of Liberty, 1974).

After returning briefly to work with Antonioni inIl mistero di Oberwald(The Oberwald Mystery, 1981), she retired from cinema during the 1980s except for two films directed by her then partner, Roberto Russo,Flirt(1983) andFrancesca e mia(Francesca Is Mine, 1986), preferring during this period to concentrate on theater, which included appearing in a female version of Neil Simon'sThe Odd Couple(1987), directed byFranca Valeri. In 1990 she turned to directing herself inScandalo segreto(Secret Scandal, 1990), for which she won Golden Globes for both acting and direction. Soon thereafter she published an autobiography,Sette sottane(Seven Underskirts, 1993), which won the Fregene Prize for biography, and a novel,Il letto e una rosa(The Bed Is a Rose, 1995).

During a long and distinguished career Vitti won fiveDavid di Donatelloawards and threeNastri d'argento. In 1995 she received a Golden Lion at theVenice Festivalfor her lifetime achievement.