Luigi Comencini | |
|---|---|
 Comencini in 1971 | |
| Born | (1916-06-08)8 June 1916 |
| Died | 6 April 2007(2007-04-06) (aged 90) Rome, Italy |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Years active | 1937–1991 |
| Children | 4, includingCristina andFrancesca |
Luigi Comencini (Italian:[luˈiːdʒikomenˈtʃiːni]; 8 June 1916 – 6 April 2007)[1][2] was an Italian film director. Together withDino Risi,Ettore Scola, andMario Monicelli, he was considered among the masters of the "commedia all'italiana" genre.
His daughtersCristina andFrancesca are both film directors.
His first successful film wasThe Emperor of Capri, featuringTotò. Comencini's 1953Bread, Love and Dreams, withVittorio De Sica andGina Lollobrigida, is considered a primary example ofneorealismo rosa (pink neorealism). It was followed byBread, Love and Jealousy.
After first directingAlberto Sordi inThe Belle of Rome (1955), Comencini again worked with Sordi in what is considered his masterwork,Everybody Go Home, a bitter comedy about Italy after thearmistice of 1943. The film won the Special Golden Prize at the2nd Moscow International Film Festival.[3] Also set in World War II, but devoted to theItalian partisans, isBébo's Girl (1963). This was followed byMisunderstood (1966, based on the English novel byFlorence Montgomery).
Comencini obtained an outstanding success with what is ranked amongst the best productions of Italian television,The Adventures of Pinocchio (1972). In the same year, he directed the feature filmThe Scientific Cardplayer, a dark comedy with Sordi andSilvana Mangano. In 1975, he released the mysteryThe Sunday Woman, featuringMarcello Mastroianni,Jacqueline Bisset andJean-Louis Trintignant.
Comencini's subsequent works were characterised by the presence of famous Italian actors of the time:Ugo Tognazzi inThe Cat (1977), orNino Manfredi in his episode ofBasta che non si sappia in giro. In the 1980s, Comencini's movies met with less success, but hisCuore television series of 1984 was praised.
He died in Rome after a long illness in 2007.
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