Lina Wertmüller, the Italian filmmaker who made history in 1977 when she became the first woman to be nominated for the Best Director Oscar, has died at the age of 93.
Her passing was widely reported in the Italian press including in La Republica, which noted that she died at home in her birthplace of Rome.
Born in 1928, Wertmüller described her childhood as adventurous, being expelled from 15 different Catholic schools. A love of comic books was a key influence in her getting into the entertainment business, particularly Flash Gordon, and she became determined to work in film and theater from a young age.
After graduating from drama school in Rome, she began producing plays and worked in a variety of roles including as a set designer, publicist and puppeteer; the latter saw her spend years touring with an avant-garde puppet group.
In the 1960s she set her sights on film and through...
Her passing was widely reported in the Italian press including in La Republica, which noted that she died at home in her birthplace of Rome.
Born in 1928, Wertmüller described her childhood as adventurous, being expelled from 15 different Catholic schools. A love of comic books was a key influence in her getting into the entertainment business, particularly Flash Gordon, and she became determined to work in film and theater from a young age.
After graduating from drama school in Rome, she began producing plays and worked in a variety of roles including as a set designer, publicist and puppeteer; the latter saw her spend years touring with an avant-garde puppet group.
In the 1960s she set her sights on film and through...
- 12/9/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
“It can’t always be about money,” says the infatuated Carletto (Nino Bergamini) to the object of his affection, a country-girl-turned-city-woman named Adelina (Sara Rapisarda) who rejects his marriage proposal because they haven’t yet reached the economic level she desires. In All Screwed Up, Adelina’s refusal to marry a man because of his position, and his violent reaction towards the rejection (he rapes her as she tries to save the new television set she bought for the apartment she shares with other girls) might very well represent the conflict that was at the center of all of Lina Wertmüller’s films, the clash between money and virtue, or more specifically can people be in possession of both?
In films like Swept Away, Seven Beauties and The Seduction of Mimi, Wertmüller displayed a worldview that changed the way people thought about female filmmakers, she made films so bold, unique...
In films like Swept Away, Seven Beauties and The Seduction of Mimi, Wertmüller displayed a worldview that changed the way people thought about female filmmakers, she made films so bold, unique...
- 4/24/2017
- by Jose Solís
- The Film Stage
As part of the relaunching of New York’s own Quad Cinema, the city will be seeing its most extensive and exciting retrospective of one of Italian cinema’s great unsung legends.
Known to most as the director of that one movie that Madonna would remake with then-hubby Guy Ritchie, the Swept Away director Lina Wertmuller is the subject of this important new retrospective entitled Female Trouble. Running from April 14-30, the retrospective spans the director’s illustrious career which saw her begin as an apprentice for legendary filmmaker Federico Fellini and ultimately become the first female filmmaker every nominated for the Best Director Oscar at the Academy Awards.
Included in this series are a vast number of films, split up between new restorations from Kino Lorber which are making their world premiere as part of this retrospective as well as a handful of rare 35mm prints imported, totalling 14 films...
Known to most as the director of that one movie that Madonna would remake with then-hubby Guy Ritchie, the Swept Away director Lina Wertmuller is the subject of this important new retrospective entitled Female Trouble. Running from April 14-30, the retrospective spans the director’s illustrious career which saw her begin as an apprentice for legendary filmmaker Federico Fellini and ultimately become the first female filmmaker every nominated for the Best Director Oscar at the Academy Awards.
Included in this series are a vast number of films, split up between new restorations from Kino Lorber which are making their world premiere as part of this retrospective as well as a handful of rare 35mm prints imported, totalling 14 films...
- 4/14/2017
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
“Behind the White Glasses” screened at the 2016 Venice Film Festival. Now, the documentary about the iconic Italian writer/director Lina Wertmüller will screen at New York City’s historic Quad Cinema to coincide with the theater’s reopening this month.
Helmed by Italian director Valerio Ruiz, the documentary explores the career of Wertmüller, who in 1977 became the first woman ever to receive a Best Director Academy Award nomination for her film “Seven Beauties.” The international success of her movies “The Seduction of Mimi,” “Love and Anarchy,” “Swept Away” and “Seven Beauties” in the 1970s made her an icon of Italian cinema.
Read More: ‘Leaning Into The Wind’ Is A Worthy Sequel To Documentary Smash ‘Rivers And Tides’ — Sf Film Festival Review
The title of the documentary refers to Wertmüller’s signature white eyeglasses. The film features interviews with filmmaker Martin Scorsese and actors Giancarlo Giannini, Sophia Loren, Harvey Keitel, Rutger Hauer and Nastassja Kinski,...
Helmed by Italian director Valerio Ruiz, the documentary explores the career of Wertmüller, who in 1977 became the first woman ever to receive a Best Director Academy Award nomination for her film “Seven Beauties.” The international success of her movies “The Seduction of Mimi,” “Love and Anarchy,” “Swept Away” and “Seven Beauties” in the 1970s made her an icon of Italian cinema.
Read More: ‘Leaning Into The Wind’ Is A Worthy Sequel To Documentary Smash ‘Rivers And Tides’ — Sf Film Festival Review
The title of the documentary refers to Wertmüller’s signature white eyeglasses. The film features interviews with filmmaker Martin Scorsese and actors Giancarlo Giannini, Sophia Loren, Harvey Keitel, Rutger Hauer and Nastassja Kinski,...
- 4/12/2017
- by Yoselin Acevedo
- Indiewire
Next month will mark the return of New York City’s Quad Cinema, a theater reshaped and rebranded as a proper theater via the resources of Charles S. Cohen, head of the distribution outfit Cohen Media Group. While we got a few hints of the line-up during the initial announcement, they’ve now unveiled their first full repertory calendar, running from April 14th through May 4th, and it’s an embarassment of cinematic riches.
Including the previously revealed Lina Wertmüller retrospective, one inventive series that catches our eye is First Encounters, in which an artist will get to experience a film they’ve always wanted to see, but never have, and in which you’re invited to take part. The first match-ups in the series include Kenneth Lonergan‘s first viewing Edward Yang‘s Yi Yi, Noah Baumbach‘s first viewing of Withnail and I, John Turturro‘s first viewing of Pather Panchali,...
Including the previously revealed Lina Wertmüller retrospective, one inventive series that catches our eye is First Encounters, in which an artist will get to experience a film they’ve always wanted to see, but never have, and in which you’re invited to take part. The first match-ups in the series include Kenneth Lonergan‘s first viewing Edward Yang‘s Yi Yi, Noah Baumbach‘s first viewing of Withnail and I, John Turturro‘s first viewing of Pather Panchali,...
- 3/21/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
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