La valigia dei sogni (1953) - full transcript
THE SUITCASE OF DREAMS
This is a "slaughterhouse" for movies.
Here films die.
It would be more accurate
to say that they are "murdered."
Few know that after a quick
career of success or failure,
an inexorable end
awaits all motion pictures.
Celluloid and the silver salts
that it's composed of,
are materials too valuable
not to be recycled.
It's necessary to work
with all precautions,
because celluloid is highly flammable.
It burns like an explosive.
Here, cinematic works are valued by weight.
With a warm water bath,
they separate the gelatin,
that with the silver salts
formed the photographic image,
from its celluloid base.
And the precious ribbon,
which was previously played
in the projection rooms,
comes out clean and
transparent from the wash.
A few minutes are enough to destroy
the work of months, perhaps years,
which cost millions,
hard work, and ingenuity.
Thus, disappear forever,
works that, perhaps today,
we would love to see again.
Even for cinema, men write its history.
Unfortunately, the cinema is perishable.
In a short time,
even the memories of it are lost.
Here another shipment of films
arrives at the "slaughterhouse."
Look at that old man who sneaks
into the warehouse like a thief.
He's a "slaughterhouse" mouse.
He goes on the hunt for certain movies,
like a botanist looking for rare flowers.
He goes around with his
briefcase through piles of film,
hoping to discover some
precious fragment to save.
The operators know him and
always find him in the way.
They let him do it because they
think him a little crazy, but harmless.
His name is Ettore Omeri.
To be more exact,
"Grand Officer" Ettore Omeri.
And ex-actor of silent films,
that is, the prehistoric cinema.
The manager of the "slaughterhouse"
has thrown him out many times.
"Is it possible, he still can't see
that old movies can't be saved?"
"That their destruction is
not only a profitable operation,
but an absurd contractual obligation?"
But Omeri pleads, implores, speaks
in the name of Art with a capital "A."
And in the end, this time too,
they let him get away with it.
We'll tell you an episode
from his life as a collector.
An episode that actually
happened not too many years ago,
when La Cineteca did not yet exist,
that is, the film libraries,
which among other methods,
have emerged just like this,
taking away a few pieces of
film from the "slaughterhouse."
Where's Mariannina?
- Don't you know?
Locked up inside, all day.
Has anyone come looking for me?
- Yes, two nuns.
They always come when I'm not there!
Don't get mad. They spoke to
Mariannina and said they'd be back.
When?
- They didn't say.
HOME FILMS:
THE BEST FILMS OF ALL TIME
Murderer! Trying to kill me?
Don't you know that movies are
more explosive than dynamite?
One day, you'll blow up
the entire warehouse!
But I'm careful!
If I catch you smoking again,
you're fired. - Oh, no.
Did anybody come looking for me.
- No, nobody.
Nobody?
Two nuns came! Two clients!
And you don't tell me a word!
If you already know, why ask?
- I know because your mother told me.
Where's your head?
- Over here.
Can we see the movies?
- Come on, in a half hour?
Go away from there, boys!
This is not for you! Scram!
I think I found the last reel to
THE ROMANCE OF A POOR YOUNG MAN!
This way, we'll have
a complete work of Menichelli.
And we can make an anthology of the divas!
What's an anthology?
- A selection, like a flower bouquet.
I see. Like a bouquet, but with actresses.
Move from there and sit.
Go over this movie.
Clean it well. Check the splices.
Ah, these comics!
Put on gloves.
- Gloves for these shreds of film?
They're so oily!
- Wash them with chloride.
Ah, it's her!
Yes! It's her!
Duse!
- Who?
Eleonora Duse!
The greatest actress of the Italian stage!
Really? Who ever heard of her?
Just think that if it weren't for me,
this film would've been destroyed too!
Lost forever!
What are you doing? Are you a thief?
You use my acetone for your nails?
I don't want to see you again! Get out!
What nonsense!
I was going to buy you some more!
You paint your nails red and
don't know who Eleonora Duse is!
Come in. Who is it?
May we enter?
- Ah, you're the ones from earlier.
Good day.
- Good day, sisters.
You would like an exhibition, I imagine.
Please, have a seat.
No, thank you. You're Cavaliere Omeri?
- At your service.
Mother Giuseppina gave us your address.
You did a screening at
the Saint Anthony Orphanage.
Mother Giuseppina was delighted.
- Indeed.
We are from the Purification Seminary.
Tomorrow, we celebrate
the birthday of our Mother Superior
and our patronesses will be there.
- And you thought to have a nice screening.
That's why we've come.
Most honored!
I will present a selection of films,
conforming to the educational,
recreational recommendations of the school.
Could we see something?
- Of course.
The Cavaliere is the professor of cinema!
With all due modesty,
I've been in this art for 40 years.
Mariannina, close the blinds, prepare
the gramophone and put on the record.
When I give you the signal, start.
Sisters, please, sit here
so you can better.
- Excuse me, but aren't they sound films?
Sound? With this…
And is there speech?
- Natural speech! Leave it to me.
If you like,
I can accompany you on the piano?
Thank you, Sister, but to accompany
movies takes a specialist.
Omeri Film has the honor of presenting,
"Across the Centuries"
"or from JULIUS CAESAR
to THE TAKING OF ROME."
"A compendium of the most glorious
and ancient Italian historical films."
This great JULIUS CAESAR, you are watching,
was made in a distant 1913,
by Enrico Guazzoni.
Here are Caesar's ships heading for Greece.
Caesar goes to fight his last battle
against Pompey, his hated rival.
Caesar meticulously studies his
battle plan. Here he is, in his tent.
The character is played by Amleto Novelli.
After long struggles,
the two great and bitter rivals
line up with their armies
for the ultimate test.
Pompey's army is stronger.
Caesar's has been decimated
by fatigue and fighting.
But Caesar, the genius of battle,
the god of war, will confound Pompey.
Pompey's army retreats.
Caesar has won and
Rome decrees his triumph!
Quick, the hymn of triumph!
Here. Careful.
Play it!
Here are the fatal "ides"
of March of the year 44.
Caesar goes to the Senate to say goodbye.
It is the vigil of his departure
to fight against the Parthians.
But he is stopped by a conspiracy
concocted by his own friends,
who want to rid Rome of his tyranny.
It is Brutus himself, whom he
regards as a son, who murders him.
"Tu quoque Brute, fili mi?",
exclaims the stabbed.
It's treason! Oh, Caesar!
The faithful Mark Anthony
vows to avenge his beloved leader.
Grief! Tremendous grief in Rome!
All the people pay their last
respects to the glorious corpse.
"Citizens", shouts Mark Anthony,
"Caesar's lacerated body
demands justice and revenge!"
But the shouts of the crowd
cover Mark Anthony's voice.
End of the first episode!
- What do I put on?
"King of Heaven".
- "King of Heaven" coming up.
Attention!
Forty-four years after Caesar's death,
a child was born in a stable in Bethlehem.
The Three Kings travel there
to adore Jesus, the King of Kings.
Look at the suggestive lighting in
this scene from the movie CHRISTUS,
shot in Rome in 1915.
To kill Jesus,
Herod has ordered the extermination
of all the children of Galilee.
But now, the specters of his
innocent victims haunt him.
The holy family is safe.
They have fled to Egypt.
Stop!
- What did you say?
Stop and put on number seven.
- Speak like a Christian!
The Jerusalem, where Jesus was crucified,
falls into the hands of the infidels,
and only centuries later will
the crusaders come to liberate it.
Here is an episode inspired by
the famous poem JERUSALEM DELIVERED,
by Torquato Tasso.
Crusaders proceed to
assault the walls of Jerusalem.
Enrico Guazzoni, the incomparable
architect of so many historical films,
created this work in 1917.
Attention! Fourth episode:
The Italian Risorgimento claims
the unity and independence of Italy.
Tullio Carminati, interpreter
of the Count Vitaliano Lamberti,
from the movie ROMANTICISM,
directed by Arrigo Frusta,
from the drama of Gerolamo Rovetta.
We are in the back room of a pharmacy,
hiding place for the conspirators.
Count Lamberti, a great patriot,
joins "Young Italy" and takes an oath.
"In the name of God and of Italy,"
"I, Vitaliano Lamberti,
give my name to "Young Italy""
"and I swear to be faithful
to the holy Italian cause."
Meanwhile, in the Scala theater,
the students shout, "Long live Italy!"
The Austrian officers leave the audience.
Giacomino, Vitaliano's brother-in-law,
defies an Austrian officer
and yells in his face.
"How would I love a pork chop tonight!"
But the traitor Cezky,
the Count's secretary,
tries to seduce Countess Anna,
Lamberti's wife.
She rejects him indignantly.
Then the evil Cezky will denounce
Count Vitaliano to the police.
"At least, leave our women
the liberty to die from grief!"
And here is the finale
which doesn't exist in the play.
The Countess Anna
reunites with her husband…
… and falls, struck down, in his arms.
An admirable example of patriotism
and a sublime proof of love.
The martyrs don't die in vain.
Milan rises and fights
its glorious five days.
This is a film from 1915,
produced in Turin by the Casa Ambrosio.
The Italian Risorgimento marches on.
Garibaldi and his ONE THOUSAND
have landed in Sicily.
All the people rise up in arms.
Even the women help Garibaldi.
Here is one, who brings important
news to the hero of two worlds.
It is a film from 1912.
Director: Mario Caserini.
And with this THE TAKING OF ROME,
with which our anthology concludes,
we see the first plotted Italian film,
made in Italy in the distant year of 1904,
by Filoteo Alberini for
Casa Cines in Rome.
September 20, 1870…
A fateful date!
The bersaglieri are at the gates of Rome.
General Kanzler,
commander of the pontifical troops,
to the ultimatum presented by General
Carchidio on behalf of Raffaele Cadorna,
responds with disdain,
"Never surrender!"
Carchidio is driven out of town.
They blindfold him because
he must cross the enemy lines.
The March!
- Shut up, you're messing me up!
The bersaglieri have
opened a breech in the Porte Pia.
The March! The March!
Here it is!
Watch out!
It broke.
The bersaglieri have made Italy!
Italy is one and indivisible!
Long live Italy!
THE APOTHEOSIS
THE END
And now the comedies!
THE BEWITCHED FIGHTERS.
And now, the surprise of surprises:
Two short films in color!
Colors from fifty years ago,
hand-painted as was the custom.
THE WONDERFUL BUTTERFLIES.
Sister, what are you doing?
- These are risqué films!
How naive! There's no harm in them.
Children, close you eyes!
Look at the work of the anonymous
craftsman who has painted by hand,
every single frame in this movie,
with the patience of the old miniaturists.
THE EASTER EGGS
THE END
Here, put it away.
Did you have fun, Ma'am?
- More than that, I'm enthusiastic.
Where did you find these films?
In the "slaughterhouse". I've saved them!
May I ask something?
- Of course.
Baroness Caprioli.
- Cavaliere Omeri. Most honored.
Apart from these films, would you
have others, let's say, for adults?
Baroness, I've tried to save the most
essential of our glorious cinematography.
Movies with intrigue?
Sister, could you get me an orangeade?
- Right away, Baroness.
I'd like to know if you have
films with love intrigues…
Romantic films, you understand me?
I've saved the most important films from
destruction: Bertini, Menichelli, Manzini…
Makowska?
- Yes. I had the honor of working with her.
Which films could I show at my home?
MOTH, ASSUNTA SPINA, THE NUDE LADY…!
Perfect! We're agreed then.
And what about the Makowska?
A beautiful scene from CAB NO. 13.
You won't forget, eh?
- Of course not.
Your niece?
- My assistant, for the music.
Good. Very good!
She'll be needed for the screening.
Goodbye.
- Thank you. Most honored.
Bye.
Good day.
You're still not ready?
What have you got on your face?
You look like a clown!
- Sometimes, you need a bit of color!
Go wash it off.
You look like a gentleman and I don't want
to look like a slob! - I am a gentleman!
I've taught a whole
generation how to wear tails!
It's too small.
- It's done on purpose.
So you can see the white beneath.
Oh, the baroness's car!
It's him!
- Who?
The driver.
Good evening.
- Did the baroness send you? - Yes, Sir.
This material must be loaded in.
Wouldn't it have been better to call a van?
Mariannina, please, don't say a word.
And above all, don't kiss anybody's hand!
What if they kiss mine?
- Come, let's go!
The cigarette!
Sorry.
Mariannina!
Ask if we can start.
- OK.
Madame Baroness,
the Cavaliere says he's ready.
Can we start?
No, I'm still waiting for more guests.
I'll let you know.
OK.
- Aren't we all here?
Be patient. - Who are we waiting for?
- Is someone not here?
The operator isn't ready yet.
Can you tell me who
the mysterious guest is?
L'Astorri.
- Ah, the producer's widow?
Exactly. But you don't know who
L'Astorri was before she got married.
An actress, right?
The same.
I was at her house a few days ago.
She has her house full of photos spread
on the couch like Madame Récamier.
She wouldn't stop talking about her films!
She was a famous diva.
- Yes, from the time of Noah!
When you were young too, dear.
What was her stage name?
Helena Makowska.
- There she is!
Dear Helena!
- Pardon me, I'm always late.
What's this? A play? A film?
Ladies and gentlemen,
Omeri Film has the honor to present
a leading vision from the most
beautiful and famous of silent films.
Watch and don't say a word.
… the art, the poetry,
the love and the grace.
Put on "Volga, Volga".
We begin our show with
an anonymous film of 1908,
edited by the famous Pathé House.
FROM SOCIALISM TO NIHILISM,
a political drama.
In Moscow,
in an underground printing press,
Sonia and her comrades
prepare manifestos against the Czar.
"The alarm! The police!"
Someone has denounced them.
Sonia, found guilty of
the policeman's murder, is arrested.
Please, don't laugh at the actors of that
time because they move too fast.
It's not their fault.
It's the projectors of today which do
not go at the same speed as silent movies,
and grotesquely speed up the movements
of the characters in those films.
The unhappy Sonia is sentenced
to deportation to Siberia.
Is this film a comedy?
- Don't talk nonsense.
Then why are they laughing?
Beneath the snow, before the walls of
the Kremlin, the sad caravan departs.
"I will avenge you, my daughter",
cries the father.
Sonia can't endure
the fatigue of the long journey
and she dies in the Siberian Steppe.
He became a nihilist.
Meanwhile, the father makes bombs according
to the manual of the nihilists of the time.
The trial is a success!
Revenge! Incredible revenge!
The end of the drama.
In the era of these films,
the actors and actresses
were still unknown to the public.
A few years later, "divaism" emerged.
Here is Elena Vitiello,
excuse me, stage name, Francesca Bertini,
in the movie ASSUNTA SPINA.
"Haven't you heard? Assunta is getting
married. She's now in Marechiaro."
In ASSUNTA SPINA, Francesca Bertini plays
the enigmatic and suffering character
created by Salvatore Di Giacomo.
The film was directed in
1915 by Gustavo Serena.
A humble ironer,
Assunta is torn between two men
and it is the cause of her tragedy.
A fickle lover,
she makes her fiance jealous,
Michele Boccadifuoco,
interpreted by Gustavo Serena himself.
Considering himself betrayed,
Michele waits for Assunta to take revenge.
Michele has been arrested
and it is being tried at Castel Capuano.
Assunta runs to his side,
to tell him she loves him still,
even more than before.
In fact, during the trial,
she testifies in his defense.
But the court, considering
that Michele is a repeat offender,
condemns him to two years in prison.
To save her lover,
Assunta turns to Don Federigo Funelli,
an official at the court
and an unrepentant libertine.
"How much do you want?
What do I have to give you?"
In order to save Michele,
Assunta pays with her honor,
the price demanded by Don Federigo.
Soon after, Michele released, returns.
"I think you are more beautiful
than ever, Assunta! Look at me!"
"Leave me! Leave me! - Why?
- Because I'm not worthy!"
Assunta is accused of
a crime she did not commit
to save the man she loves.
Please don't laugh.
It is a highly dramatic moment.
Now you will see Pina Menichelli,
the actress with a hundred faces,
an interpreter of a thousand heroines.
Her way of acting was very personal,
unmistakable.
Here she is in a scene from
the film CLAUDIO'S WIFE
with the actor Cesare Rossi Pianelli.
Observe her in this daring, amorous fit.
I beg you, gentlemen, don't laugh.
Even this is art.
Admire her in this
ROMANCE OF A POOR YOUNG MAN,
adapted from Giorgione's
play of the same name.
It was staged by director
Amleto Palermi in 1920.
Young Odiot, played by Luigi Serventi,
believed poor, but actually rich,
believed a commoner, but actually a noble,
accompany the noble and
wealthy Miss Margherita,
interpreted by Pina Menichelli,
on a visit to the Wind Tower.
"Come back later,"
Odiot says to the shepherd boy.
Meanwhile, night falls.
The shepherd boy doesn't see them and
thinking them gone, closes the tower.
"The watchman must be around
here. Call him", Margherita says.
Nobody answers.
A terrible idea crosses
the mind of the woman…
… that Odiot was in cahoots
with the shepherd boy.
And Margherita shouts her disdain,
"You have paid that child
to lock me in this tower!"
"Oh, my God! How vile!
I am dishonored!"
"He will take me by force!"
"This was you plan!"
"Stop, Margherita!
My honor won't admit such an offense!"
"I love you!
I have always loved you!"
"And you will have the proof.
Even if you never see me again!"
At Margherita's castle, they are worried.
Her uncle, played by Antonio Gandusio,
seeing Odiot arrive, asks him,
"Odiot! What's wrong?
What happened?"
In this way,
Odiot has saved Margherita.
A rescue expedition is organized.
Margherita will be rescued
and will understand that Odiot
is not poor, but rich,
not a commoner, but a noble.
Ladies and gentlemen,
there are women in this world
whom you just need to see once
and you will never forget them.
They are those women whom Nature
has endowed with irresistible means
to instantly dominate the male psyche.
One of these actresses was Lyda Borelli.
A mistress of the so-called coup de foudre,
Lyda Borelli was the most
interesting female type in our cinema,
next to whom,
every man felt himself her lover,
or at least, her friend.
You can see her with Andrea Habay,
in the famous carnival
scene from the film, MOTH,
where a very young
Renato Cialente also acts.
Gentlemen, don't laugh at what
yesterday made everyone's heart beat.
But we weren't there!
- We weren't even born!
Gentlemen, don't laugh at
what constitutes your past.
Think that in twenty or thirty years
your children and grandchildren,
might laugh at the movies,
you are passionate about today.
Believe me, they aren't better than these.
- Bravo!
Enough! Silence!
- Forgive them, my dear.
I understand them.
- They're the youth of today.
They are young: enough said!
Why are you angry? They're having fun.
- Shut up!
Hey! This is not a school.
And now, Lyda Borelli in her
most stunning performance,
THE NUDE LADY,
a film that made an epoch
in the history of cinema.
An adaptation of Henri Bataille's play,
with the interpretation of Wanda
Capodaglio and Lamberto Picasso.
Metteur en scène: Carmine Gallone.
The young painter Pierre,
who has just entered the glory of art,
paints in his studio
the passionate Princess Paola de Chabran.
Meanwhile, Lolette, Pierre's fiancée,
struggles in an abyss of jealousy.
She fears her heart's
beloved will betray her.
And in fact, the artistic meeting
is transformed into a love meeting.
Drama now looms in the shadows.
An evening at the painter's house.
A reception at Princess Chabran's house.
Unfortunately, the reconciliation
between Lolette and Pierre has been brief.
The painter presents his painting at
a reception at the Princess's house.
And Lolette, who was attending,
realizes that she has been deceived.
Now her spirit cannot find peace,
her womanly pride has been wounded,
her demonic anger is about to explode.
Observe and admire, gentlemen,
this splendid fragment of intense drama.
"I love Pierre!
The woman who tries to take him from me…"
"Reassure yourself, my little one.
You're both no more than friends to me."
Two minutes of rest.
What a fool I was!
- It has excited us all.
For me it's different. You know that I…
- Yes, I understand.
That laughter upset me.
- I'm sorry, I didn't think…
Why, sorry?
They didn't offend me.
On the contrary,
they've made me realize many things.
Perhaps so. Excuse me, dear.
They are terrible, Ma'am.
- Don't be mad. It's going great.
I've never met such
an unsympathetic audience!
But there are those who like it.
Come on, go on with it.
There's little left.
- Go ahead then.
Excuse me, I heard Mrs Makowska mentioned.
Is she in the room?
Yes, she was.
But she's already gone. Go on.
Excuse me…
- Go on. I'll turn down the lights.
And finishing up,
some precious fragments
from CAB NO. 13,
adapted from the immortal
novel by Xavier de Montépin.
A superb performance by Helena Makowska.
One of the most memorable film events
by the work of this magnificent woman.
A lady regal,
authentic, lovely film actress.
An actress who speaks
with the eyes and the heart.
Helena Makowska, ladies and
gentlemen, originally from Poland,
brought to the Italian scene,
all the fire,
the temperament,
the enigma of the Slavic soul,
and sparked fanaticism in the crowd
and tenderness,
sometimes tragic, in all her admirers.
The Countess is in
the throes of tremendous anguish
because she has received
a letter blackmailing her.
She has been accused of
a murky crime committed in Paris
on the Ponte de Neuilly,
on the night of a tragic birth.
The shadow of this past
weighs on her life, now happy,
and she fears for her daughter.
During a party at the Countess's castle,
a representation is organized
of tableaux vivants
and the countess herself
appears as Madame Récamier.
A terrible surprise awaits you!
The following tableau shows exactly
that crime on the Neuilly Bridge
for which she was responsible.
It is a dark maneuver by
her enemies to unmask her.
"Beloved daughter,
your mother suffers so much!"
Feeling lost, the countess prefers suicide
to a life unworthy of her daughter.
Helena! Why?
What's wrong, dear? Are you ill?
No, no…
Go on, go on.
Stop!
How rude.
- I'm outraged.
Darling, they're a shallow audience.
Makowska was not gone.
Now I see the ruse.
The baroness wanted to have fun at her
expense and I've lent myself to the game!
I'm embarrassed.
Stay a little longer.
We'll screen a comedy
and have a few laughs.
No.
It was as if the dead came back to life.
They are memories that must sleep.
Excuse me if I go. It'll be better.
I'll show you out.
- Yes.
Helena!
What are you doing?
You say it's a masterpiece
and now you don't want to see it.
Keep quiet. You can't understand.
After what happened yesterday,
I don't know what to do.
If today's public can
laugh even at the Duse, then…
You're too fanatical!
Come on, let's see that Duse.
I swear I won't laugh.
- No, I'll never project again.
And what will you do to live?
- I'll get by.
Why don't you open a cinema?
This way I'll learn too.
Who is it? Come in!
Mr. Omeri?
- That's me. Yes?
L'Astorri.
- How can I help you?
I'm Giorgio L'Astorri,
from the Vulcano Film.
You're the son of the lamented
Commendatore L'Astorri?
Exactly.
Your father was a pioneer
of Italian cinema! - I know.
Leave it. - It's natural you know it,
but it should be remembered.
Sit down as if you were home!
- Thank you.
About my father, you know that
he married actress Helena Makowska?
Great! Unforgettable!
There she is!
I had the honor
of seeing her again last night.
Right.
Last night, screened in a private home
some fragments of films
in which my mother appeared.
You may rest easy.
It will never happen again.
As you wish.
But I want to buy those fragments.
When my father married her,
he removed and destroyed all her films.
He did wrong.
Let it go! Please give me those
fragments. I'll pay well. - Never!
Listen, I'm aware of what
happened at the Caprioli house.
My mother suffered a shock.
And she came home crying.
Crying? Why? Everybody laughed!
- Go away!
They laughed?
- Laughter abounds in the mouths of fools.
Perhaps but I can't allow
them to laugh at my mother.
They'll never laugh again!
- Good. Give me the movie.
I will give you 50,000 lire.
Cavaliere, what are you waiting for?
Don't be a stupid! - Get!
No, look, I'm very sorry but I can't.
100,000 and we'll say no more about it.
Sir, I may be poor
but I'm not for sale.
But you sell films.
- Impossible!
I'll bring you to court.
I'll get you in a lot of trouble.
The rights to these films
don't belong to you!
They're not mine but art's.
And in the name of art, I will not sell
them to be destroyed, as you want!
I'll donate them to a museum, not you!
Never!
Think about it.
- Go away.
See you in court.
- See you in court!
See you wherever you want,
but I'll never give you the movies!
Never ever!
Hey, you!
Do you really want your mama's films?
- Of course I do and I'll have them.
But he's stubborn as a mule
and also a little crazy.
The judge will cure him of his craziness.
Do you want me to give it to you?
- Are you serious?
I'm a serious girl!
OK. Bring it to me and
I'll give you a nice gift.
What do you want?
- No gifts.
You must do for me what
they do for the girls in the movies…
What is it a called? A test.
What's so funny?
Am I a horse?
You want to make movies?
- Sure. I have a vocation.
So show me the movies
and I'll get you a screen test.
No, you give me the test and then
I'll give you your mama's movies.
Fine, I'll test you.
When can you come to the studio?
- Right now, if you give me a ride.
Then, let's go. Get in.
May I come in?
- Oh, Helena! You here?
And I'm in such a state!
I'm mortified!
So here are our masterpieces.
And our dreams.
- I'm the poor junkyard dealer of dreams.
But I don't want to be anymore.
No more!
- Why?
Because I don't want anyone
to laugh at Helena Makowska,
or Francesca Bertini or
Lyda Borelli or anyone else.
Do you want to destroy them?
- No!
I'll donate them to a museum.
- You're right.
We've become museum pieces.
And just think that
I procured your address
and that I have come here
to see them all again.
Helena…
In each of these films,
I have left a piece of my heart.
I imagine what you had to endure with
that stupid audience with no sense of art!
Yes, it's true.
Last night, I suffered much.
Me too. Especially for you.
- Thank you.
But I love these movies and
will keep them despite everything.
Let's watch them both together.
They're ours.
We've acted in them together. - No, no.
I understands that it's like
opening a tomb, a tomb of our youth.
You may be right, but…
you have a film on the projector.
That? That's a unique piece.
A true jewel.
Who's in it? Me? Bertini?
- Oh, no!
Wait, I'll show you…
You've already failed in your promise.
- No.
You know why?
Because are our faces are not in it.
There are…
Look!
PEDESTRIAN LOVE
Only feet?
- Exactly.
When I discovered this movie,
I thought it was an ad from a shoe maker.
But no.
- Who had this idea?
Old Robinet.
- Ah, the famous comedian!
Yes, he shot it in Turin in 1914.
This is a movie that will never grow old.
THE END
Lower that focus a little.
- We're ready. Are we starting or not?
Hurry, come on!
Miss, can you get it in your place?
- Come on, let's try a dolly.
Put a visor on that 500.
All right.
Director, we're ready.
Got it?
As soon as the phone rings…
No sweat. I run, thinking he's the man,
but it's my boyfriend and I talk to him.
Very good. Pay attention, OK?
Why all this nonsense?
Cheer up! Come on!
Mariannina, be attentive and calm.
Be calm.
- You be calm!
Go on, nothing to worry about.
Ca-ca-camera!
"Celenza" Test, 0-1!
Action! Yes, yes! That's you!
Ah, you're playing the phone!
- Stop!
Yes, I'm playing the phone.
Is it clear?
What? You think I'm a dummy?
Let's go. I'll show you how it's done.
From the top! Ready?
Ready.
Camera!
- "Celenza" Test, 0-2!
Action! Ring! Ring!
Hello?
Hello?
Nobody's answering!
You pretend!
- Ah, I get it!
Hello? Hello?
Who do you want?
What? Ah, is that you, Petruccio?
My heart's Petruccio?
And how are you in Rome?
What? I'm fine.
And is everyone in the town fine?
And how is Macarella?
Has the pig fattened up?
Well, let's thank
the Virgin and Saint Anthony.
Stop! That's enough!
So little?
She killed it!
- She was great!
Then I'll get a contract?
- And how!
But first bring me those nice things.
Right away! Wait for me here.
Mariannina, where have you been?
Where are you going?
The Cavaliere's not in.
Did he leave you the key?
- Yes, right here.
Gimme, I gotta finish a task.
- But, let me look at you…
What do you have on?
- I'll explain later.
No, let me see! - I've no time
Where did the Cavaliere go?
He said he'd be back in half an hour.
Here are the antiques.
Keep them, Madam Director.
I give you all my films,
just preserve them.
Save them from destruction.
You could create a section
here dedicated to cinema.
I could take care of organizing it.
That's all I ask.
You're very kind.
Unfortunately, the rules only
provide for the collection of art works
But…this is art too, Ma'am.
Of course. I meant figurative art.
Just look if you think I'm lying:
This is Duse!
Why do you want to get rid of them?
You see, Ma'am, I'm poor.
I live to project these films,
which are more important
to me than all these statues.
But today they cause laughter.
I realized that the other day.
Today's public finds them comical.
Look, I've hundreds
of cans like this at home.
The greatest artists of the past:
Zacconi, Novelli, Bertini or Borelli!
Sorry, I can't help you.
Films are flammable and
we wouldn't know where to store them.
Try the National Library.
I will try.
Forgive me for wasting your time.
Help! Fire!
Call the fire department!
Get out of here!
Come!
What happened?
- Fire! Call the firemen!
We've no room for books
and you want me to
take charge of your films?
There are important works…
- Don't insist!
Know what I'd do to the inventor of films?
Kill him!
Because today's youth doesn't study.
They go to the movies. All asses!
Do you know who Eleonora Duse is?
- From D'Annunzio? Isn't she dead?
Dead? She would be,
if she weren't immortalized here forever.
Look.
Look!
Then, why don't you ask the Ministry?
Maybe they'll take care of it.
Yeah!
It would solve everything.
But it would require patience.
How long would it take?
Oh, God, a year or two!
You'll need a decree, provision of funds…
I understand, thank you.
- Please, one last thing.
Is there anyway you could get
movie tickets for me and my wife?
Sorry. Thanks again.
- The exit's over there.
Thanks.
Is there danger? Can it explode?
- Yes, there are motion pictures.
Get back!
Cavaliere! Over there! It's burning!
My films! My movies!
Help!
My movies! My movies!
Let me go! Let me go!
Get back!
Was this your establishment?
- Yes.
Come with me, you're under arrest.
Go on.
Don't you like it, "colleague"?
- Thanks. I'm not hungry.
That's bad!
Eat up, "colleague".
You need a full stomach in here.
Or you'll get weak and at the interrogation
they'll make you say anything they want.
Cheer up, "colleague"!
- Colleague?
Why?
Are you passionate about the cinema too?
Passionate?
Whenever Gina Lollobrigida
is in the movies,
who wouldn't be passionate?
Do you work in cinema?
- I've spent my whole life among films.
I also spent two days on
the colossal QUO VADIS.
I did two days as an extra.
I got a fountain pen and a watch.
The pen won't write and the watch stopped.
Here, keep your bread.
I'm not a thief.
I'm an artist!
Excuse me, Commendato'.
Mine's a trade like any other.
I expiate my love for art here!
Well, good love to you.
And a good meal for me.
Omeri, to the commissioner's office.
You declare that this movie,
like the one destroyed in the fire,
doesn't contain anything forbidden,
subversive or licentious.
I repeat, these are old films.
Smell, how they stink!
We'll see about that.
- Careful with that cigarette!
I must tell you something…
- What? Speak.
I was the one who started the fire.
- You?
You did it on purpose?
- You think I'm a murderer?
I left the film in the projector
without turning off the electricity.
I turned around and it was on fire.
Got it? - I get it.
Then arrest me and release my uncle!
Wretch!
You've destroyed my whole life!
- Silence!
Is this film yours?
- Yes, Sir.
Then take it.
See, if the projectionist has arrived.
Yes, he's here.
- Come with me.
Project this.
- No, no!
What do you mean?
Close the curtain.
- Have a seat, Commissioner.
Easy!
Easy.
Close that door.
Ready.
What is this film?
CABIRIA.
- The movie from years ago?
Yes.
- And where did you get it?
At the "slaughterhouse".
- The "slaughterhouse"?
They were destroying all the old films.
All of them!
Look at what colossal scenes!
It's from 1913.
Italians taught the world
how to make historical films.
Today, no one remembers it.
That's the famous Maciste,
who saves Cabiria,
a Roman girl about to be
sacrificed to the god Moloch.
Sofonisba, the daughter of Hasdrubal,
the fiery pomegranate flower.
And who is she?
- Italia Almirante Manzini.
She was chosen by Gabriele D'Annunzio.
With a miracle of patience and force,
Hannibal crosses the Alps
and thus his celerity threatens Rome.
The eruption of Etna.
Archimedes asks the sun for
the destructive flame on the Roman fleet.
And this is the famous Zacconi,
who ruled the stage,
his mere appearance on the scene
made hearts tremble and falter.
He's not living anymore.
Only a few meters of celluloid
can recall him to new generations.
That's why I've rescued these films.
And who is she?
- Eleonora Duse!
The famous actress?
- Yes.
She played in only one film,
ASHES with Febo Mari.
And she made no more films because
cinema, before sound, frightened her.
These are the only surviving
images of the divine Duse!
It was filmed in 1916.
"Mother, Mother…"
"I will disappear,
carried away by the wind…"
"Mother…"
Everything is ashes:
life, death, man, destiny.
Light.
They didn't laugh!
Have you ever seen such artists?
Weren't they great?
- Yes, truly.
They were great artists.
And all the films
destroyed were like these?
All.
- Too bad. A real shame.
Inmate 345, to the visiting room.
- Who's there?
My daughter?
- No, the lawyer.
Why isn't my daughter coming?
Even she believes me guilty.
Let's go. Move it!
- Ah, Officer, you cannot understand me!
All my life, I have created,
waited, dreamed
that one day, with grey hair,
I could reap the fruits of my labor.
Instead, all I get is contempt and shame
for a crime I haven't committed.
Stop! That's good.
Bravo! Shall I call him?
- No.
Mariannina!
- Excuse me. Coming!
Let's go.
- You won't say hello, Mama? Why?
Sentimentalism.
I felt a certain shock seeing
my old companion in art working.
He's still good, isn't he?
Just as long as he doesn't ruin the film.
You had a certain way of
acting in those times.
Do you know he's already
asked me for two advances?
Who knows what
the money will be spent on?
Try to find work for him.
He really needs it
now that he has lost everything.
Look how they made me up
for the part of the maid!
And look how they made me up
because of you!
Omeri, let's go to the foreground.
Don't waste time.
Give me a 50 here!
Sit here. He had some bread, right?
That's good.
Still! Like that.
Look at me, eh?
A little worried?
- Worried, of course. He's in jail!
THE OMERI FOUNDATION FILM MUSEUM
SILENT AND SOUND FILMS
The "Grand Official" Ettore Omeri
has agreed to act in spoken films,
he who always refused to even see them.
Everything he earns, he spends
again here, in the "slaughterhouse",
to rescue old films and pass
them on to generations to come.
His passion, like all great
authentic passions, is incurable.
He hopes to rebuild his lost collection,
and one day see it appear
dignified in some museum,
among statues, pictures,
books and journals.
He won't admit that
men could throw away so lightly,
such precious documents from their past.
Why not watch the old movies again,
that show with such rawness
the tastes and weaknesses of our parents?
And why not allow our children,
to laugh at the films today?
Old Omeri thinks that
if men saw themselves more,
they would be less
afraid of their own flaws.
Maybe they would make fewer mistakes.
And probably, old Omeri is not wrong.
THE END
English subs by sineintegral@KG
This is a "slaughterhouse" for movies.
Here films die.
It would be more accurate
to say that they are "murdered."
Few know that after a quick
career of success or failure,
an inexorable end
awaits all motion pictures.
Celluloid and the silver salts
that it's composed of,
are materials too valuable
not to be recycled.
It's necessary to work
with all precautions,
because celluloid is highly flammable.
It burns like an explosive.
Here, cinematic works are valued by weight.
With a warm water bath,
they separate the gelatin,
that with the silver salts
formed the photographic image,
from its celluloid base.
And the precious ribbon,
which was previously played
in the projection rooms,
comes out clean and
transparent from the wash.
A few minutes are enough to destroy
the work of months, perhaps years,
which cost millions,
hard work, and ingenuity.
Thus, disappear forever,
works that, perhaps today,
we would love to see again.
Even for cinema, men write its history.
Unfortunately, the cinema is perishable.
In a short time,
even the memories of it are lost.
Here another shipment of films
arrives at the "slaughterhouse."
Look at that old man who sneaks
into the warehouse like a thief.
He's a "slaughterhouse" mouse.
He goes on the hunt for certain movies,
like a botanist looking for rare flowers.
He goes around with his
briefcase through piles of film,
hoping to discover some
precious fragment to save.
The operators know him and
always find him in the way.
They let him do it because they
think him a little crazy, but harmless.
His name is Ettore Omeri.
To be more exact,
"Grand Officer" Ettore Omeri.
And ex-actor of silent films,
that is, the prehistoric cinema.
The manager of the "slaughterhouse"
has thrown him out many times.
"Is it possible, he still can't see
that old movies can't be saved?"
"That their destruction is
not only a profitable operation,
but an absurd contractual obligation?"
But Omeri pleads, implores, speaks
in the name of Art with a capital "A."
And in the end, this time too,
they let him get away with it.
We'll tell you an episode
from his life as a collector.
An episode that actually
happened not too many years ago,
when La Cineteca did not yet exist,
that is, the film libraries,
which among other methods,
have emerged just like this,
taking away a few pieces of
film from the "slaughterhouse."
Where's Mariannina?
- Don't you know?
Locked up inside, all day.
Has anyone come looking for me?
- Yes, two nuns.
They always come when I'm not there!
Don't get mad. They spoke to
Mariannina and said they'd be back.
When?
- They didn't say.
HOME FILMS:
THE BEST FILMS OF ALL TIME
Murderer! Trying to kill me?
Don't you know that movies are
more explosive than dynamite?
One day, you'll blow up
the entire warehouse!
But I'm careful!
If I catch you smoking again,
you're fired. - Oh, no.
Did anybody come looking for me.
- No, nobody.
Nobody?
Two nuns came! Two clients!
And you don't tell me a word!
If you already know, why ask?
- I know because your mother told me.
Where's your head?
- Over here.
Can we see the movies?
- Come on, in a half hour?
Go away from there, boys!
This is not for you! Scram!
I think I found the last reel to
THE ROMANCE OF A POOR YOUNG MAN!
This way, we'll have
a complete work of Menichelli.
And we can make an anthology of the divas!
What's an anthology?
- A selection, like a flower bouquet.
I see. Like a bouquet, but with actresses.
Move from there and sit.
Go over this movie.
Clean it well. Check the splices.
Ah, these comics!
Put on gloves.
- Gloves for these shreds of film?
They're so oily!
- Wash them with chloride.
Ah, it's her!
Yes! It's her!
Duse!
- Who?
Eleonora Duse!
The greatest actress of the Italian stage!
Really? Who ever heard of her?
Just think that if it weren't for me,
this film would've been destroyed too!
Lost forever!
What are you doing? Are you a thief?
You use my acetone for your nails?
I don't want to see you again! Get out!
What nonsense!
I was going to buy you some more!
You paint your nails red and
don't know who Eleonora Duse is!
Come in. Who is it?
May we enter?
- Ah, you're the ones from earlier.
Good day.
- Good day, sisters.
You would like an exhibition, I imagine.
Please, have a seat.
No, thank you. You're Cavaliere Omeri?
- At your service.
Mother Giuseppina gave us your address.
You did a screening at
the Saint Anthony Orphanage.
Mother Giuseppina was delighted.
- Indeed.
We are from the Purification Seminary.
Tomorrow, we celebrate
the birthday of our Mother Superior
and our patronesses will be there.
- And you thought to have a nice screening.
That's why we've come.
Most honored!
I will present a selection of films,
conforming to the educational,
recreational recommendations of the school.
Could we see something?
- Of course.
The Cavaliere is the professor of cinema!
With all due modesty,
I've been in this art for 40 years.
Mariannina, close the blinds, prepare
the gramophone and put on the record.
When I give you the signal, start.
Sisters, please, sit here
so you can better.
- Excuse me, but aren't they sound films?
Sound? With this…
And is there speech?
- Natural speech! Leave it to me.
If you like,
I can accompany you on the piano?
Thank you, Sister, but to accompany
movies takes a specialist.
Omeri Film has the honor of presenting,
"Across the Centuries"
"or from JULIUS CAESAR
to THE TAKING OF ROME."
"A compendium of the most glorious
and ancient Italian historical films."
This great JULIUS CAESAR, you are watching,
was made in a distant 1913,
by Enrico Guazzoni.
Here are Caesar's ships heading for Greece.
Caesar goes to fight his last battle
against Pompey, his hated rival.
Caesar meticulously studies his
battle plan. Here he is, in his tent.
The character is played by Amleto Novelli.
After long struggles,
the two great and bitter rivals
line up with their armies
for the ultimate test.
Pompey's army is stronger.
Caesar's has been decimated
by fatigue and fighting.
But Caesar, the genius of battle,
the god of war, will confound Pompey.
Pompey's army retreats.
Caesar has won and
Rome decrees his triumph!
Quick, the hymn of triumph!
Here. Careful.
Play it!
Here are the fatal "ides"
of March of the year 44.
Caesar goes to the Senate to say goodbye.
It is the vigil of his departure
to fight against the Parthians.
But he is stopped by a conspiracy
concocted by his own friends,
who want to rid Rome of his tyranny.
It is Brutus himself, whom he
regards as a son, who murders him.
"Tu quoque Brute, fili mi?",
exclaims the stabbed.
It's treason! Oh, Caesar!
The faithful Mark Anthony
vows to avenge his beloved leader.
Grief! Tremendous grief in Rome!
All the people pay their last
respects to the glorious corpse.
"Citizens", shouts Mark Anthony,
"Caesar's lacerated body
demands justice and revenge!"
But the shouts of the crowd
cover Mark Anthony's voice.
End of the first episode!
- What do I put on?
"King of Heaven".
- "King of Heaven" coming up.
Attention!
Forty-four years after Caesar's death,
a child was born in a stable in Bethlehem.
The Three Kings travel there
to adore Jesus, the King of Kings.
Look at the suggestive lighting in
this scene from the movie CHRISTUS,
shot in Rome in 1915.
To kill Jesus,
Herod has ordered the extermination
of all the children of Galilee.
But now, the specters of his
innocent victims haunt him.
The holy family is safe.
They have fled to Egypt.
Stop!
- What did you say?
Stop and put on number seven.
- Speak like a Christian!
The Jerusalem, where Jesus was crucified,
falls into the hands of the infidels,
and only centuries later will
the crusaders come to liberate it.
Here is an episode inspired by
the famous poem JERUSALEM DELIVERED,
by Torquato Tasso.
Crusaders proceed to
assault the walls of Jerusalem.
Enrico Guazzoni, the incomparable
architect of so many historical films,
created this work in 1917.
Attention! Fourth episode:
The Italian Risorgimento claims
the unity and independence of Italy.
Tullio Carminati, interpreter
of the Count Vitaliano Lamberti,
from the movie ROMANTICISM,
directed by Arrigo Frusta,
from the drama of Gerolamo Rovetta.
We are in the back room of a pharmacy,
hiding place for the conspirators.
Count Lamberti, a great patriot,
joins "Young Italy" and takes an oath.
"In the name of God and of Italy,"
"I, Vitaliano Lamberti,
give my name to "Young Italy""
"and I swear to be faithful
to the holy Italian cause."
Meanwhile, in the Scala theater,
the students shout, "Long live Italy!"
The Austrian officers leave the audience.
Giacomino, Vitaliano's brother-in-law,
defies an Austrian officer
and yells in his face.
"How would I love a pork chop tonight!"
But the traitor Cezky,
the Count's secretary,
tries to seduce Countess Anna,
Lamberti's wife.
She rejects him indignantly.
Then the evil Cezky will denounce
Count Vitaliano to the police.
"At least, leave our women
the liberty to die from grief!"
And here is the finale
which doesn't exist in the play.
The Countess Anna
reunites with her husband…
… and falls, struck down, in his arms.
An admirable example of patriotism
and a sublime proof of love.
The martyrs don't die in vain.
Milan rises and fights
its glorious five days.
This is a film from 1915,
produced in Turin by the Casa Ambrosio.
The Italian Risorgimento marches on.
Garibaldi and his ONE THOUSAND
have landed in Sicily.
All the people rise up in arms.
Even the women help Garibaldi.
Here is one, who brings important
news to the hero of two worlds.
It is a film from 1912.
Director: Mario Caserini.
And with this THE TAKING OF ROME,
with which our anthology concludes,
we see the first plotted Italian film,
made in Italy in the distant year of 1904,
by Filoteo Alberini for
Casa Cines in Rome.
September 20, 1870…
A fateful date!
The bersaglieri are at the gates of Rome.
General Kanzler,
commander of the pontifical troops,
to the ultimatum presented by General
Carchidio on behalf of Raffaele Cadorna,
responds with disdain,
"Never surrender!"
Carchidio is driven out of town.
They blindfold him because
he must cross the enemy lines.
The March!
- Shut up, you're messing me up!
The bersaglieri have
opened a breech in the Porte Pia.
The March! The March!
Here it is!
Watch out!
It broke.
The bersaglieri have made Italy!
Italy is one and indivisible!
Long live Italy!
THE APOTHEOSIS
THE END
And now the comedies!
THE BEWITCHED FIGHTERS.
And now, the surprise of surprises:
Two short films in color!
Colors from fifty years ago,
hand-painted as was the custom.
THE WONDERFUL BUTTERFLIES.
Sister, what are you doing?
- These are risqué films!
How naive! There's no harm in them.
Children, close you eyes!
Look at the work of the anonymous
craftsman who has painted by hand,
every single frame in this movie,
with the patience of the old miniaturists.
THE EASTER EGGS
THE END
Here, put it away.
Did you have fun, Ma'am?
- More than that, I'm enthusiastic.
Where did you find these films?
In the "slaughterhouse". I've saved them!
May I ask something?
- Of course.
Baroness Caprioli.
- Cavaliere Omeri. Most honored.
Apart from these films, would you
have others, let's say, for adults?
Baroness, I've tried to save the most
essential of our glorious cinematography.
Movies with intrigue?
Sister, could you get me an orangeade?
- Right away, Baroness.
I'd like to know if you have
films with love intrigues…
Romantic films, you understand me?
I've saved the most important films from
destruction: Bertini, Menichelli, Manzini…
Makowska?
- Yes. I had the honor of working with her.
Which films could I show at my home?
MOTH, ASSUNTA SPINA, THE NUDE LADY…!
Perfect! We're agreed then.
And what about the Makowska?
A beautiful scene from CAB NO. 13.
You won't forget, eh?
- Of course not.
Your niece?
- My assistant, for the music.
Good. Very good!
She'll be needed for the screening.
Goodbye.
- Thank you. Most honored.
Bye.
Good day.
You're still not ready?
What have you got on your face?
You look like a clown!
- Sometimes, you need a bit of color!
Go wash it off.
You look like a gentleman and I don't want
to look like a slob! - I am a gentleman!
I've taught a whole
generation how to wear tails!
It's too small.
- It's done on purpose.
So you can see the white beneath.
Oh, the baroness's car!
It's him!
- Who?
The driver.
Good evening.
- Did the baroness send you? - Yes, Sir.
This material must be loaded in.
Wouldn't it have been better to call a van?
Mariannina, please, don't say a word.
And above all, don't kiss anybody's hand!
What if they kiss mine?
- Come, let's go!
The cigarette!
Sorry.
Mariannina!
Ask if we can start.
- OK.
Madame Baroness,
the Cavaliere says he's ready.
Can we start?
No, I'm still waiting for more guests.
I'll let you know.
OK.
- Aren't we all here?
Be patient. - Who are we waiting for?
- Is someone not here?
The operator isn't ready yet.
Can you tell me who
the mysterious guest is?
L'Astorri.
- Ah, the producer's widow?
Exactly. But you don't know who
L'Astorri was before she got married.
An actress, right?
The same.
I was at her house a few days ago.
She has her house full of photos spread
on the couch like Madame Récamier.
She wouldn't stop talking about her films!
She was a famous diva.
- Yes, from the time of Noah!
When you were young too, dear.
What was her stage name?
Helena Makowska.
- There she is!
Dear Helena!
- Pardon me, I'm always late.
What's this? A play? A film?
Ladies and gentlemen,
Omeri Film has the honor to present
a leading vision from the most
beautiful and famous of silent films.
Watch and don't say a word.
… the art, the poetry,
the love and the grace.
Put on "Volga, Volga".
We begin our show with
an anonymous film of 1908,
edited by the famous Pathé House.
FROM SOCIALISM TO NIHILISM,
a political drama.
In Moscow,
in an underground printing press,
Sonia and her comrades
prepare manifestos against the Czar.
"The alarm! The police!"
Someone has denounced them.
Sonia, found guilty of
the policeman's murder, is arrested.
Please, don't laugh at the actors of that
time because they move too fast.
It's not their fault.
It's the projectors of today which do
not go at the same speed as silent movies,
and grotesquely speed up the movements
of the characters in those films.
The unhappy Sonia is sentenced
to deportation to Siberia.
Is this film a comedy?
- Don't talk nonsense.
Then why are they laughing?
Beneath the snow, before the walls of
the Kremlin, the sad caravan departs.
"I will avenge you, my daughter",
cries the father.
Sonia can't endure
the fatigue of the long journey
and she dies in the Siberian Steppe.
He became a nihilist.
Meanwhile, the father makes bombs according
to the manual of the nihilists of the time.
The trial is a success!
Revenge! Incredible revenge!
The end of the drama.
In the era of these films,
the actors and actresses
were still unknown to the public.
A few years later, "divaism" emerged.
Here is Elena Vitiello,
excuse me, stage name, Francesca Bertini,
in the movie ASSUNTA SPINA.
"Haven't you heard? Assunta is getting
married. She's now in Marechiaro."
In ASSUNTA SPINA, Francesca Bertini plays
the enigmatic and suffering character
created by Salvatore Di Giacomo.
The film was directed in
1915 by Gustavo Serena.
A humble ironer,
Assunta is torn between two men
and it is the cause of her tragedy.
A fickle lover,
she makes her fiance jealous,
Michele Boccadifuoco,
interpreted by Gustavo Serena himself.
Considering himself betrayed,
Michele waits for Assunta to take revenge.
Michele has been arrested
and it is being tried at Castel Capuano.
Assunta runs to his side,
to tell him she loves him still,
even more than before.
In fact, during the trial,
she testifies in his defense.
But the court, considering
that Michele is a repeat offender,
condemns him to two years in prison.
To save her lover,
Assunta turns to Don Federigo Funelli,
an official at the court
and an unrepentant libertine.
"How much do you want?
What do I have to give you?"
In order to save Michele,
Assunta pays with her honor,
the price demanded by Don Federigo.
Soon after, Michele released, returns.
"I think you are more beautiful
than ever, Assunta! Look at me!"
"Leave me! Leave me! - Why?
- Because I'm not worthy!"
Assunta is accused of
a crime she did not commit
to save the man she loves.
Please don't laugh.
It is a highly dramatic moment.
Now you will see Pina Menichelli,
the actress with a hundred faces,
an interpreter of a thousand heroines.
Her way of acting was very personal,
unmistakable.
Here she is in a scene from
the film CLAUDIO'S WIFE
with the actor Cesare Rossi Pianelli.
Observe her in this daring, amorous fit.
I beg you, gentlemen, don't laugh.
Even this is art.
Admire her in this
ROMANCE OF A POOR YOUNG MAN,
adapted from Giorgione's
play of the same name.
It was staged by director
Amleto Palermi in 1920.
Young Odiot, played by Luigi Serventi,
believed poor, but actually rich,
believed a commoner, but actually a noble,
accompany the noble and
wealthy Miss Margherita,
interpreted by Pina Menichelli,
on a visit to the Wind Tower.
"Come back later,"
Odiot says to the shepherd boy.
Meanwhile, night falls.
The shepherd boy doesn't see them and
thinking them gone, closes the tower.
"The watchman must be around
here. Call him", Margherita says.
Nobody answers.
A terrible idea crosses
the mind of the woman…
… that Odiot was in cahoots
with the shepherd boy.
And Margherita shouts her disdain,
"You have paid that child
to lock me in this tower!"
"Oh, my God! How vile!
I am dishonored!"
"He will take me by force!"
"This was you plan!"
"Stop, Margherita!
My honor won't admit such an offense!"
"I love you!
I have always loved you!"
"And you will have the proof.
Even if you never see me again!"
At Margherita's castle, they are worried.
Her uncle, played by Antonio Gandusio,
seeing Odiot arrive, asks him,
"Odiot! What's wrong?
What happened?"
In this way,
Odiot has saved Margherita.
A rescue expedition is organized.
Margherita will be rescued
and will understand that Odiot
is not poor, but rich,
not a commoner, but a noble.
Ladies and gentlemen,
there are women in this world
whom you just need to see once
and you will never forget them.
They are those women whom Nature
has endowed with irresistible means
to instantly dominate the male psyche.
One of these actresses was Lyda Borelli.
A mistress of the so-called coup de foudre,
Lyda Borelli was the most
interesting female type in our cinema,
next to whom,
every man felt himself her lover,
or at least, her friend.
You can see her with Andrea Habay,
in the famous carnival
scene from the film, MOTH,
where a very young
Renato Cialente also acts.
Gentlemen, don't laugh at what
yesterday made everyone's heart beat.
But we weren't there!
- We weren't even born!
Gentlemen, don't laugh at
what constitutes your past.
Think that in twenty or thirty years
your children and grandchildren,
might laugh at the movies,
you are passionate about today.
Believe me, they aren't better than these.
- Bravo!
Enough! Silence!
- Forgive them, my dear.
I understand them.
- They're the youth of today.
They are young: enough said!
Why are you angry? They're having fun.
- Shut up!
Hey! This is not a school.
And now, Lyda Borelli in her
most stunning performance,
THE NUDE LADY,
a film that made an epoch
in the history of cinema.
An adaptation of Henri Bataille's play,
with the interpretation of Wanda
Capodaglio and Lamberto Picasso.
Metteur en scène: Carmine Gallone.
The young painter Pierre,
who has just entered the glory of art,
paints in his studio
the passionate Princess Paola de Chabran.
Meanwhile, Lolette, Pierre's fiancée,
struggles in an abyss of jealousy.
She fears her heart's
beloved will betray her.
And in fact, the artistic meeting
is transformed into a love meeting.
Drama now looms in the shadows.
An evening at the painter's house.
A reception at Princess Chabran's house.
Unfortunately, the reconciliation
between Lolette and Pierre has been brief.
The painter presents his painting at
a reception at the Princess's house.
And Lolette, who was attending,
realizes that she has been deceived.
Now her spirit cannot find peace,
her womanly pride has been wounded,
her demonic anger is about to explode.
Observe and admire, gentlemen,
this splendid fragment of intense drama.
"I love Pierre!
The woman who tries to take him from me…"
"Reassure yourself, my little one.
You're both no more than friends to me."
Two minutes of rest.
What a fool I was!
- It has excited us all.
For me it's different. You know that I…
- Yes, I understand.
That laughter upset me.
- I'm sorry, I didn't think…
Why, sorry?
They didn't offend me.
On the contrary,
they've made me realize many things.
Perhaps so. Excuse me, dear.
They are terrible, Ma'am.
- Don't be mad. It's going great.
I've never met such
an unsympathetic audience!
But there are those who like it.
Come on, go on with it.
There's little left.
- Go ahead then.
Excuse me, I heard Mrs Makowska mentioned.
Is she in the room?
Yes, she was.
But she's already gone. Go on.
Excuse me…
- Go on. I'll turn down the lights.
And finishing up,
some precious fragments
from CAB NO. 13,
adapted from the immortal
novel by Xavier de Montépin.
A superb performance by Helena Makowska.
One of the most memorable film events
by the work of this magnificent woman.
A lady regal,
authentic, lovely film actress.
An actress who speaks
with the eyes and the heart.
Helena Makowska, ladies and
gentlemen, originally from Poland,
brought to the Italian scene,
all the fire,
the temperament,
the enigma of the Slavic soul,
and sparked fanaticism in the crowd
and tenderness,
sometimes tragic, in all her admirers.
The Countess is in
the throes of tremendous anguish
because she has received
a letter blackmailing her.
She has been accused of
a murky crime committed in Paris
on the Ponte de Neuilly,
on the night of a tragic birth.
The shadow of this past
weighs on her life, now happy,
and she fears for her daughter.
During a party at the Countess's castle,
a representation is organized
of tableaux vivants
and the countess herself
appears as Madame Récamier.
A terrible surprise awaits you!
The following tableau shows exactly
that crime on the Neuilly Bridge
for which she was responsible.
It is a dark maneuver by
her enemies to unmask her.
"Beloved daughter,
your mother suffers so much!"
Feeling lost, the countess prefers suicide
to a life unworthy of her daughter.
Helena! Why?
What's wrong, dear? Are you ill?
No, no…
Go on, go on.
Stop!
How rude.
- I'm outraged.
Darling, they're a shallow audience.
Makowska was not gone.
Now I see the ruse.
The baroness wanted to have fun at her
expense and I've lent myself to the game!
I'm embarrassed.
Stay a little longer.
We'll screen a comedy
and have a few laughs.
No.
It was as if the dead came back to life.
They are memories that must sleep.
Excuse me if I go. It'll be better.
I'll show you out.
- Yes.
Helena!
What are you doing?
You say it's a masterpiece
and now you don't want to see it.
Keep quiet. You can't understand.
After what happened yesterday,
I don't know what to do.
If today's public can
laugh even at the Duse, then…
You're too fanatical!
Come on, let's see that Duse.
I swear I won't laugh.
- No, I'll never project again.
And what will you do to live?
- I'll get by.
Why don't you open a cinema?
This way I'll learn too.
Who is it? Come in!
Mr. Omeri?
- That's me. Yes?
L'Astorri.
- How can I help you?
I'm Giorgio L'Astorri,
from the Vulcano Film.
You're the son of the lamented
Commendatore L'Astorri?
Exactly.
Your father was a pioneer
of Italian cinema! - I know.
Leave it. - It's natural you know it,
but it should be remembered.
Sit down as if you were home!
- Thank you.
About my father, you know that
he married actress Helena Makowska?
Great! Unforgettable!
There she is!
I had the honor
of seeing her again last night.
Right.
Last night, screened in a private home
some fragments of films
in which my mother appeared.
You may rest easy.
It will never happen again.
As you wish.
But I want to buy those fragments.
When my father married her,
he removed and destroyed all her films.
He did wrong.
Let it go! Please give me those
fragments. I'll pay well. - Never!
Listen, I'm aware of what
happened at the Caprioli house.
My mother suffered a shock.
And she came home crying.
Crying? Why? Everybody laughed!
- Go away!
They laughed?
- Laughter abounds in the mouths of fools.
Perhaps but I can't allow
them to laugh at my mother.
They'll never laugh again!
- Good. Give me the movie.
I will give you 50,000 lire.
Cavaliere, what are you waiting for?
Don't be a stupid! - Get!
No, look, I'm very sorry but I can't.
100,000 and we'll say no more about it.
Sir, I may be poor
but I'm not for sale.
But you sell films.
- Impossible!
I'll bring you to court.
I'll get you in a lot of trouble.
The rights to these films
don't belong to you!
They're not mine but art's.
And in the name of art, I will not sell
them to be destroyed, as you want!
I'll donate them to a museum, not you!
Never!
Think about it.
- Go away.
See you in court.
- See you in court!
See you wherever you want,
but I'll never give you the movies!
Never ever!
Hey, you!
Do you really want your mama's films?
- Of course I do and I'll have them.
But he's stubborn as a mule
and also a little crazy.
The judge will cure him of his craziness.
Do you want me to give it to you?
- Are you serious?
I'm a serious girl!
OK. Bring it to me and
I'll give you a nice gift.
What do you want?
- No gifts.
You must do for me what
they do for the girls in the movies…
What is it a called? A test.
What's so funny?
Am I a horse?
You want to make movies?
- Sure. I have a vocation.
So show me the movies
and I'll get you a screen test.
No, you give me the test and then
I'll give you your mama's movies.
Fine, I'll test you.
When can you come to the studio?
- Right now, if you give me a ride.
Then, let's go. Get in.
May I come in?
- Oh, Helena! You here?
And I'm in such a state!
I'm mortified!
So here are our masterpieces.
And our dreams.
- I'm the poor junkyard dealer of dreams.
But I don't want to be anymore.
No more!
- Why?
Because I don't want anyone
to laugh at Helena Makowska,
or Francesca Bertini or
Lyda Borelli or anyone else.
Do you want to destroy them?
- No!
I'll donate them to a museum.
- You're right.
We've become museum pieces.
And just think that
I procured your address
and that I have come here
to see them all again.
Helena…
In each of these films,
I have left a piece of my heart.
I imagine what you had to endure with
that stupid audience with no sense of art!
Yes, it's true.
Last night, I suffered much.
Me too. Especially for you.
- Thank you.
But I love these movies and
will keep them despite everything.
Let's watch them both together.
They're ours.
We've acted in them together. - No, no.
I understands that it's like
opening a tomb, a tomb of our youth.
You may be right, but…
you have a film on the projector.
That? That's a unique piece.
A true jewel.
Who's in it? Me? Bertini?
- Oh, no!
Wait, I'll show you…
You've already failed in your promise.
- No.
You know why?
Because are our faces are not in it.
There are…
Look!
PEDESTRIAN LOVE
Only feet?
- Exactly.
When I discovered this movie,
I thought it was an ad from a shoe maker.
But no.
- Who had this idea?
Old Robinet.
- Ah, the famous comedian!
Yes, he shot it in Turin in 1914.
This is a movie that will never grow old.
THE END
Lower that focus a little.
- We're ready. Are we starting or not?
Hurry, come on!
Miss, can you get it in your place?
- Come on, let's try a dolly.
Put a visor on that 500.
All right.
Director, we're ready.
Got it?
As soon as the phone rings…
No sweat. I run, thinking he's the man,
but it's my boyfriend and I talk to him.
Very good. Pay attention, OK?
Why all this nonsense?
Cheer up! Come on!
Mariannina, be attentive and calm.
Be calm.
- You be calm!
Go on, nothing to worry about.
Ca-ca-camera!
"Celenza" Test, 0-1!
Action! Yes, yes! That's you!
Ah, you're playing the phone!
- Stop!
Yes, I'm playing the phone.
Is it clear?
What? You think I'm a dummy?
Let's go. I'll show you how it's done.
From the top! Ready?
Ready.
Camera!
- "Celenza" Test, 0-2!
Action! Ring! Ring!
Hello?
Hello?
Nobody's answering!
You pretend!
- Ah, I get it!
Hello? Hello?
Who do you want?
What? Ah, is that you, Petruccio?
My heart's Petruccio?
And how are you in Rome?
What? I'm fine.
And is everyone in the town fine?
And how is Macarella?
Has the pig fattened up?
Well, let's thank
the Virgin and Saint Anthony.
Stop! That's enough!
So little?
She killed it!
- She was great!
Then I'll get a contract?
- And how!
But first bring me those nice things.
Right away! Wait for me here.
Mariannina, where have you been?
Where are you going?
The Cavaliere's not in.
Did he leave you the key?
- Yes, right here.
Gimme, I gotta finish a task.
- But, let me look at you…
What do you have on?
- I'll explain later.
No, let me see! - I've no time
Where did the Cavaliere go?
He said he'd be back in half an hour.
Here are the antiques.
Keep them, Madam Director.
I give you all my films,
just preserve them.
Save them from destruction.
You could create a section
here dedicated to cinema.
I could take care of organizing it.
That's all I ask.
You're very kind.
Unfortunately, the rules only
provide for the collection of art works
But…this is art too, Ma'am.
Of course. I meant figurative art.
Just look if you think I'm lying:
This is Duse!
Why do you want to get rid of them?
You see, Ma'am, I'm poor.
I live to project these films,
which are more important
to me than all these statues.
But today they cause laughter.
I realized that the other day.
Today's public finds them comical.
Look, I've hundreds
of cans like this at home.
The greatest artists of the past:
Zacconi, Novelli, Bertini or Borelli!
Sorry, I can't help you.
Films are flammable and
we wouldn't know where to store them.
Try the National Library.
I will try.
Forgive me for wasting your time.
Help! Fire!
Call the fire department!
Get out of here!
Come!
What happened?
- Fire! Call the firemen!
We've no room for books
and you want me to
take charge of your films?
There are important works…
- Don't insist!
Know what I'd do to the inventor of films?
Kill him!
Because today's youth doesn't study.
They go to the movies. All asses!
Do you know who Eleonora Duse is?
- From D'Annunzio? Isn't she dead?
Dead? She would be,
if she weren't immortalized here forever.
Look.
Look!
Then, why don't you ask the Ministry?
Maybe they'll take care of it.
Yeah!
It would solve everything.
But it would require patience.
How long would it take?
Oh, God, a year or two!
You'll need a decree, provision of funds…
I understand, thank you.
- Please, one last thing.
Is there anyway you could get
movie tickets for me and my wife?
Sorry. Thanks again.
- The exit's over there.
Thanks.
Is there danger? Can it explode?
- Yes, there are motion pictures.
Get back!
Cavaliere! Over there! It's burning!
My films! My movies!
Help!
My movies! My movies!
Let me go! Let me go!
Get back!
Was this your establishment?
- Yes.
Come with me, you're under arrest.
Go on.
Don't you like it, "colleague"?
- Thanks. I'm not hungry.
That's bad!
Eat up, "colleague".
You need a full stomach in here.
Or you'll get weak and at the interrogation
they'll make you say anything they want.
Cheer up, "colleague"!
- Colleague?
Why?
Are you passionate about the cinema too?
Passionate?
Whenever Gina Lollobrigida
is in the movies,
who wouldn't be passionate?
Do you work in cinema?
- I've spent my whole life among films.
I also spent two days on
the colossal QUO VADIS.
I did two days as an extra.
I got a fountain pen and a watch.
The pen won't write and the watch stopped.
Here, keep your bread.
I'm not a thief.
I'm an artist!
Excuse me, Commendato'.
Mine's a trade like any other.
I expiate my love for art here!
Well, good love to you.
And a good meal for me.
Omeri, to the commissioner's office.
You declare that this movie,
like the one destroyed in the fire,
doesn't contain anything forbidden,
subversive or licentious.
I repeat, these are old films.
Smell, how they stink!
We'll see about that.
- Careful with that cigarette!
I must tell you something…
- What? Speak.
I was the one who started the fire.
- You?
You did it on purpose?
- You think I'm a murderer?
I left the film in the projector
without turning off the electricity.
I turned around and it was on fire.
Got it? - I get it.
Then arrest me and release my uncle!
Wretch!
You've destroyed my whole life!
- Silence!
Is this film yours?
- Yes, Sir.
Then take it.
See, if the projectionist has arrived.
Yes, he's here.
- Come with me.
Project this.
- No, no!
What do you mean?
Close the curtain.
- Have a seat, Commissioner.
Easy!
Easy.
Close that door.
Ready.
What is this film?
CABIRIA.
- The movie from years ago?
Yes.
- And where did you get it?
At the "slaughterhouse".
- The "slaughterhouse"?
They were destroying all the old films.
All of them!
Look at what colossal scenes!
It's from 1913.
Italians taught the world
how to make historical films.
Today, no one remembers it.
That's the famous Maciste,
who saves Cabiria,
a Roman girl about to be
sacrificed to the god Moloch.
Sofonisba, the daughter of Hasdrubal,
the fiery pomegranate flower.
And who is she?
- Italia Almirante Manzini.
She was chosen by Gabriele D'Annunzio.
With a miracle of patience and force,
Hannibal crosses the Alps
and thus his celerity threatens Rome.
The eruption of Etna.
Archimedes asks the sun for
the destructive flame on the Roman fleet.
And this is the famous Zacconi,
who ruled the stage,
his mere appearance on the scene
made hearts tremble and falter.
He's not living anymore.
Only a few meters of celluloid
can recall him to new generations.
That's why I've rescued these films.
And who is she?
- Eleonora Duse!
The famous actress?
- Yes.
She played in only one film,
ASHES with Febo Mari.
And she made no more films because
cinema, before sound, frightened her.
These are the only surviving
images of the divine Duse!
It was filmed in 1916.
"Mother, Mother…"
"I will disappear,
carried away by the wind…"
"Mother…"
Everything is ashes:
life, death, man, destiny.
Light.
They didn't laugh!
Have you ever seen such artists?
Weren't they great?
- Yes, truly.
They were great artists.
And all the films
destroyed were like these?
All.
- Too bad. A real shame.
Inmate 345, to the visiting room.
- Who's there?
My daughter?
- No, the lawyer.
Why isn't my daughter coming?
Even she believes me guilty.
Let's go. Move it!
- Ah, Officer, you cannot understand me!
All my life, I have created,
waited, dreamed
that one day, with grey hair,
I could reap the fruits of my labor.
Instead, all I get is contempt and shame
for a crime I haven't committed.
Stop! That's good.
Bravo! Shall I call him?
- No.
Mariannina!
- Excuse me. Coming!
Let's go.
- You won't say hello, Mama? Why?
Sentimentalism.
I felt a certain shock seeing
my old companion in art working.
He's still good, isn't he?
Just as long as he doesn't ruin the film.
You had a certain way of
acting in those times.
Do you know he's already
asked me for two advances?
Who knows what
the money will be spent on?
Try to find work for him.
He really needs it
now that he has lost everything.
Look how they made me up
for the part of the maid!
And look how they made me up
because of you!
Omeri, let's go to the foreground.
Don't waste time.
Give me a 50 here!
Sit here. He had some bread, right?
That's good.
Still! Like that.
Look at me, eh?
A little worried?
- Worried, of course. He's in jail!
THE OMERI FOUNDATION FILM MUSEUM
SILENT AND SOUND FILMS
The "Grand Official" Ettore Omeri
has agreed to act in spoken films,
he who always refused to even see them.
Everything he earns, he spends
again here, in the "slaughterhouse",
to rescue old films and pass
them on to generations to come.
His passion, like all great
authentic passions, is incurable.
He hopes to rebuild his lost collection,
and one day see it appear
dignified in some museum,
among statues, pictures,
books and journals.
He won't admit that
men could throw away so lightly,
such precious documents from their past.
Why not watch the old movies again,
that show with such rawness
the tastes and weaknesses of our parents?
And why not allow our children,
to laugh at the films today?
Old Omeri thinks that
if men saw themselves more,
they would be less
afraid of their own flaws.
Maybe they would make fewer mistakes.
And probably, old Omeri is not wrong.
THE END
English subs by sineintegral@KG