Italian Cinema Research Articles

The use of subtitles in foreign language teaching

Abstract The aim of this contribution is to assert the role of didactic audiovisual translation as a helpful tool for enhancing metalinguistic skills in a foreign language classroom in Italy; more precisely, the paper will offer an analysis of how foreign language teachers can introduce their students to the idea of sociolinguistic variation, by observing how lexical and morphosyntactic changes can occur in the translation process from an Italian source text into an English target text and/or vice versa. The following sociolinguistic variables will be examined through the lens of audiovisual translation, applied to a range of text types including films and an opera libretto turned into surtitles in English: (1) diamesic variation, making students reflect on such aspects as coarse expressions and taboo words, in relation to the Australian film Ned Kelly; (2) diachronic variation, exploring the multidisciplinary possibilities offered by opera surtitling with a focus on the opera Falstaff by Giuseppe Verdi; (3) diatopic, diastratic and diaphasic variations, commenting upon some examples from the Italian films Mio cognato (My Brother-In-Law) and L’uomo che comprò la luna (The Man Who Bought the Moon).

Pragmatic markers in English and Italian film dialogue

Abstract Pragmatic markers are recognised to be a fundamental aspect of spoken language, in particular conversation, as they allow the processing of information within a specific context by providing the addressee with cues on how to interpret utterances. As far as audiovisual dialogue is concerned, pragmatic markers are considered as a hallmark of naturalness and orality which is fundamental to ensure the audience’s immersion in the world represented on screen. Thanks to both distributional and translation-oriented analysis of corpus data, the paper aims to compare the use of pragmatic markers in anglophone, dubbed Italian and original Italian film dialogues as well as highlight the strategies employed in translating English pragmatic markers into dubbed Italian.

Music Publishers and Synchronized Scores: Mascagni, Ricordi, and Rapsodia satanica

Music Publishers and Synchronized Scores: Mascagni, Ricordi, and <i>Rapsodia satanica</i>

Introduction to Mute Film Issue

We received so many positive reviews of the 2022 Music and Moving Image Conference panel on silent or mute film music that we decided to publish Gillian B. Anderson's, Yukiko Yuden's, and Christy Thomas Adams's papers as is.Most 35 mm films produced in the first three decades of the twentieth century had no soundtrack printed on the moving picture media itself (hence the industry label “silent” to contrast with films with a soundtrack printed with the images). However, their projection or screenings were accompanied by live or recorded sound effects and music, making their presentation a performing art (anything but silent, but still not generally with any talking).1 It was, in fact, this absence of speech that led to the appellation “talkies” to early recorded-sound pictures.Together these three articles present an international picture of early film music practices. Anderson focuses on the synchronized relationship between accompaniments and pictures that connected the pathos formulae in the moving pictures with those in the music, establishing the foundation upon which all subsequent moving picture accompaniments were based. She documents the use of live synchronized accompaniments in large and small cities in the United States among the top directors, deluxe cinemas, and even regular solo keyboard accompanists.Yoden shows how the classification of “East Asian” (the pathos formulae for it) related to the actual characteristics of some East Asian music used in Japanese cinemas. She used “humdrum tools, a set of resources for computational music analysis, to analyze multiple pieces from a macro perspective.” Adams focuses on the amount of new information about Mascagni's score for Rapsodia Satanica that she discovered in music publisher Ricordi's archive. She documents how many copies were printed, how much they cost, how much Mascagni was paid, the process of score preparation, and the relationship between Ricordi and Cines, the producer and the Italian film industry in general.

Colonial rhetoric in cinema for didactic use from a transnational view. The Italian epic film Cabiria (1914) at the Indian Industrial School of Carlisle

ABSTRACT The first silent epic Italian film, Cabiria (1914) by Giovanni Pastrone with the screenplay co-written by the director and the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio was used as an educational tool at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in 1915. The film’s plot unfolds during the Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC). The film’s narrative is pro-empire propaganda for Italy’s recent occupation of Libya (1911–1912). The visual narrative is rich in colonial rhetoric. It shows the viewers the friendship between the enslaved man Maciste, interpreted by a white man wearing blackface, and the Roman soldier and colonizer Fulvio Axilla. This essay analyses the film’s construction of racialized bodies and locates it within the larger context of cultural assimilation through visual technologies applied at the Carlisle school. This analysis focuses on the intermedial imagination of a progressive whitening process in moving pictures, photographs, and lantern slides used at the school.

Interaction of Music and the Mythical Chronotope: Comparative Analysis of the Films by L. Visconti and F. Zeller

The paper addresses the interaction of music with a mythical chronotope in the cinematographic work. The temporal and spatial properties of the audio component in cinema were characterized. A terminological basis, which allows outlining most of the variants ofspatio-temporal interaction of music in the cinematographic space in detail, is provided. It is assumed that the fantastical gap—the moment of transition from diegetic to nondiegetic space and vice versa—can have a wider meaning and application. Variants of the interplay of music with the mythical chronotope are described due to the conflicts of linear and cyclic time, real and ideal space. The paper focuses on such interaction in the works of the classic Italian cinema director Luchino Visconti because his filmography is largely associated with the category of the mythical. The episodes of the director’s two films, in which the characters’ consciousness shifts in time and space occur, are analyzed. A comparison of the regularities of the combination of music and the mythical chronotope in L. Visconti’s films with the debut of one of the Franco-British playwright and director Florian Zeller is performed. The similarity in the way the directors work with the depiction of the conflict between the mythical space and objective reality is revealed. It was proven that F. Zeller’s use of academic music citations functions similarly to the corresponding technique in L. Visconti’s films: in both cases, such quotes emphasize the space of the “ideal.” The difference in the directors’ approaches is justified, which consists in choosing the “ideal” dimension of the hero: for the characters of L. Visconti, it is a myth, while for the characters of F. Zeller, it is an objective reality. It is concluded that the way music interacts with the mythical chronotope can be influenced not only by external factors of the spatio-temporal connections of audio and video tracks but also by intra-narrative ones—for example, the existential choice of the hero.

Intersections between Italian and Slavic cinemas

The purpose of this issue is to explore the encounter between Italy and Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe and Russia during and after the Soviet period, as well as the fervid cooperation and fruitful co-productions between the film industries in this vast geographic region. More specifically, this Special Issue covers the following topics: the reception of neorealist films in Slavic countries and the influence of neorealism in Slavic cinema, the links between Italian political cinema and Slavic media, the presence of popular Italian genres of television shows and series in these geographical areas, transnational stardom in cinema and television, co-productions and their adaptation to the needs of national film and television markets, Soviet–Italian film institutional exchanges and co-productions and Italian film festivals in Russia and Italy.

In search of beauty: Anticipating the ‘new Renaissance’ of Italian cinema: Interview with Lora Guerra

Lora Guerra (Eleonora Yablochkina) was an Italian writer and screenwriter Tonino Guerra’s wife and collaborator. She worked as a translator for a few films produced by her husband with Russian filmmakers, and today she is the curator of Tonino Guerra’s Memorial House in Pennabilli (Rimini). In this interview, she discusses the problems of cinema during the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationship between Italian and Russian cinema, the historical role of Italian cinema and the future of film festivals in Italy. She also reflects on the connection of neorealism with the Italian artistic tradition in literature, theatre and fine arts, on the importance of the ‘word’ as the basis of a screenplay and on the importance of visual and sound images in poetic cinema (both fiction and documentary). Lastly, Lora Guerra reveals details about the production of the documentary Tempo di viaggio (Voyage in Time) filmed in Italy by Andrei Tarkovsky and Tonino Guerra in summer 1979 and released in 1983.

Review: Deadpan: The Aesthetics of Black Inexpression, by Tina Post

Book Review| June 01 2023 Review: Deadpan: The Aesthetics of Black Inexpression, by Tina Post Deadpan: The Aesthetics of Black Inexpression, by Tina Post Lauren Treihaft Lauren Treihaft LAUREN TREIHAFT is a PhD candidate in the Department of Cinema Studies at New York University and adjunct instructor at both CUNY and NYU, where she teaches courses on subjects ranging from dark humor to postwar Italian cinema. The subject of her dissertation project is the resurgence of cinematic deadpan as an aesthetics of recession in the wake of the 2008 global economic crisis. Her writing has been featured in Film Quarterly and Social Text Journal. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar BOOK DATA Tina Post, Deadpan: The Aesthetics of Black Inexpression. New York: NYU Press, 2023. $89.00 cloth; $30.00 paper. 272 pages. Film Quarterly (2023) 76 (4): 103–105. https://doi.org/10.1525/fq.2023.76.4.103 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Lauren Treihaft; Review: Deadpan: The Aesthetics of Black Inexpression, by Tina Post. Film Quarterly 1 June 2023; 76 (4): 103–105. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/fq.2023.76.4.103 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentFilm Quarterly Search BOOK DATA Tina Post, Deadpan: The Aesthetics of Black Inexpression. New York: NYU Press, 2023. $89.00 cloth; $30.00 paper. 272 pages. Though the expression or inexpression of deadpan is most commonly associated with silent-film star Buster Keaton (“the Great Stone Face”), the comic actor known for the impassiveness of his face and the imperviousness of his body, Tina Post’s Deadpan: The Aesthetics of Black Inexpression reconsiders the historical legacy of the concept outside of traditional accounts of comedy and humor studies by offering an impressive “investigation of the aesthetic affects at work at the intersection of blackness and embodied inexpressions” (3). Most descriptions of deadpan invoke a certain concreteness or frankness as the de facto qualities of the gesture or comic mode. Post astutely recontextualizes the notion of deadpan through the lens of a black historical intervention that begins in the early nineteenth century with the science of specimenization... You do not currently have access to this content.

(Un)desired others: Central Eastern European refugees in post-war Italian cinema

This article studies the representation of Central Eastern European refugees in post-war Italian cinema. In our essay, we identify three films that deal with ‘displacement’: Lo sconosciuto di San Marino (The Unknown Man from San Marino) (Waszyński 1948), Donne senza nome (Women without Names) () and Stromboli: Terra di Dio (Stromboli) (). In the immediate post-war period, Italy was a country deeply affected by a Central Eastern European refugee crisis. As Hannah Arendt wrote, many people were in a ‘stateless’ situation either because of the war or because they had fled Soviet domination. The three films represent refugees marginalized for their social status, cultural background or nationality as well as for their sexuality or gender. Starting from Noa Steimatsky’s revealing revision of neorealism vis-à-vis the story of the refugee camp at Cinecittà, we analyse the responsibility cinema had in the erasure of these asylum-seekers from the screen and public awareness.

New Italian Cinema Events in Russia: Interview with Viviana del Bianco

The New Italian Cinema Events (NICE) was established in the United States in 1990, in 1993 in Russia and, over the years, in many other countries. Viviana del Bianco, artistic director of NICE, illustrates the history of this festival and explains the reasons of the success of the festival which launches young Italian filmmakers, thus giving them the opportunity to establish an international artistic reputation. In this interview, del Bianco also explains the genesis and cultural impact of the Contemporary Russian Film Festival in Florence established in 2019 which promotes the work of new Russian talents in Italy.

Italy through Russian eyes: Italy’s evolving imagined geography in Russian cinema

Italy has long been a source of fascination and inspiration for Russian writers, artists and filmmakers due to its extensive cultural heritage. Russian filmmakers have played with how Russians view Italy, and they offer viewers the opportunity to see Italy through Russian eyes. Whether in collaboration with Italian filmmakers or on their own, Russian directors have sought to explore Italy: both its real geography and its imagined one. Imagined geography gives us a new way to examine Russian–Italian film collaboration. By examining the imagined geography of Italy in Ryazanov’s Unbelievable Adventures of Italians in Russia (1974), Tarkovsky’s Nostalghia (1983), Mikhailkov’s Dark Eyes (1987), Kravchuk’s The Italian (2005) and Konchalovsky’s Sin (2021), this article proposes that Russian directors map similarity and inspiration onto Italy to establish an affinity towards Italy that exists beyond the boundaries of the film collaborations.

Transnational Cinema, ‘It’s the Vibe’: An Interview with Santo Cilauro

ABSTRACT The film The Castle (1997) is part of Australia’s cultural and national identity. Australians love how much we love the film, and we see ourselves in the working-class Kerrigan family at the centre of the story. Yet one of the co-writers of the film, Santo Cilauro, suggests that The Castle is as much an Italian film as an Australian one. The interview with Cilauro explores the transnational nature of this ‘national’ film and offers a case study of a popular film to inform critical approaches to transnational cinema.

Domestic Violence on the Italian Screen: Representation and Resistance.

This article looks at how contemporary Italian films address issues of the tragedy and horror of domestic abuse and attempt to create a space for reflection and change. Ferzan Ozpetek's (2008) Un giorno perfetto (A Perfect Day), Andrès Arce Maldonado's (2017) Dentro (Inside), and Ivano De Matteo's (2016) La vita possibile (A Possible Life) ultimately challenge the perception of domestic violence as a fixed and unchangeable condition for women. The films explore how female solidarity, empathy, and care can serve as pathways to combatting the isolation, guilt, and associated emotions that prevent women from seeking or finding la vita possibile.

Italian cinema and media: Past and present, continuity and change, expectations for the future: Journal of Italian Cinema &amp; Media Studies – Third International Conference, American University of Rome, 16–18 June 2022

In 2022, the Journal of Italian Cinema &amp; Media Studies ( JICMS) marked its tenth anniversary and a return to its in-person international conference. The third edition was once again held at The American University of Rome on 16–18 June 2022. The directors, Flavia Laviosa and Catherine Ramsey-Portolano, welcomed 130 academics and researchers from eighteen countries who reflected the current trends and directions within the Italian screen industries and studies. The keynote speaker was Stephen Gundle, and the programme also included a screening of the film Un confine incerto (An Uncertain Border) (2019), directed and co-written by Isabella Sandri, and a virtual seminar on academic publishing delivered by Intellect.

한국전쟁기에 제작된 리얼리즘 극영화의 경향성 연구

&lt;The Street of Sun&gt;(1952) and &lt;The Evil Night&gt;(1952) have been regarded as representative realism films produced during the Korean War. Just as Italian Neorealism came about World War II, Korean realism films in the 1950s also appeared with the Korean War. &lt;The Street of Sun&gt;(1952) and &lt;The Evil Night&gt;(1952) depicted the everyday scenery of Korean society, And critics at the time called these films a work of (Neo)realism. In terms of narrative, &lt;The Street of Sun&gt; is similar to the realism films produced in Japanese colonial era, &lt;Tuition&gt;(1940) and &lt;Angeles on the Streets&gt;(1941). Since the filming of &lt;The Evil Night&gt; was conducted even before the outbreak of the Korean War, there were parts that did not fit the reality of the time. However, as director Shin Sang-ok recalls, &lt;The Evil Night&gt; borrowed Neorealistic styles and depicted various lower-class people. Therefore, most of the reviews evaluated &lt;The Evil Night&gt; as an exemplary (Neo)realism work. Critics took note of that the Italian film industry gained worldwide fame despite the difficult situation caused by the war. So they hoped that young Korean directors would create new trends such as Neorealism.

Italian cinema online: A conversation with Gianluca Guzzo of MYmovies.it

In this exclusive conversation, MYmovies.it founder and CEO Gianluca Guzzo sits down with Antonio Falduto, Glen Bonnici, Jim Carter and Flavia Laviosa to discuss his business, which is part online cinema magazine and part streaming platform. Guzzo gives an historical overview of the development of MYmovies.it before turning to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, during which the website pioneered a digital service for replicating the in-person film festival experience. This history serves as a jumping-off point for a series of reflections on the future of film festivals, the distribution of Italian cinema domestically and internationally and the need to promote quality, independent productions. In contrast to most commentators published in this journal, Guzzo speaks as a businessperson who is concerned with marketing Italian cinema in the world, including the use of data for commercial purposes.

Women, Feminism and Italian Cinema: Archives from a Film Culture by Dalila Missero (review)

Women, Feminism and Italian Cinema: Archives from a Film Culture by Dalila Missero (review)

From vernacular art to the auteur moment: Tonino Guerra as a poet, writer and scriptwriter in the 1940s and 1950s

This article will investigate aspects of a little studied but key figure in Italian cinema, Tonino Guerra, focusing on his debut as a film screenwriter. The article employs a comparative approach, relating the first poetic and narrative works of Guerra of the 1940s to his first steps as a film scriptwriter of the 1950s, with his fruitful collaborations with directors such as Aglauco Casadio, Giuseppe De Santis and Michelangelo Antonioni. I rely on unpublished materials such as Guerra’s private writings and correspondence (in particular, with his friend and future colleague Federico Fellini) and then analyse the critical reception of the first cinematographic works of Guerra by film magazines active in the 1950s. My readings and analyses will be directed towards establishing the importance of Guerra in post-war Italian society and culture, particularly as he gravitated towards work in the cinema, and the role of that work in the complex transition from neorealism to auteur cinema.

Editorial

2020 was the centennial anniversary not just of Federico Fellini, but of fellow Romagnol Tonino Guerra, whose name is often associated with Fellini but who has been significantly underappreciated in Italian film scholarship. This Special Issue of the Journal of Italian Cinema &amp; Media Studies (JICMS) seeks to help redress the lack of attention given to Guerra work. He is best known in the English-speaking world for his screenwriting, especially with Michelangelo Antonioni and Fellini, and since JICMS is a film journal, the issue centres on his film work while also contextualizing it in terms of his importance as novelist, fabulist, poet and visual and installation artist. Special attention is paid to Guerra’s ecological sensibility and his fusing of local and global in a profound sense of place that is evident not only in his later artwork but in the films for which he wrote.