Villadom Times Weekly Newpaper Online-May 18, 2011 Issue

May 18, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES I & III • Page 25 Sophia Loren celebrated in new four-disc collection by Dennis Seuling Sophia Loren’s movie career has spanned seven decades, beginning with “Il Voto” (1950), where she was billed as Sophia Scicolone. She made a number of Italian films under that name and as Sophia Lazzaro before adopting the name Sophia Loren. Her best-remembered performances display an earthiness and independence that appear to be extensions of her own personality. As time went on, she developed a more glamorous, film goddess persona. Loren, who will turn 77 in September, is the ultimate movie star. A new four-disc DVD set, “The Sophia Loren Award Collection” (Kino Lorber International) contains three features directed by Vittorio De Sica that showcase the actress at her best. “Sunflower” (1970) stars Loren as Giovanna, a strong-willed Italian woman on a desperate search to find her husband, Antonio (Marcello Mastroianni), who has gone missing on the World War II battlefields of Russia. Making the grueling overland journey years after the end of the war, she tracks down Antonio and discovers he is not the man she remembered. “Marriage Italian Style” (1964) received Academy Award nominations for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actress for Loren’s performance. Marcello Mastroianni one again co-stars, this time as the irrepressibly carnal businessman Domenico, who discovers Loren’s Filumena as a young prostitute and keeps her as his mistress and confidante. When he chooses to marry a young cashier instead, Filumena is furious, and resorts to a series of wild, comic ruses to win him back. when she learns that the authorities will not incarcerate a pregnant woman, the pressure is on husband Carmine to make her pregnant, constantly. The kids start coming one after another until poor Carmine is exhausted. In “Anna,” Loren, costumed in Christian Dior, debates whether she prefers a Rolls Royce or her husband. In “Mara,” Loren plays a prostitute working out of her apartment and Mastroianni plays a wealthy businessman from a notable family who helps Mara set a wavering priest back onto the spiritual plane. The fourth disc in the set is the 90-minute documentary, “Vittorio D,” an exploration of the life and legacy of the director and frequent Loren collaborator. Included are interviews with filmmakers Woody Allen, Clint Eastwood, and Mike Leigh. Another new release highlighting De Sica’s work is “Shoeshine” (E One Entertainment), filmed on location in postwar Rome using non-professional actors. Inspired by the real stories of those struggling to overcome the oppressive forces of a corrupt and ineffective political system, “Shoeshine” (1946) is regarded as one of the best films to emerge from Italian neorealist cinema. It follows shoeshine boys Giuseppe and Pasquale as they work the streets cleaning the shoes of American Sophia Loren can be seen in three features directed by Vittorio De Sica in a new box set collection. �� The best of the collection is “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” (1963), winner of the Best Foreign Language Oscar. Set in several Italian locales, the film follows three separate stories featuring Loren and �� Mastroianni in different roles.�� In “Adelina,” they ��a �� are � poor but � resourceful Naples couple �selling black �� market cigarettes on��the �� In debt �� streets. �� Adelina’s for furniture they bought�under�� name, Adelina is threatened with jail, but troops. Dreaming of a better life, they seek solace in a horse they ride to escape their harsh reality. When the boys are implicated in a petty crime, they are punished by the society that has robbed them of their innocence, resulting in tragic consequences. “Shoeshine” was the first foreign film to receive an Oscar. “Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood” (Warner Home Video) is a three-disc DVD set that provides an excellent overview of the development of the American film industry. Each of its seven segments covers approximately a decade. Unfortunately, the overview ends with 1969, when most of the studios had been absorbed by conglomerates. Therefore, such topics as the rise of the independent film; development of digital technology; competition from pay TV, computers, and personal devices; and the resurgence of 3D are not addressed. However, what is included is first-rate and well edited. Film aficionados might be frustrated that many of the clips are quite short, but the scholarship and information imparted make the series a rich experience that even the most avid fans will embrace. The series details the personalities, relationships, collaborations, and conflicts that created an industry and an art form while (continued on Crossword page) C • O • R • T• I • N • A R I S T O R A N T E Fine Dining For Lunch & Dinner Dine & Dance • Live Entertainment Friday, May 20: Sounds of Sinatra Call for reservations Calling All Crafters and Antique Cars! 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