''I Knew Her Well'' ( it, Io la conoscevo bene) is a

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

comedy-drama

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

directed by

Antonio Pietrangeli Antonio Pietrangeli (19 January 191912 July 1968) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He was a major practitioner of the Commedia all'italiana genre. Biography Pietrangeli was born in Rome. He started in the film industry by writing ...

and starring

Stefania Sandrelli Stefania Sandrelli (born 5 June 1946) is an Italian actress, famous for her many roles in the ''commedia all'Italiana'', starting from the 1960s. She was 14 years old when she starred in '' Divorce Italian Style'' as Angela, the cousin and love i ...

. In 2008 the film was selected to enter the list of the 100 Italian films to be saved.

Plot synopsis

Adriana (Stefania Sandrelli) is a provincial Italian young woman who moves to Rome because she wants to be a celebrity.

Cast

as Adriana Astarelli *

Mario Adorf Mario Adorf (; born 8 September 1930) is a German actor, considered to be one of the great veteran character actors of European cinema. Since 1954, he has played both leading and supporting roles in over 200 film and television productions, am ...

as Emilio Ricci, aka Bietolone *

Jean-Claude Brialy Jean-Claude Brialy (30 March 1933 – 30 May 2007) was a French actor and film director. Early life Brialy was born in Aumale (now Sour El-Ghozlane), French Algeria, where his father was stationed with the French Army. Brialy moved to mainland ...

as Dario Marchionni *

Joachim Fuchsberger Joachim "Blacky" Fuchsberger (pronounced ; 11 March 1927 – 11 September 2014) was a German actor and television host, best known to a wide German-speaking audience as one of the recurring actors in various Edgar Wallace movies (often a Detecti ...

as The Writer *

Nino Manfredi Saturnino "Nino" Manfredi (22 March 1921 – 4 June 2004) was an Italian actor, voice actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, comedian, singer, author, radio personality and television presenter. He was one of the most prominent Italian a ...

as Cianfanna *

Enrico Maria Salerno Enrico Maria Salerno (September 18, 1926 – February 28, 1994) was an Italian actor, voice actor and film director. He was also the voice of Clint Eastwood in the Italian version of Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy films, and the voice of Ch ...

as Roberto *

Ugo Tognazzi Ugo Tognazzi (23 March 1922 – 27 October 1990) was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter. Early life Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a travelling clerk fo ...

as Gigi Baggini *

Karin Dor Karin Dor (, born Kätherose Derr; 22 February 1938 – 6 November 2017) was a German actress. She was famous to international audiences for her role as Bond girl Helga Brandt in the James Bond film '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967) and her appear ...

as Barbara, the lady friend of Adriana *

Franco Fabrizi Franco Fabrizi (; 15 February 1916 – 18 October 1995) was an Italian actor. Life and career Son of a barber and a cinema cashier, Franco Fabrizi started his career as a model and an actor in fotoromanzi. Fabrizi also starred on several revu ...

as Paganelli *

Turi Ferro Salvatore "Turi" Ferro (10 January 1921 – 10 May 2001) was an Italian film, television and stage actor. He is considered the most important actor in the Sicilian theatre post-World War II era. Life and career Born in Catania, Ferro laun ...

as Il commissario *

Robert Hoffmann Robert Hoffmann (30 August 1939 – 4 July 2022) was an Austrian actor, best known to British audiences for his title role performance in '' The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe'' (1964). Hoffmann was born in Salzburg. ''Crusoe'' was his screen d ...

as Antonio Marais *

Franco Nero Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero (born 23 November 1941), known professionally as Franco Nero, is an Italian actor, producer, and director. His breakthrough role was as the title character in the Spaghetti Western film '' Django'' (1966), ...

as Italo - The garage attendant *

Véronique Vendell Véronique Vendell (born Véronique Duraffourd, 21 July 1942) is a French actress. She appeared mainly in French and German productions, but had roles in both Peter Glenville's '' Becket'' and Sam Peckinpah's '' Cross of Iron'' and its sequel ' ...

as Alice Stendhal (credited as Veronique Vendell) * Franca Polesello as Maria - The usherette *

Renato Terra Renato Terra (26 July 1922 in Naples – 28 November 2010 in Rome) had a career working in film as an actor, and has appeared in over 80 movies. In 1977 he retired to become a poet. Young, he attended the Experimental Center of Cinematography in ...

as Man in the caravan (credited as Renato Terra Caizzi)

Soundtrack

* "L'Eclisse twist" Performed by Mina * "Addio" Performed by Mina * "Ogni giorno che passa" Performed by

Mia Genberg Mia, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA., a German rock/pop band formed in 1997 * Mia (singer) (born 198 ...

* "Le stelle d'oro" Performed by

Peppino Di Capri Peppino di Capri (born Giuseppe Faiella on 27 July 1939) is an Italian popular music singer, songwriter and pianist, successful in Italy and Europe. His international hits include "St. Tropez Twist", "Daniela", "Torna piccina", "Roberta", "Melanco ...

* "Sweet William" Performed by

Millie Millie is a feminine given name or diminutive form of various other given names, such as Emily, Millicent, Mildred, Camilla or sometimes Amelia. People with the given name Notable people with the given name include: * Millie Bailey (1918–20 ...

* "Surf della Frusta" By Gino Marinacci * "Oggi e domenica per noi" Performed by

Sergio Endrigo Sergio Endrigo (; 15 June 1933 – 7 September 2005) was an Italian singer-songwriter. Born in Pola, Istria in Italy (now Pula, Croatia), he has been often compared—for style and nature—to authors of the so-called "Genoa school" like Gino P ...

* "Mani bucate" Performed by

* "Lasciati baciare col Letkiss" Performed by Gemelle Kessler * "Roberta" Performed by

* "What Am I Living For" Performed by

* "More" Performed by

Gilbert Bécaud Gilbert Bécaud (, 24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001) was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are "Nathalie" and "Et maintenant", a 1961 release t ...

* "E se domani" Performed by Mina * "Abbracciami forte" Performed by

Ornella Vanoni Ornella Vanoni (; born 22 September 1934) is an Italian singer-songwriter and actress. She is one of the longest-standing Italian artists, having started performing in 1956. She has released about 112 works between LP, EPs and greatest hits alb ...

* "Dimmi la verità" Performed by

* "Toi" Performed by

* " Let Kiss" Orchestrated by Yvar Sanna

Awards

*Three

Nastro d'Argento The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani ...

awards: Best Director, Best Script, and Best Supporting Actor (Ugo Tognazzi). *Pietrangeli was named Best Director at the

Mar del Plata Film Festival The Mar del Plata International Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata) is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. It is the only competitive feature fes ...

References

External links

*
''I Knew Her Well: City Girl''
an essay by

Alexander Stille Alexander Stille (born 1 January 1957 in New York City) is an American author and journalist. He is the son of Ugo Stille, a well-known Italian journalist and a former editor of Italy's Milan-based Corriere della Sera newspaper. Alexander Stille g ...

at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...

1965 films Italian black-and-white films 1960s Italian-language films 1965 comedy-drama films Commedia all'italiana Films directed by Antonio Pietrangeli Films with screenplays by Ruggero Maccari Films scored by Benedetto Ghiglia 1960s Italian films {{comedy-drama-film-stub