''La sfida'' ("the challenge") is a 1958
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 ...
film by
Francesco Rosi
Francesco Rosi (; 15 November 1922 – 10 January 2015) was an Italian film director. His film ''The Mattei Affair'' won the Palme d'Or at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. Rosi's films, especially those of the 1960s and 1970s, often appeared to ha ...
. It stars
José Suárez as a gang leader who challenges a local
boss for supremacy. It won the Jury Prize at the
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
.
The film is based on the real-life story of
boss
Pasquale Simonetti
Pasquale Simonetti (; 26 February 1926 – 16 July 1955), known as ("big Pasquale from Nola"), was an Italian criminal of the Camorra, a Mafia-type organisation in Naples and Campania in Italy.
Early life and career
Born in a poor family in Palm ...
, known as ''Pasquale 'e Nola'', and his wife and former beauty queen
Pupetta Maresca
Assunta "Pupetta" Maresca (19 January 1935 – 29 December 2021) was an Italian criminal who was a well-known figure in the Camorra. She made international newspaper headlines in the mid-1950s when she killed the murderer of her husband in reven ...
, played by
Rosanna Schiaffino
Rosanna Schiaffino (25 November 1939 – 17 October 2009) was an Italian film actress. She appeared on the covers of Italian, German, French, British and American magazines.
Early life
She was born in Genoa, Liguria to a well-off family. Her mot ...
.
Una Donna, la Camorra e Napoli. Reccontati dal cinema e dalla stampa
dissertation, July 2007
It was produced by the Italian companies Cinecittà
Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City Studios), is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios we ...
and Vides Cinematografica and the Spanish companies Lux Film
Lux Film was an Italian film distribution (and later production) company founded by Riccardo Gualino in 1934.
Gualino was an anti-fascist businessman who had clashed with the regime of Mussolini in 1931 and had been forced into internal exile on ...
and Suevia Films.
References
External links
*
1958 films
Italian crime drama films
Films set in Naples
Films about the Camorra
Films directed by Francesco Rosi
Venice Grand Jury Prize winners
Films with screenplays by Suso Cecchi d'Amico
Lux Film films
1950s Italian films
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