Marco Ferreri (11 May 1928 – 9 May 1997) was an Italian

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, who began his career in the 1950s directing three films in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, followed by 24 Italian films before his death in 1997. He is considered one of the greatest European cinematic provocateurs of his time and had a constant presence in prestigious festival circuit - including eight films in competition in

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

and a

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The winn ...

win in 1991 Berlin Film Festival. Three of his films are among 100 films selected for preservation for significant contribution to Italian cinema.

Biography

He was born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. His best known film is ''

La Grande Bouffe ''La Grande Bouffe'' (Italian: ''La grande abbuffata''; English: ''The Grand Bouffe'' and ''Blow-Out'') is a 1973 satirical film directed by Marco Ferreri. It stars Marcello Mastroianni, Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Piccoli, Philippe Noiret and Andréa ...

'' from 1973, starring

Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (28 September 1924 – 19 December 1996) was an Italian film actor, regarded as one of his country's most iconic male performers of the 20th century. He played leading roles for many of Italy's top di ...

Michel Piccoli Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli (27 December 1925 – 12 May 2020) was a French actor, producer and film director with a career spanning 70 years. He was lauded as one of the greatest French character actors of his generation who played a wide vari ...

Philippe Noiret Philippe Noiret (; 1 October 1930 – 23 November 2006) was a French film actor. Life and career Noiret was born in Lille, France, the son of Lucy (Heirman) and Pierre Noiret, a clothing company representative. He was an indifferent student and ...

and

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 ...

. He was a socialist and atheist.Tonino Lasconi, ''Dieci per amore'', Edizioni Paoline, 2001, p. 31. He died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

. Upon his death, Gilles Jacob, artistic director of the Cannes International Film Festival, said: "The Italian cinema has lost one of its most original artists, one of its most personal authors (...) No one was more demanding nor more allegorical than he in showing the state of crisis of contemporary man

Awards

His 1979 film '' Seeking Asylum (film), Chiedo asilo'' won him the Silver Bear - Special Jury Prize at the 30th Berlin International Film Festival. In 1991, his film '' La casa del sorriso'' won the

at the 41st Berlin International Film Festival. Two years later, his film '' Diario di un vizio'' was nominated for the Golden Bear at the

43rd Berlin International Film Festival The 43rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 February 1993. The Golden Bear was awarded to American-Taiwanese film ''The Wedding Banquet'' directed by Ang Lee and Chinese film '' Xiāng hún nǚ'' directed by Xie Fe ...

Partial filmography

Director

*''

El pisito ''El Pisito'' is a 1959 Spanish comedy film directed by Marco Ferreri. The Spanish Ministry of Culture forced the producers to sign the film as co-directed by Spaniard Isidoro M. Ferry. It was co-written by famous Spanish screenwriter Rafael Azc ...

'' (1958) *''

Los chicos Los Chicos (also known as Los Chicos de Puerto Rico) were a Puerto Rican boy band that was popular in Puerto Rico, South America and in Central America during the early to mid 1980s, which was created to rival Menudo's success. The band was ...

'' (1959) *'' El cochecito'' (1960) *'' Una storia moderna: l’ape regina'' (''The Conjugal Bed'', 1963) *'' La donna scimmia'' (''The Ape Woman'', 1964) *'' L'uomo dei cinque palloni'' (1965) *'' L'Harem'' (1967) *''

Il seme dell'uomo ''Il seme dell'uomo'' (''The Seed of Man'') is a 1969 French-Italian film directed by Marco Ferreri. A young couple argue about having a child in the days after a global plague wipes out most of Earth's population. References External links

...

(1969) *'' Dillinger è morto'' (''Dillinger Is Dead'', 1969) *''

L'udienza ''L'udienza'' is a 1972 Italian-French drama film directed by Marco Ferreri. It was entered into the 22nd Berlin International Film Festival. Cast * Enzo Jannacci - Amedeo * Claudia Cardinale - Aiche * Ugo Tognazzi - Aureliano Diaz * Michel Pi ...

'' (1972) *'' Liza'' (Italian version title ''La cagna'', 1972) *''

'' (in French and Italian; Italian dubbed version title ''La grande abbuffata'', 1973) *'' Touche pas à la femme blanche'' (in French; Italian dubbed version title ''Non toccare la donna bianca'', released in English as ''Don't Touch The White Woman!'' 1974) *''

La Dernière femme ''The Last Woman'' (french: La Dernière femme, it, L'ultima donna, german: Die letzte Frau) is a 1976 French-Italian film directed by Marco Ferreri and starring Gérard Depardieu and Ornella Muti. Depardieu was nominated for best actor for his ...

'' (in French; Italian dubbed version title ''L'ultima donna'', international version title ''The Last Woman'', 1976) *'' Ciao maschio'' (in Italian and French, French dubbed version title ''Rêve du singe'', English version title ''Bye Bye Monkey'', 1978) *'' Seeking Asylum (film), Chiedo asilo'' (1979) (English dubbed version title "Seeking Asylum", 1980) *''

Tales of Ordinary Madness ''Tales of Ordinary Madness'' ( it, Storie di ordinaria follia, french: Contes de la folie ordinaire) is a 1981 film by Italian director Marco Ferreri. It was shot in English in the United States, featuring Ben Gazzara and Ornella Muti in the lea ...

'' (in English; Italian dubbed version title ''Storie di ordinaria follia'', 1981) *'' Storia di Piera'' (''The Story of Piera'', 1983) *'' Il futuro è donna'' (''The Future Is Woman'', 1984) *'' I Love You'' (1986) *'' Ya bon les blancs'' (Italian dubbed version title ''Come sono buoni i bianchi!'', 1988) *'' La banquette'' (Italian title: ''Il banchetto di Platone'', 1989) *'' La casa del sorriso'' (''The House of Smiles'', 1991) *'' La carne'' (also screenwriter) (1991) *'' Diario di un vizio'' (''Diary of a Maniac'', 1993) *'' Faictz ce que vouldras'' (1994) *'' Nitrato d'argento'' (1996)

Screenwriter

*'' Mafioso (1962) *''

Dillinger Is Dead ''Dillinger Is Dead'' ( it, Dillinger è morto) is a 1969 Italian drama directed by Marco Ferreri. It stars Michel Piccoli, Anita Pallenberg and Annie Girardot. The story is a darkly satiric blend of fantasy and reality. It follows a bored, alienat ...

'' (''Dillinger è morto'', 1969) *'' Non toccare la donna bianca'' (1973) *'' Ciao maschio'' (1977) *'' Chiedo asilo'' (1980) *'' Storia di Piera'' (1983) *'' Il futuro è donna'' (1984) *'' I Love You'' (1985)

Actor

* '' The Beach'' (1954) * ''

Women and Soldiers ''Women and Soldiers'' (Italian: ''Donne e soldati'') is a 1954 Italian historical adventure film directed by Luigi Malerba and Antonio Marchi and starring Marcella Mariani, Sandro Somarè and Marco Ferreri.Chiti & Poppi p.127 It is set during the ...

'' (1954) * ''

Casanova 70 ''Casanova 70'' is a 1965 Italian comedy film produced by Carlo Ponti, directed by Mario Monicelli and starring Marcello Mastroianni, Virna Lisi, Enrico Maria Salerno and Michèle Mercier. Plot NATO officer Andrea Rossi-Colombotti is a ladies ...

'' (1967) * '' The Seventh Floor'' (1967) * ''

Pigsty A sty or pigsty is a small-scale outdoor enclosure for raising domestic pigs as livestock. It is sometimes referred to as a hog pen, hog parlor, pigpen, pig parlor, or pig-cote, although pig pen may refer to pens confining pigs that are kep ...

'' (1969) * '' So Long Gulliver'' (1970) * '' Non toccare la donna bianca'' (1973) * ''

An Almost Perfect Affair ''An Almost Perfect Affair'' is a 1979 romantic comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie and starring Keith Carradine and Monica Vitti. The plot is about an affair between a filmmaker and a film producer's wife, set during the Cannes Film Festiv ...

'' (1979) (uncredited)

References

External links

*
Marco Ferreri Obituary
at The New York Times
Irriverente Ferreri
a documentary done by RAI television (in Italian)
Obsolete Reality: The Cinema of Marco Ferreri
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferreri, Marco 1928 births 1997 deaths Italian film directors 20th-century Italian screenwriters David di Donatello winners Nastro d'Argento winners Directors of Golden Bear winners Film people from Milan 20th-century Italian male actors Italian male screenwriters Male actors from Milan 20th-century Italian male writers