Antonio Pietrangeli (19 January 191912 July 1968) 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, pr ...

and

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. ...

. He was a major practitioner of the

Commedia all'italiana Commedia all'italiana (, pl. Commedie all'italiana, "Comedy in the Italian way") or Italian-style comedy is an Italian film genre born in Italy in the 1950s and developed in the 1960s and 1970s. It is widely considered to have started with Mar ...

genre.

Biography

Pietrangeli was born in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. He started in the film industry by writing movie reviews for Italian cinema magazines such as ''

Bianco e Nero ''Bianco e Nero'' (Italian for "Black and White") is an Italian film journal. It is the oldest film publication in Italy. History and profile ''Bianco e Nero'' was founded in 1937 by Luigi Chiarini as the official organ of the drama school Cen ...

'' and ''Cinema''. As a screenwriter, his works include '' Ossessione'' and '' La terra trema'' directed by

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the ...

, '' Fabiola'' directed by

Alessandro Blasetti Alessandro Blasetti (3 July 1900 – 1 February 1987) was an Italian film director and screenwriter who influenced Italian neorealism with the film ''Quattro passi fra le nuvole''. Blasetti was one of the leading figures in Italian cinema during ...

, and ''

Europa '51 ''Europe '51'' ( it, Europa '51), also known as ''The Greatest Love'', is a 1952 Italian neorealist film directed by Roberto Rossellini, starring Ingrid Bergman and Alexander Knox. The film follows an industrialist's wife who, after the death ...

'' directed by

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...

. Pietrangeli's own directing debut was '' Il sole negli occhi'', a 1953 film starring

Gabriele Ferzetti Gabriele Ferzetti (born Pasquale Ferzetti; 17 March 1925 – 2 December 2015) was an Italian actor with more than 160 credits across film, television, and stage. His career was at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s. Ferzetti's first leading role ...

. This was followed by the

Alberto Sordi Alberto Sordi (15 June 1920 – 24 February 2003) was an Italian actor, voice actor, singer, comedian, director and screenwriter. Early life Born in Rome to a schoolteacher and a musician and the last of five children, Sordi was named in hon ...

comedies '' Lo scapolo'' (1956) and '' Souvenir d'Italie'' (1957). The director's career highlights include ''

Adua e le compagne ''Adua and Her Friends'' ( it, Adua e le compagne), also known as ''Hungry For Love'', is a 1960 Italian film directed by Antonio Pietrangeli with a collaborative screenplay by the film's director together with Ruggero Maccari, Ettore Scola and T ...

'' (1960), a drama with

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 ...

and Simone Signoret, the supernatural comedy ''

Fantasmi a Roma ''Ghosts of Rome'' ( it, Fantasmi a Roma) is a 1961 Italian comedy film directed by Antonio Pietrangeli. It was released in the UK in 1964 as ''The Phantom Lovers''. Plot Count di Roviano refuses to sell his palace to a developer, despite havin ...

'' (1961), again with Mastroianni, ''

Il magnifico cornuto ''The Magnificent Cuckold'' or ''Il magnifico cornuto'' is a 1964 Italian sex comedy film directed by Antonio Pietrangeli and based on the Belgian play '' Le Cocu magnifique'' written by Fernand Crommelynck. Plot ''The Magnificent Cuckold'' is ...

'' (1964), a comedy of adultery starring

Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose "Claudia" Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938) is an Italian actress. She has starred in some of the most iconic European films of the 1960s and 1970s, acting in Italian, French, and English. Born and raised in La Goulette, a ...

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 ...

, and the comedy-drama ''

Io la conoscevo bene ''I Knew Her Well'' ( it, Io la conoscevo bene) is a 1965 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Antonio Pietrangeli and starring Stefania Sandrelli. In 2008 the film was selected to enter the list of the 100 Italian films to be saved. Plot ...

'' (1965) with

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 ...

. He won the

Nastro d'Argento for Best Director The ''Nastro d'Argento'' (Silver Ribbon) for Best Director ( it, Nastro d'argento al regista del miglior film) is a film award bestowed annually as part of the Nastro d'Argento awards since 1946, organized by the Italian National Association of Fi ...

for ''

''. Pietrangeli died from drowning by accident in the

Gulf of Gaeta The Gulf of Gaeta is a body of water on the west coast of Italy and part of the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is bounded by Cape Circeo in the north, Ischia and the Gulf of Naples in the south, and the Pontine Islands in the west. The gulf is named for ...

in 1968, while working on the film ''Come, quando, perché''. The movie was completed by his friend, director

Valerio Zurlini Valerio Zurlini (19 March 1926 – 26 October 1982) was an Italian film director, stage director and screenwriter. Biography During his law studies in Rome, he started working in the theatre. In 1943, he joined the Italian resistance. Zurlin ...

Filmography

* ''

Prelude to Madness ''Prelude to Madness'' or ''Loveless Lovers'' (Italian: ''Amanti senza amore'') is a 1948 Italian drama film directed by Gianni Franciolini and starring Clara Calamai, Roldano Lupi and Jean Servais. It is inspired by the 1889 novella ''The Kre ...

'' (1948) * '' Empty Eyes'' (''Il sole negli occhi'') (1953) * ''Girandola 1910'' – Episode of ''

Mid-Century Loves ''Mid-Century Loves'' ( it, Amori di mezzo secolo) is a 1954 Italian anthology historical melodrama film consisting of five segments directed by Glauco Pellegrini, Pietro Germi, Mario Chiari, Roberto Rossellini and Antonio Pietrangeli. Plot ...

'' (''Amori di mezzosecolo'') (1953) * '' The Bachelor'' (''Lo scapolo'') (1955) * ''

March's Child ''March's Child'' (Italian:''Nata di marzo'') is a 1958 Italian comedy film. It stars actor Gabriele Ferzetti. Partial cast * Gabriele Ferzetti: Sandro * Jacqueline Sassard: Francesca * Mario Valdemarin: Carlo * Tina De Mola: Nella * Ester Carlo ...

'' (''Nata di marzo'') (1957) * '' Souvenirs d'Italie'' (''Souvenir d'Italie'') (1957) * ''

Adua and Her Friends ''Adua and Her Friends'' ( it, Adua e le compagne), also known as ''Hungry For Love'', is a 1960 Italian film directed by Antonio Pietrangeli with a collaborative screenplay by the film's director together with Ruggero Maccari, Ettore Scola and ...

'' (''Adua e le compagne'') (1960) * ''

Ghosts of Rome ''Ghosts of Rome'' ( it, Fantasmi a Roma) is a 1961 Italian comedy film directed by Antonio Pietrangeli. It was released in the UK in 1964 as ''The Phantom Lovers''. Plot Count di Roviano refuses to sell his palace to a developer, despite havin ...

'' (''Fantasmi a Roma'') (1961) * ''

The Girl from Parma ''La parmigiana'' (internationally released as ''The Girl from Parma'') is a 1963 Italian comedy drama film directed by Antonio Pietrangeli. The film describes the disappointing sentimental experiences of an orphan girl (Catherine Spaak). Cast * ...

'' (''La parmigiana'') (1963) * ''

La visita ''La visita'' is a 1963 Italian comedy film directed by Antonio Pietrangeli. It was entered into the 14th Berlin International Film Festival. Cast * Sandra Milo - Pina * François Périer - Adolfo Di Palma * Mario Adorf - Cucaracha * Gastone M ...

'' (1963) * '' The Magnificent Cuckold'' (''Il magnifico cornuto'') (1964) * ''

I Knew Her Well ''I Knew Her Well'' ( it, Io la conoscevo bene) is a 1965 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Antonio Pietrangeli and starring Stefania Sandrelli. In 2008 the film was selected to enter the list of the 100 Italian films to be saved. Plot syn ...

'' (''Io la conoscevo bene'') (1965) * ''Fata Marta'' – Episode of ''

Sex Quartet ''Sex Quartet'' (US title: ''The Queens'', it, Le fate, 'the fairies') is a 1966 Italian-French comedy film directed by Mario Monicelli, Mauro Bolognini, Antonio Pietrangeli and Luciano Salce. It starred Capucine, Claudia Cardinale, Monica Vitti ...

'' (''Le fate'') (1966) * '' How, When and with Whom'' (''Come, quando, perché'') (1969)

References

External links

* Italian film directors 1919 births 1968 deaths Film people from Rome Nastro d'Argento winners Burials at Campo Verano Deaths by drowning {{Italy-film-director-stub

Biography

Filmography

References

Further reading

External links