''D'Annunzio'' (internationally released as ''D'Annunzio and I'' and ''Love Sin'') is a 1987

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

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...

directed by

Sergio Nasca Sergio Nasca (1 August 1937 – 14 August 1989) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Rome, Nasca started his career in 1965 as assistant director of Enzo Battaglia in ''Idoli controluce'', then he worked as a p ...

Plot summary

The film focuses on

Decadentism The Decadent movement (from the French ''décadence'', ) was a late 19th-century artistic and literary movement, centered in Western Europe, that followed an aesthetic ideology of excess and artificiality. The Decadent movement first flourished ...

, that developed in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in the late 19th century. Gabriele d'Annunzio is a renowned poet, coming from the rural region of

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

, from the seaside town of

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

. He is already famous for his aesthetic poetry, and he's also a journalist in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. There d'Annunzio begins to spend his days in worldly pleasure, living purely in the art world and in high society. He hates democracy, hates mass culture even more, and looks for passion and pleasure in the rich ladies of the court; until he meets Lady Elvira Fraternali Leoni, known affectionately as "Barbara". This love affair arouses in d'Annunzio the inspiration for the writing of his first great novel of Decadentism: ''Pleasure'' (''Il Piacere'').

Background

While in Rome between 1891 and 1897, Emil Fuchs had an affair with Elvira Fraternali, and this affair is one of the sources for the plot.

Cast

Robert Powell Robert Thomas Powell ( ; born 1 June 1944) is an English actor who is known for the title roles in '' Mahler'' (1974) and '' Jesus of Nazareth'' (1977), and for his portrayal of secret agent Richard Hannay in '' The Thirty Nine Steps'' (1978) ...

as Gabriele D'Annunzio *

Stefania Sandrelli Stefania Sandrelli (born 5 June 1946) is an Italian actress, famous for her many roles in the "Italian-style comedy" (''commedia all'italiana''), starting from the 1960s. She was 14 years old when she starred in ''Divorce Italian Style'' as Ang ...

as Elvira Fraternali Leoni, called Barbara *

Laurent Terzieff Laurent Terzieff (27 June 1935 – 2 July 2010) was a French actor and theatre director. Biography Terzieff was the son of French ceramist Florence Guérin Florence Guérin (born 12 June 1965) is a French actress. She appeared in film and in television roles between 1983 and 1990. Selected filmography *1983: ''Black Venus'' as Louise *1985: ''Le déclic'' as Claudia Christiani *1986: ''La Bonne'' ...

as Clo Albrini * Sonia Petrovna as Maria Cruyllas di Gravina *

Teresa Ann Savoy Teresa Ann Savoy, FRSA (18 July 1955 – 9 January 2017) was a British actress who appeared in a number of Italian films. Biography Savoy was 18 years old when she appeared in the October 1973 edition of Italian adult magazine ''Playmen'', us ...

as Maria di Gallese *

Fiorenza Marchegiani Fiorenza is an obsolete name for Florence, used during the Middle Ages. It is also an Italian female given name, equivalent to the English Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the mos ...

as Olga Ossani *

Paolo Bonacelli Paolo Bonacelli (born 28 February 1937) is an Italian stage and film actor. Bonacelli graduated from the National Academy of Dramatic Arts in Rome. After debuting on stage in Vittorio Gassman's ''Questa sera si recita a soggetto'', he had his fi ...

as Ercole Leoni * Roberto Alpi as Edoardo Scarfoglio *

Cesare Barbetti Cesare Barbetti (29 September 1930 – 13 September 2006) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Palermo to parents who were both actors, Barbetti started off his career as a child actor during the Fascist era in 1934 making a ...

as De Bosis *

Eva Grimaldi Eva Grimaldi (born Milva Perinoni; 7 September 1961) is an Italian actress and model. Biography Born in Nogarole Rocca, Italy, Grimaldi debuted as a nude model in ''Playmen'' and as a soubrette in the Antonio Ricci's TV-show '' Drive In''. ...

as Viola

Release

The film was released in

on 3 February 1987.

References

External links