Boccaccio '70 (1962)

Synopsis

Four films, each directed by a giant of Italian cinema, Boccaccio ‘70 features some of the most beautiful women to ever grace the screen, unapologetically taking charge of their lives, their loves and their morals, though not always with the happiest of results.

Beginning with what has come to be regarded as the lost film of Boccaccio ’70, due to only having ever been released in the Italian version of the picture previously, Mario Monicelli (La Grande Guerra – The Great War) tells the story of Renzo and Luciana, two working class lovers who have to keep their impending nuptials a secret to avoid the sack.

The second short, directed by Federico Fellini (8 1/2) and starring the ravishing Anita Ekberg (La Dolce Vita) sees a prudish censor trying to ban a 100 foot high billboard of Ekberg, only to find himself taunted and hounded by its sensual gaze.

The third playlet, by Luchino Visconti (The Leopard), follows Pupe (Romy Schneider – What’s New Pussycat?) who discovers her husband having an affair. A scandal ensures, only to be exacerbated further when the well to-do Pupe reveals she is getting a job.

The final short, by Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves), stars the greatest siren in cinema history, Sophia Loren (Two Women) as Zoe, a model selling her body for sex in order to pay her pregnant sisters’ overdue taxes. But when she falls for a local stable boy, she wants to renege on the deal, desiring to feel true passion without a price for the first time.

Cast: Anita Ekberg, Romy Schneider, Sophia Loren, Marisa Solinas, Germano Gilioli, Peppino De Filippo, Tomas Milian, Romolo Valli, Luigi Giuliani, Alfio Vita

Cannes (Rétrospective), Cannes (Out of competition)

Read about this film

Country: Italy | France
Language: Italian | German
Color: Color
Runtime: 150 min.