settima

EnnioMorricone

Il fiore delle mille e una notte [Arabian Nights] (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1974)

Aug

13

cerulean

Il fiore delle mille e una notte (1974)

The entrance of the Shah Mosque as seen in the film. The seven colours of the tile work are reflected in the extras' costumes. DP: Giuseppe Ruzzolini.

Cerulean, or blue: a building or structure*

“Eh, i sogni a volte insegnano male, Dùnya, perché la verità intera non è mai in un solo sogno, la verità intera è in molti sogni.”

One of the many exotic locations is the مسجد شاه, [Masjed-e Shah, or Shah Mosque] in Iran with its otherworldly blue and blue-adjacent tiles.

 

Vergogna, schifosi!… [Dirty Angels] (Mauro Severino, 1969)

Aug

4

Vergogna, schifosi!… (1969)

While the month is never explicitly stated, there's mention of August traffic jams.

“Matto, caldo, soldi, morto… girotondo…”

Gli intoccabili [Machine Gun McCain] (Giuliano Montaldo, 1969)

Jul

30

1968

Gli intoccabili (1969)

Man's hands hold up the July 30, 1968 San Francisco Chronicle. The headline reads GANGLAND FEUD EXPLODES: TWO CUT DOWN BY MACHINE GUN. It's a Tuesday. DP: Erico Menczer.

“It's a lot of work, ya know, just staying alive.”

– Rosemary Scott

Todo modo [One Way or Another] (Elio Petri, 1976)

May

1

National Day of Prayer

Todo modo (1976)

M. (Gian Maria Volontè) speaks to the gathered elite while a gypsum Christ multiplies bread and fishes. DP: Luigi Kuveiller.

A spiritual theme for the National Day of Prayer (USA)

“Have you ever tried to dress as a priest? Try it, at least once. It's a bit like being a woman. In summer the breeze enters under the genitals. You can go without briefs. Priests are half men and half women.”

– Don Gaetano

Inspired by the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, Italy's political leaders, industrialists, bankers, and business leaders gather for a retreat as an atonement for their past crimes of corruption and unethical practices, and to reinforce their power.

Teorema [Theorem] (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1968)

Dec

29

Independence Day of Mongolia

Teorema (1968)

The visitor (Terence Stamp) in intimate closeup. DP: Giuseppe Ruzzolini.

Someone finds their independence: Independence Day of Mongolia (Үндэсний эрх чөлөө, тусгаар тогтнолоо сэргээсний баярын өдөр).

“I no longer even recognize myself. What made me like the others has been destroyed. I was like everyone else, with many faults, perhaps, mine and those of the world around me. You made me different by taking me out of the natural order of things.”

– Pietro, the son

I pugni in tasca [Fists in the Pocket] (Marco Bellocchio, 1965)

Nov

3

I pugni in tasca (1965)

Alessandro (Lou Castel). DP: Alberto Marrama.

“I'm a volcano of ideas.”

– Alessandro

Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)

Oct

7

1916

Days of Heaven (1978)

The Amarillo Dispatch reports on President Wilson's October 7 visit to the town of Panhandle. DP: Néstor Almendros.

– Here he is!

– There he goes!

– That's the president of the whole country.

– Ohh!

Vergogna, schifosi!… [Dirty Angels] (Mauro Severino, 1969)

Aug

14

fruit

Vergogna, schifosi!… (1969)

A group of people in skimpy swimwear sits on space-agey white plastic seating – Archizoom's radical Superonda (1967) – while decadently eating luxurious tropical fruit from a round table that futuristically descends from the ceiling via a steel pole. DP: Angelo Lotti.

“Matto, caldo, soldi, morto… girotondo…”

La battaglia di Algeri [The Battle of Algiers] (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966)

Dec

18

Arabic Language Day

La battaglia di Algeri (1966)

Petit Omar (Mohamed Ben Kassen) reading out a letter to Ali La Pointe (Brahim Hadjadj) in the قصبة, (Cashbah). If it were not for the leads' jeans and sneakers, this scene could be in any century. DP: Marcello Gatti.

Speak an Arabic language on UN Arabic Language Day

“The first section's dead. There's no one left. We lost contact with the second. The third is reorganizing. All that's left is the fourth. It's enough to start over with.”