settima

Italy

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

Il caso Mattei [The Mattei Affair] (Francesco Rosi, 1972)

Oct

27

1962

Il caso Mattei (1972)

A group of well-dressed men, somewhere in a field, with Enrico Mattei (Gian Maria Volontè) in the centre. DP: Pasqualino De Santis.

“IF they want to kill me, let them do it.”

– Enrico Mattei

La donna del lago [The Lady of the Lake / The Possessed] (Luigi Bazzoni + Franco Rossellini, 1965)

Oct

25

La donna del lago (1965)

Tilde (Virna Lisi) caressing a man's hand, resting on her shoulder, with her cheek. DP: Leonida Barboni.

Until November 20.

Il caso Valdemar [The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar] (Gianni Hoepli + Ubaldo Magnaghi, 1936)

Oct

24

Il caso Valdemar (1936)

M. Valdemar on his deathbed.

[A] favourite horror movie overall*

”'M. Valdemar,' I said, 'are you asleep?' He made no answer, but I perceived a tremor about the lips, and was thus induced to repeat the question, again and again. At its third repetition, his whole frame was agitated by a very slight shivering; the eye-lids unclosed themselves so far as to display a white line of the{n} ball; the lips moved sluggishly, and from between them, in a barely audible whisper, issued the words:

'Yes; — asleep now. Do not wake me! — let me die so!'”

– Edgar Allan Poe, The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar (1845) (via)

A man agrees on being hypnotised while in the state of dying. This particularly haunting and efficiently gory film – the first in the genre – is the result.

 

* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for October is horror-themed as opposed to date-based, and is all about favourites. Expect non-horror and films I believe to be relevant instead.

Banditi a Milano [The Violent Four] (Carlo Lizzani, 1968)

Oct

22

Banditi a Milano (1968)

Two of the four bandits, Pietro 'Piero' Cavallero (Gian Maria Volontè) and Sante Notarnicola (Don Backy), surrounded by press and Carabinieri. DPs: Giuseppe Ruzzolini & Otello Spila.

1943-1997 ['43 – '97] (Ettore Scola, 1997)

Oct

16

1943

1943-1997 (1997)

The boy (Francesco Cencioni) on the run in a locked down town. DP: Carlo Tafani.

La vérité [The Truth] (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1960)

Oct

15

1959

La vérité (1960)

Gilbert (Sami Frey) and Dominique (Brigitte Bardot). DP: Armand Thirard.

The day of the court case. Numerous other dates are mentioned, all in flashbacks.

– The Paris Court of Appeals, meeting on October 15, 1959, pursuant to the charges against Dominique Marceau.

– With a girl like that, truth may be the best defense for once.

Le passager de la pluie [Rider on the Rain] (René Clément, 1970)

Oct

10

Le passager de la pluie (1970)

Mélancolie 'Mellie' Mau (Marlène Jobert) and Col. Harry Dobbs (Charles Bronson), dancing. DP: Andréas Winding.

– You expect me to eat that?

– Americans live on ketchup and milk. I'm a whiz at geography.

Il demonio [The Demon] (Brunello Rondi, 1963)

Oct

6

exorcism

Il demonio (1963)

While several men hold her down, Purif (Daliah Lavi) sticks out her tongue to the crucifix held up to her. DP: Carlo Bellero.

[A favourite] exorcism film*

“Blood of Christ. Demon. A curse upon this man. A curse that he will never forget me. Blood of my body. Until the grave. A curse that he will never forget me.”

– Purificazione

When a rejected young woman puts a curse on her heart's desire, the locals see nothing less than witchcraft. It is decided that Purif must be possessed, and exorcised.

 

* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for October is horror-themed as opposed to date-based, and is all about favourites. Expect non-horror and films I believe to be relevant instead.

Le boucher [The Butcher] (Claude Chabrol, 1970)

Oct

3

Le boucher (1970)

Popaul (Jean Yanne) and Hélène (Stéphane Audran) in the former's butcher shop. DP: Jean Rabier.