“I'm a volcano of ideas.”I pugni in tasca [Fists in the Pocket] (Marco Bellocchio, 1965)
Nov
3

Alessandro (Lou Castel). DP: Alberto Marrama.
– Alessandro
“I'm a volcano of ideas.”I pugni in tasca [Fists in the Pocket] (Marco Bellocchio, 1965)
Nov
3

Alessandro (Lou Castel). DP: Alberto Marrama.
– Alessandro
“IF they want to kill me, let them do it.”Il caso Mattei [The Mattei Affair] (Francesco Rosi, 1972)
Oct
27
1962

A group of well-dressed men, somewhere in a field, with Enrico Mattei (Gian Maria Volontè) in the centre. DP: Pasqualino De Santis.
– Enrico Mattei
La donna del lago [The Lady of the Lake / The Possessed] (Luigi Bazzoni + Franco Rossellini, 1965)
Oct
25

Tilde (Virna Lisi) caressing a man's hand, resting on her shoulder, with her cheek. DP: Leonida Barboni.
Until November 20.
”'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!'”  Il caso Valdemar [The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar] (Gianni Hoepli + Ubaldo Magnaghi, 1936)
Oct
24

M. Valdemar on his deathbed.
[A] favourite horror movie overall*
– 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

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

The boy (Francesco Cencioni) on the run in a locked down town. DP: Carlo Tafani.
– 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.La vérité [The Truth] (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1960)
Oct
15
1959

Gilbert (Sami Frey) and Dominique (Brigitte Bardot). DP: Armand Thirard.
The day of the court case. Numerous other dates are mentioned, all in flashbacks.
– You expect me to eat that? – Americans live on ketchup and milk. I'm a whiz at geography.Le passager de la pluie [Rider on the Rain] (René Clément, 1970)
Oct
10

Mélancolie 'Mellie' Mau (Marlène Jobert) and Col. Harry Dobbs (Charles Bronson), dancing. DP: Andréas Winding.
“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.”  Il demonio [The Demon] (Brunello Rondi, 1963)
Oct
6
exorcism

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*
– 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

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