All language subtitles for Extra2_track3_[eng]-eng

TURI VASILE
WRITER AND PRODUCER

Immediately after the war,

Italian cinema
underwent a Catholic revival.

"Pastor Angelicus"
had already been made,

and while the Germans
were still here in Rome,

"The Gate of Heaven"
went into production.

It's a film about
a miracle

that occurs in people's souls.

Then Germi made "The Testimony"

and there was Blasetti's
wonderful "Un giorno nella vita"

and other films.

Little by little, the genre
got more impoverished

and new ways to make a profit
were sought.

"Fabiola" came into being:
a huge spectacular

that cost a fortune
and made a lot of money too,

but not enough to cover costs.

The epilogue of this
second instalment

was Visconti's
"The Earth Trembles”.

It was the first example
of an historical compromise

because it was financed 50%
by the Communist Party

and 50% by the Catholics.

In the same spirit,
a company was set up

called "Film Costellazione".

I recently read that Maselli
attributes Pius XII

with contributing
to the financing of this company.

It was formed by
Mario Melloni,

a representative
for the Christian Democrats

who went on to find fame
as "Fortebraccio",

a newspaper pundit,

Diego Fabbri and me.

He was president, Fabbri and me
were delegated advisors.

We made films that didn't
belong to any particular school

but gave more than a nod
in the direction of neorealism,

which had established a new way
of looking at cinema.

Our first film under
the "Film Costellazione" banner

was "The Seven Deadly Sins".

It was an Italian-French
co-production,

which featured a wonderful
performance by Gérard Philippe

and was helmed by various
Italian and French directors,

including Rossellini
and Eduardo De Filippo,

and Yves Allégret and Autant-Lara.

In a certain sense,
it resembled a catechism.

It was very successful,
especially in England.

Immediately after that we made
"The City Stands Trial",

which was a harbinger for
the events of 30 years later:

the "Maxi-trial",

state collusion
with the camorra and the mafia.

That brings us to
the film we're most interested in,

because it signalled
a divergence,

a turning point
for Italian cinema,

Michelangelo Antonioni's
"The Vanquished".

The screenplay of this film...

had done the rounds of many
producers and when it reached us

we dived headlong into
producing it.

It was split into three episodes.

It slotted into the landscape
of what was called "lost youth",

referring to
the post-war generation

who were confused and
searching for their true identity.

It was something that acted
as a linchpin to the flood

of what can be called
French existentialism,

but it had more distant origins.

Antonioni was very well-read

on this subject,

and imitated, above all,
Kierkegaard,

from whom sprang
the neurotic anguish,

a dominant theme
of European culture.

Kierkegaard, about whom
there are some misunderstandings

that can blamed
on his German translators,

came from a strictly
Catholic background.

A Christian existentialism
ahead of its time.

Antonioni adapted the stories
from news items.

I think the English episode
is the best of the three

and it illustrates Antonioni's
Anglo-Saxon bent

that culminated in "Blow Up".

This episode was something

that dealt with
the fragmentation of identity,

the gratuitousness of gestures,
their ambiguity and nonsense.

He'd taken it from
a press cutting

that I still have at home.

The French episode was based
on a sensational news item

that concerned two youths

who planned a crime.

As far as Italy went,
he found himself dealing

with a society that was
rather uncertain

and above all politicized.

This is the trouble
with European cinema.

Ernesto Galli Della Loggia
perceptively remarked

that the difference between
European and American cinema

is that the European model
is ideologized.

It's either Communist or Fascist.

American cinema,
on the other hand, tells stories.

Storytelling is their linchpin.

The film had
quite a few misfortunes,

especially regarding
the Italian episode.

This was blamed on censorship.
It's true,

but I must say

that the most devastating
blows to the film's fortunes

came from France.

It was against the law there

to portray characters on screen

that could be easily
identified in real life.

The film was inspired by
a news item on the neofascists.

We made it with Interlenghi,
Ferrero, etc.

We tried to go to Venice,

because expectations were high
for Antonioni's film,

mainly based on the ripples caused
by the English and French episodes.

But the French didn't want the film
to be shown in competition in Venice.

They even refused
to send us the negative.

A compromise was eventually reached

making it possible
to participate in the festival,

but out of competition.

The film was not a success.

There was a tepid reaction

to the episodes
that actually had the merit

of opening
new avenues for cinema.

Of course, it was also tepid
for the Italian episode

where it was very easy
to recognize the influence,

not too positive in this case,
of neorealism.

Basically, the story,

continuing the theme
of the other episodes,

dealt with introspection.

It was a photograph
of the inexpressible.

A photograph
of the characters' inwardness.

Naturally,
the Italian censor didn't approve.

We added a preamble
to justify ourselves

because at that time, unlike today,
there was the fear

that these negative characters
would become heroes

and influence
the youth of the day.

So we added a preamble

in which we warned against
following their example...

.. as if a written warning
would have actually done any good.

But, to tell the truth,
a change was made

and contrary to what people say,

it was accepted by Antonioni.

As producers, we were prepared
to go all the way.

Our company was independent
and Catholic,

but Catholic in the sense of
total freedom of expression.

Our intention was to highlight
the inner turmoil of youths

who had emerged from
the terrible experience of the war.

Antonioni was more
compliant than we were,

although he did complain afterwards.

It wasn't true that the producers
were acquiescent towards the censors.

The censors had
the collaboration of Antonioni.

Actually, it was Antonioni himself
who made certain baffling changes

because he was concerned with
political, idealistic terrorism

that justified certain things,

even the exaltation of a crime...

.. a perfect crime.

Because basically, the main theme
throughout "The Vanquished"

is the quest for the perfect crime...

.. a crime without a motive,
in a certain sense.

The Italian episode
was weighed down

by its political concept.

Only with hindsight,

looking back on things

with that long-sightedness that
develops in old people's minds

and makes distant memories
seem clearer than recent ones,

I can say this:

it was counterproductive

to change
the Italian episode again.

The acts that these
characters committed

on the basis of
a political conviction

were too extreme when
attributed to mere smugglers.

That said, however,

it already implies the direction
Antonioni's work would take:

it would tend towards an exploration

that disregarded content.

It was an exploration of form,

because he revolutionized
the way films were shot.

There were very long sequences

that managed to include various
different set-ups without a break.

There's also
the involvement of nature.

And maybe
he wanted to distort nature.

And in fact, sometimes
he even painted it.

For me, "The Vanquished"

is a cinematic milestone.

Especially the English episode,

which I think is a little
masterpiece of cinema.

It was the starting point
for "Blow Up",

in which Antonioni
photographed the invisible.

A tennis match
without the ball!

It was the furthest one could go

in photographing what
one couldn't see.

This is very important.

And I'm pleased to have
taken part in this adventure,

for better or worse.