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OF THE CONFORMIST
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VISUAL-ESSAY BY
ADRIANO APRA
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BERNARDO BERTOLUCCI
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- Is this the first time
you're seeing the Minister? - Yes.
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When 1 explained your plan to him,
the first thing he said was '‘Superb”.
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Get to Professor Quadri
and you inspire his faith in you.
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You try to discover
who his contacts in Italy are.
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- Yes, yes, superb! - And
even more important, spontaneous!
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00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:06,634
- And also, voluntary. - "Voluntary
agency... -...for repressing Anti-Fascism".
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BEFORE }
“THE CONFORMIST"
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After two amateur short films,
Bertolucci made his debut in cinema
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when he was only 20 as assistant
director to Pier Paolo Pasolini.
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00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:28,312
His first film as a director
is "The Grim Reaper".
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00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:33,190
This film is partly indebted to Pasolini
who is the author of the story.
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00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:36,074
But stylistically he does
everything possible
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to break away
from such a foster father.
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00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:46,074
In telling
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00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:49,318
possible withesses
to a prostitute's murder,
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00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:55,079
The Grim Reaper" is rich iin lyrical
sparks and expressive experimentations
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00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,040
which already characterize
the young director
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00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:01,152
in search of his own film-making.
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00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:08,230
With his next film,
"Before the Revolution",
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00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:10,397
Bertolucci asserts
his own vision of the world
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00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:13,070
and a personal film style,
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00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:17,398
this time inspired by the
contemporary French Nouvelle Vague
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00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:22,794
with its audacious infringement of the
expressive codes of classical cinema.
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00:02:26,920 --> 00:02:32,632
Fabrizio, the main character, the setting
in Parma - Bertolucci's hometown -
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00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:36,640
the torments of youth
common to the different characters
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00:02:36,640 --> 00:02:40,873
who are torn apart by contradictions
between the private and the political,
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are all elements in which we recognize
autobiographical components
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00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:47,353
together with the anticipation
of the young generation
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00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:50,871
who will be the star
of the imminent 1968 unrest.
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00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:57,030
Albeit today the film establishes itself as
the manifesto of an Italian Nouvelle Vague,
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00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:00,198
the film failed to attract an audience
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00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:04,154
and was tepidly received
by most of our critics,
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00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:08,189
while it got enthusiastic
reviews abroad.
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00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:12,356
After a difficult period of inactivity,
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00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:15,279
in which he paid for
the failure of his first two films,
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00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:18,797
Bertolucci returned to directing
in an anthology film "Love and Anger".
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00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:25,239
His segment "Agony" has the benefit of the
decisive contribution of the Living Theatre
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00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:28,159
and its charismatic leader
Julian Beck,
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00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:31,597
and adopts
a very modern style of play.
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00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:37,710
A man who is about to die is
haunted by the ghosts of his past life.
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00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:45,838
At the end of his agony,
we discover he is a cardinal
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00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:48,520
who has paid for
his sins of temporal power
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00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:51,074
with this anguished vision.
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00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:58,839
In "Partner", filmed in the midst
of the '68 student revolts
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00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:01,873
and loaded with the mood
of that vibrant period,
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00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:05,995
Bertol a Ol i
s political, personal
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00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:09,352
and let's say,
psychoanalytical anxieties, explode.
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00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:13,276
The film is a firework
of stylistic artifices.
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00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:19,196
Giacobbe, a shy and introvert lecturer
at an academy of dramatic art,
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00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:23,593
thanks to his extrovert
and aggressive double, finds
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00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:29,870
the ability to fulfill his love dreams
and his desire to put on a show
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00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:32,958
where a whole imaginative
world triumphs.
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00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:43,199
In “The Spider's Stratagem" we see Athos
Magnani returning to his hometown
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00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:45,755
to investigate
the death of his father,
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00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:49,476
a hero of the anti-Fascist
Resistance and his namesake.
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00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:56,838
But he discovers that his father's death
was nothing but a sham hiding a betrayal.
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00:04:58,280 --> 00:05:03,434
But in the end legend prevails over
truth, at least in other people's eyes.
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00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:10,231
This film shows Bertolucci's desire to
sublimate, by means of beautiful images,
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00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:15,071
the traumatic discovery of the dark
side of his father's personality.
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00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:20,910
The psychanalytical theme revealed
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00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:24,311
in the character of Gina
in "Before the Revolution",
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00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:26,477
evoked in the ghosts of "Agony",
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00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:31,153
performed by the doubles in "Partner"
and "The Spider's Stratagem",
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00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:35,519
is embodied in the character
of Marcello Clerici in "The Conformist"
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00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:38,393
and no longer needs
to be made explicit.
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00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:52,317
THE BIRTH OF THE FILM
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The project of The Conformist”
was created suddenly one day
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after Mapi Maino,
my companion at that time,
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had read the novel by Moravia
all through the night
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00:06:08,280 --> 00:06:11,636
and told me about it
in great detail.
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00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:17,077
During that period I was preparing
"The Spider's Stratagem".
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00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:26,994
When Paramount unexpectedly asked me
to give them an idea for a movie,
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00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:33,916
I went there, to Paramount
which was called Mars Film in Italy,
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00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:39,393
and told Luigi Luraschi
about "The Conformist"
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00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:41,638
although I hadn't even read it then.
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00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:46,078
So I told him the story which Mapi
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00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:51,759
had told me in great detail
and very effectively.
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00:06:54,240 --> 00:07:00,316
The project of
"The Spider's Stratagem" continued,
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00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:05,276
we spent this beautiful summer of '69
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00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:11,110
on the plain between Parma,
Mantua and Cremona.
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00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:14,591
And at last, at the end of the summer,
I set about
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00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:17,758
editing "The Spider's Stratagem"
with Roberto Perpignani.
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00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:22,154
One day Paramount
called and told me:
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00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:28,113
"We have the greenlight for the film
you told us about, 'The Conformist'."
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00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:38,074
At that point I had to interrupt
editing "The Spider's Stratagem",
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00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:42,112
I had to read Moravia's novel
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00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:47,553
and I did so with great pleasure...
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00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:52,231
as if I was trying to relive it
within myself, you know.
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00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:54,837
I read it very quickly and...
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00:07:55,560 --> 00:08:00,077
and I got to the typewriter
with the novel beside iit,
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00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:05,231
and I wrote the screenplay for
"The Conformist" in a month.
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00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:10,236
It was quite a long, rich
and extensive screenplay
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00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:13,717
in which there was also
a new character, Italo,
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00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:20,280
as well as some new, different
situations compared to Moravia's novel.
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00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:26,637
The novel seemed so...
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00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:32,593
obviously cinematic to me.
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00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:39,315
I felt it so mine that
I didn't really feel the need
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of another voice analyzing it with me.
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00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:49,037
I felt able to get
into it all by myself.
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00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:55,517
Alberto Moravia and I were
very close friends,
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in some periods we had
dinner together every evening...
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00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:07,711
I covered myself a little
by saying to him:
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00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:14,350
"You know, Alberto,
to be truly faithful to a novel
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00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,992
you have to betray it when
you make a film from it, you know."
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00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:24,110
And he said that I was right.
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00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:28,469
What is ultimately important
is the spirit,
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00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:36,276
betrayal starts when you move
from words to images.
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00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:41,475
The story of a novel
that becomes a film
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00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:43,716
is a story of great betrayals.
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00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:48,351
Moravia had gladly accepted,
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00:09:49,560 --> 00:09:54,031
above all he was interested
in selling his novels as film stories.
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00:09:54,160 --> 00:10:00,873
One day he told me: "I believe I sold
more than 40 stories for making films."
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00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:07,755
Actually, he was more interested
in quantity than in quality.
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00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:14,633
I think some of the movies based on his
novels still seem very good nowadays.
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00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:17,713
THE CREW
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Once I'd finished the screenplay,
things were going very fast,
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00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:26,792
I handed it in and it was approved.
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00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:32,917
My cousin and accomplice, Giovanni
Bertolucci, who was my producer
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00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:37,594
in "Partner", "The Spider's Stratagem"
and "The Conformist",
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00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:42,351
and I put together a crew for this film
that had for the first time
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00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:49,993
a certain structural
and economical weight.
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00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:55,915
At that time there was talk
of hundreds of million liras
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00:10:56,080 --> 00:10:59,835
but I don't really remember
how much the film cost.
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00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:03,314
Anyway, it was really great
128
00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:08,156
because the greenlight
forced us to do things very quickly.
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00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:14,514
Nando Scarfiotti and I decided
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00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:22,158
to set the first part
of the film at EUR
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00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:28,313
just to give the feeling
of Fascist Rome.
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00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:35,952
And we were somewhat engrossed
in the game of fascination
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00:11:36,680 --> 00:11:40,230
of that demonic place.
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00:11:40,560 --> 00:11:43,632
If the State doesn't model itself
on the image of the individual,
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00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:48,118
how will the individual ever model
himself in the image of the state?
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00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:50,153
Et cetera, et cetera.
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00:11:50,560 --> 00:11:56,033
That iis, it was the place of a Fascism
trying to emulate Nazism
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00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:58,959
which in turn had emulated Fascism.
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00:11:59,840 --> 00:12:04,311
It was all good material
for the film, though.
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00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:11,712
Put simply, Scarfiotti and I
wanted to show the difference
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00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:19,557
between Fascist Rome and Popular
Front Paris as much as possible.
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00:12:40,680 --> 00:12:46,949
I think the material was,
to some extent, in our memory
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00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:49,913
of cinephiles, in the films
we had watched.
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00:12:50,560 --> 00:12:58,274
I really loved French cinema
from the late Thirties
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00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:02,915
as well as American cinema
from the same period,
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00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:07,080
and I thought I could
finally make a film
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00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:10,080
in which I could unite
these passions of mine.
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00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:19,280
Scarfiotti and I looked more
at magazines of that time.
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00:13:28,680 --> 00:13:33,311
Meanwhile, Gitt Magrini joined
the small initial cell
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00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:39,598
composed of Giovanni Bertolucci,
Scarfiotti and I.
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00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:44,874
She was a costume designer
on many Nouvelle Vague films,
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00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:47,753
like those by Truffaut and Godard.
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00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:53,872
She also acted in “La notte"
by Antonioni
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00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:58,631
where she played the role
of Monica Vitti's mother.
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00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:05,552
She was a very special friend
and an outstanding costume designer.
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00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:12,395
In “The Conformist" she even
managed to surprise
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00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:18,710
those belonging to Visconti's circle:
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00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:26,633
Piero Tosi, Albertelli,
Mauro Bolognini...
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00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:33,194
Umberto Tirelli,
the costumer, and so on.
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00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:42,992
Gitt had worked
on "Pierrot le Fou" by Godard,
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00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:47,519
and though she came from French
cinema, she nevertheless managed
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00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:55,316
to gain acceptance in the world
of cinema costumers
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00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:58,879
in Rome at the end of the Sixties.
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00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:01,430
Giulia, look at this!
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00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:09,398
Anna, come here!
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00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:12,632
Then of course there was Storaro
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who had just worked with me
on "The Spider's Stratagem"
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00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:23,755
and was now once again
with me on "The Conformist".
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00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:30,875
For now, I won't mention anyone else.
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00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:33,714
This was the initial group
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00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:37,197
and we started off
with very little preparation
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00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:43,239
but perhaps with
a lot of interior preparation.
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00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:46,479
STYLOMETRIC INTERLUDE
1
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00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,630
In this histogram we represent
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00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:53,997
the 30 scenes which the film can
be divided into, with columns.
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00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:57,711
Their height indicates
their length in minutes.
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00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:03,310
The yellow ones
indicate the scenes, set in 1938,
178
00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:07,230
of Marcello Clerici's journey
from Paris to Savoy
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00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:11,832
which ends with the killing
of professor Quadri and his wife Anna.
180
00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:17,556
The red ones indicate the scenes
set earlier in Rome,
181
00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:20,354
then in Ventimiglia
and finally in Paris.
182
00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:27,349
The blue one indicates Marcello's childhood
memory that can be dated in 1917.
183
00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:32,871
The green ones indicate
the night of 25 July 1943.
184
00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:39,399
The intersections of yellow columns
with red lines indicate the inserts,
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00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:45,676
during the car trip to Savoy, of
flashbacks relating to the Roman scenes.
186
00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:51,838
The blue-yellow and the blue-red column
indicate the inserts of childhood memories
187
00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:54,793
in the scenes
set in the car and in Rome.
188
00:16:56,200 --> 00:17:01,229
As you can see, the insertion of flashbacks
characterizes the first part of the film,
189
00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:04,837
while in the second part
the narrative trend is linear.
190
00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:10,952
In this histogram we
see the scale of shots.
191
00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:16,477
As you can see, shots, from big close-ups
to full shots, are predominant:
192
00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:21,475
here the character prevails
in the shot if compared to long shots,
193
00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:24,996
where, instead, environment
prevails over character.
194
00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:31,749
However, compared to Bertolucci's
previous films, there is a reduction
195
00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:36,829
of big close-ups and an increase
in full shots and medium long shots.
196
00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:40,919
So we could say that in this film
a better balance has been reached
197
00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:44,715
in the distance between the camera
and the characters.
198
00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:50,113
In this histogram
we represent camera movements,
199
00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:53,153
with static shots in yellow.
200
00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:56,673
As you can see in the pie chart,
201
00:17:56,840 --> 00:18:00,720
moving shots are more than
one third of the entire film,
202
00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:04,311
that is a considerably
higher ratio than the average,
203
00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:07,160
confirmed by other films
Bertolucci made,
204
00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:10,034
and worthy of notoriously
“mobile” filmmakers,
205
00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:12,914
such as Max Ophuls
or Vincente Minnelli
206
00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:16,312
or, as regards Italy,
as Giuseppe De Santis.
207
00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:22,716
It should be added that many camera
movements are, so to speak, "active",
208
00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:26,316
that is, they don't follow
the movement of characters,
209
00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:30,638
and are therefore much more visible
than "passive" movements,
210
00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:36,079
i.e. those that merely accompany
the characters in their movements.
211
00:18:55,680 --> 00:19:01,153
The first to be identified
was Jean-Louis Trintignant
212
00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:06,554
who was in Italy to shoot some movies,
maybe with Patroni Griffi
213
00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:09,278
or some other Italian director.
214
00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:15,600
I went to see him,
told him briefly about the film.
215
00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:19,155
I remember our first meeting...
216
00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:25,075
Claudio Masenza acted as a mediator,
217
00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:31,235
he was also a great cinephile
and a close friend of Trintignant.
218
00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:34,716
In short, we liked
each other immediately.
219
00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:37,637
Then I sent him the screenplay
220
00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:43,392
translated quickly
into French, somehow.
221
00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:48,591
And without waiting for his reply
222
00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:54,959
I met Stefania Sandrelli who I had
recently worked with in "Partner".
223
00:19:55,640 --> 00:20:02,398
The role of professor Quadri's wife
was still free,
224
00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:08,877
this anti-Fascist couple, he Italian
and she French, living in Paris.
225
00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:16,439
I was looking someone who could
represent the middle-class woman.
226
00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:20,999
Our first idea was Brigitte Bardot,
227
00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:25,792
perhaps partly driven by my cousin
Giovanni's production impulses.
228
00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:29,794
So we went to see
Brigitte Bardot who...
229
00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:38,798
...treated us with indulgence but wasn't
at all convinced by our proposal.
230
00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:43,951
Exactly during those days in Paris
231
00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:49,678
while Giovanni, Nando Scarfiotti
and I were together
232
00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:54,078
visiting locations for
the French part of the film,
233
00:20:54,520 --> 00:21:00,630
I went to see
"A Gentle Woman" by Bresson.
234
00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:04,471
It was his new film
so I raced off to see it.
235
00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:09,557
And that was the first time
I saw Dominique Sanda.
236
00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:18,630
I met her straight away and
we hit it off immediately.
237
00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:36,151
Actually, things were going very fast
during that summer-winter of '69.
238
00:21:36,360 --> 00:21:44,040
Screenplay, locations, casting:
all in a few weeks.
239
00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:58,593
Well, actually, Trintignant had
these little temptations, as an actor,
240
00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:08,114
of inserting in such a gray character
241
00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:12,993
sudden moments of colour,
242
00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:18,271
rapid moments that
contradict everything.
243
00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:21,472
It must be quick and decisive!
"Camerata"!
244
00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:30,357
The train for Paris
leaves in an hour.
245
00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:34,712
I lost my hat. Where's my hat?
Where is it?
246
00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:39,313
What else are we waiting for?
247
00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:42,078
You must have a plan by now.
248
00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:44,390
You haven't stood
still for an instant.
249
00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:48,640
May I say you ought to be
following him, not his wife.
250
00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:51,800
There's no point in screaming
like that at the birds, you know.
251
00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:54,955
They don't understand
you foreigners. Damn.
252
00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:57,955
He thinks the birds
in Paris are foreigners.
253
00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:00,390
God damn it.
254
00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:07,559
With Gastone Moschin I felt...
I could not imagine anyone
255
00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:15,636
more powerful in his horrible nature
of true Fascist.
256
00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:19,872
How disgusting. I've always said so.
257
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:22,355
Make me work in the shit, sure,
but not with a coward.
258
00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:25,950
If it's up to me, cowards,
homosexuals and Jews,
259
00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:27,559
they're all the same thing.
260
00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:32,716
If it were up to me,
1'd stand them all against a wall.
261
00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:38,759
The comical aspect
you are talking about
262
00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:42,874
that he probably brought
from his experience
263
00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,755
as an actor of Italian comedies,
264
00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:52,633
was extra material that I liked
265
00:23:53,680 --> 00:24:00,632
because moments of comedy
in a movie like that
266
00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:05,591
would have made the academics
raise their eyebrows a little:
267
00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:09,236
"How can there possibly be a
comic touch in such a dramatic film?
268
00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:17,433
Yes, Roland Barthes teaches us
in "The Pleasure of the Text"
269
00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:21,118
that we will reach
the greatest pleasure
270
00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:24,437
when we put comedy
and drama together.
271
00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:30,876
That is, breaking the mould
and give the cards a good shuffle.
272
00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:45,549
I have never shot with storyboards,
273
00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:51,475
I have always improvised,
I just can't help it.
274
00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:57,995
I can't go on the set
275
00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:01,631
as many of the crew would like,
276
00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:06,630
having decided the night before
what would be done the next day.
277
00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:14,919
And I still let myself go
a little bit to what is...
278
00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:17,474
the intuition of that moment.
279
00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:24,073
Since cinema can only be placed
in the present,
280
00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:30,760
I act right in the present.
281
00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:33,156
And the present means improvisation.
282
00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:41,952
I remember all these leaves
283
00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:47,909
which Scarfiotti had put around this little
mansion in the Parioli neighbourhood.
284
00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:51,949
I think we had a fan
on the grips' truck
285
00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:54,151
and he said: "Just take the fan..."
286
00:25:55,000 --> 00:26:01,918
And so the action
of Marcello and his mother
287
00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:04,514
moving away
from that motionless car
288
00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:10,159
is animated by this wind,
by these leaves...
289
00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:13,234
It is precisely the intuition
of that moment.
290
00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:16,276
It's a shot that...
291
00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:22,878
Paul Schrader, for example,
who loved this film,
292
00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:27,633
tried to do it again
in another movie.
293
00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:33,154
It's a shot that had,
so to say, many tributes,
294
00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:38,270
that was born, without my knowing it,
almost like a quotation:
295
00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:40,391
the quotation of itself.
296
00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:53,073
WE DIDN'T ASK BERTOLUCCI
297
00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:58,151
...a talk by Italo Montanari.
298
00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:03,358
Italy and Germany,
two strongholds of light
299
00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:05,039
in the course of centuries.
300
00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:08,591
Their unparalleled
encounters mark a turning point
301
00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:12,075
in the course of world history.
302
00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:16,950
again, these two peoples are
rediscovering their ancient virtues.
303
00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:20,152
Virtues that embody
similarity and reciprocity
304
00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:22,436
that have been long forgotten,
305
00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:26,793
that which Goebbels calls "the
Prussian aspect' of Benito Mussolini,
306
00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:30,231
and which we call
"the Latin aspect' of Adolf Hitler.
307
00:27:30,360 --> 00:27:34,149
Italy and Germany, bringing
the world two great revolutions,
308
00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:36,510
the Anti-Parliamentarian
and the Anti-Democratic.
309
00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:43,269
Dlaaes eta obatan Of PP
Please, stay seated, Clerici.
310
00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:46,029
Is there any news for me?
311
00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:51,996
Violets? Violets, monsieur?
312
00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:55,709
Do you want violets?
313
00:27:56,640 --> 00:27:58,472
These are real Parma violets.
314
00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:02,391
- They're really from Parma?
- Absolutely.
315
00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:03,749
Let me have one.
316
00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:06,630
Thank you.
317
00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:09,358
"Ye prisoners of starvation!"
318
00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:12,393
"Arise ye prisoners of starvation
319
00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:15,319
Awake ye wretched of the Earth
320
00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:18,631
For justice thunders condemnation
321
00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:21,792
A better world in birth
322
00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:25,515
No more tradition's chains
shall bind us
323
00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:28,632
Arise ye slaves no more in thrall
324
00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:31,997
The earth shall rise
on new foundations
325
00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:35,437
We have been naught,
we shall be all.”
326
00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:22,639
1 Aaal ~iit Miss #5 29
Look out, I'm shooting.
327
00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:17,399
THE EDITING
328
00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:20,234
The film was shot in two stages:
329
00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:25,992
one before Christmas "69
and the other,
330
00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:32,395
a period of just two-three weeks,
in January-February 1970.
331
00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:39,794
My cousin Giovanni said:
“1 will be the producer.
332
00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:50,956
So I almost want to impose
a new editor on you."
333
00:30:51,560 --> 00:30:57,238
Actually, I worked a lot with Roberto
Perpignani, we were so alike, so close.
334
00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:07,597
The idea was meeting
someone new to guide me
335
00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:11,879
towards a new type of editing,
with a new kind of editor
336
00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:15,317
and a new film, and perhaps with
a new way of filming on my part
337
00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:17,670
compared to my previous films.
338
00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:25,551
The new editor was Kim Arcalli who
was a pretty legendary character:
339
00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:29,395
he was in the G.A.P.
(Patriotic Action Groups) in Venice,
340
00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:33,311
then he went to the mountains,
341
00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:40,153
at 17 he was a political commissar
in a Garibaldi Brigade.
342
00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:46,793
He showed me a photo of him at 17
with Stalin-like moustachios.
343
00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:51,075
Obviously he had lied,
344
00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:53,634
he said he was 21 and
in fact he looked this age.
345
00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:56,276
Instead he was 17, maybe 16.
346
00:31:56,760 --> 00:32:04,235
Anyway, he had been editing
for a few years in Rome.
347
00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:11,398
He left Venice but certainly didn't
lost a very strong Venetian accent.
348
00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:22,390
He was incredibly rich from
an intellectual point of view.
349
00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:32,150
Kim, who unfortunately
passed away very early, in 1978
350
00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:38,070
after we had begun writing
the screenplay of "Luna" together,
351
00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:47,150
started taking me to
the editing room in a new way.
352
00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:51,114
He worked on the material
of "The Conformist"
353
00:32:52,040 --> 00:33:00,391
not trying to “insert”
that moment of cinema
354
00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:07,478
which I had sought
and desired to achieve.
355
00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:14,556
It was as though he took me by the hand
to search in the recesses of the film
356
00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:21,035
for those beautiful things,
the possible combinations
357
00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:26,390
of material that maybe
I hadn't thought of putting together.
358
00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:35,152
It was like discovering new things in
the film which even I didn't know about.
359
00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:41,319
So, on one hand, it feels
like you're losing control of the film
360
00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:45,719
because maybe there are beautiful
things which you hadn't even noticed
361
00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:47,911
and editing points them out to you.
362
00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:51,598
This iis still the thing
I thank Kim for,
363
00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:56,237
the thing he helped me to discover:
364
00:33:57,120 --> 00:34:01,512
that through a certain cut
between two shots
365
00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:11,314
maybe you betray the spirit that was
intentionally behind those two shots
366
00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:16,389
but you create a new one
that originates right from this fusion
367
00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:17,874
that had not been envisaged.
368
00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:23,835
The name "sequence shot" means
that there are no cuts within it.
369
00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:30,193
On the other hand, I liked
to challenge Kim's talent
370
00:34:30,680 --> 00:34:35,151
to see if he could cut
the sequence shot
371
00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:40,079
and create something
new and different.
372
00:34:42,680 --> 00:34:44,637
Dottore Marcello!
373
00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:49,278
But we have to be there.
We have a certain responsibility.
374
00:34:49,400 --> 00:34:50,470
Fancy that!
375
00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:52,917
Stop!
Stop!
376
00:34:54,720 --> 00:34:55,471
Stop!
Stop!
377
00:34:55,640 --> 00:35:00,874
I was frankly very uncertain
378
00:35:02,760 --> 00:35:06,355
as to whether to tell
the film chronologically
379
00:35:06,560 --> 00:35:17,119
or to insert the whole story
into something that actually is
380
00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:22,633
the journey Marcello Clerici,
the conformist,
381
00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:26,952
makes by car with the OVRA agent.
382
00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:29,350
You've got to try
and understand women.
383
00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:33,714
Say she had decided to stay
in Paris. She could have, no?
384
00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:41,990
"Animula vagula blandula
hospes comesque corporis.”
385
00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:47,510
- I'm sorry, 1 didn't get that.
- It's nothing. It's Latin.
386
00:35:47,640 --> 00:35:54,671
Kim pushed me a lot to at least try
387
00:35:56,080 --> 00:36:00,756
the version with the flashbacks.
388
00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:10,117
I must say that it seemed
to work very well
389
00:36:10,240 --> 00:36:13,710
so we went on in that way.
390
00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:17,438
STYLOMETRIC INTERLUDE
2
391
00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:21,919
This diagram shows
the film's progress
392
00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:24,600
following the length
of each shot.
393
00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:29,238
It highlights the rhythm of editing
which is relatively slow:
394
00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:34,397
the average shot length is
in fact 10 seconds and 4 tenths.
395
00:36:35,720 --> 00:36:37,631
However, this rhythm is much faster
396
00:36:37,720 --> 00:36:40,519
than that of Bertolucci's
two previous films.
397
00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:47,040
Compared with the films
edited by Franco Arcalli,
398
00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:49,794
before his debut with Bertolucci,
399
00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:52,753
"The Conformist" proves to be slower.
400
00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:57,231
In other words, in "The Conformist"
401
00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:00,039
the balance between the
tendency to use sequence shots,
402
00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:05,069
typical of Bertolucci's previous films,
and splintered editing,
403
00:37:05,200 --> 00:37:09,239
introduced by Arcalli, finds
its point of balance.
404
00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:16,390
In this other diagram
the 637 shots from the film
405
00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:19,672
are seen from top to bottom.
406
00:37:20,640 --> 00:37:23,758
The red line - or trendline -
which crosses them
407
00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:28,192
highlights the fluctuation of the
rhythm from one scene to another.
408
00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:34,116
As can be seen, this line entails
3 areas where the rhythm slows down.
409
00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:37,756
In effect, though on one hand
the film de-constructs
410
00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:41,271
the typical narrative structure
which films of that period had,
411
00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:46,918
on the other it preserves the traditional
rhythmical structure in three movements.
412
00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:50,791
By making a comparison with
"Before the Revolution"
413
00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:56,478
- which has a slightly higher average
shot length: 11 seconds and 8 tenths -
414
00:37:56,720 --> 00:38:00,076
the similarities with
"The Conformist" are highlighted.
415
00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:04,433
In this case too, there is
a rhythmic structure in 3 movements.
416
00:38:04,720 --> 00:38:06,950
What is more, it can be noted
that in both films
417
00:38:07,040 --> 00:38:09,759
the rhythm of the finale is increased:
418
00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:12,878
the middle class marriage
in "Before the Revolution"
419
00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:17,597
and the night of 25 July 1943
in "The Conformist".
420
00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:20,599
Both of these closing scenes,
which distinguish themselves
421
00:38:20,720 --> 00:38:24,031
from the rest of the film
both narratively and rhythmically,
422
00:38:24,280 --> 00:38:27,193
form a sort of gloss over it.
423
00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:37,078
I think there was
a French co-production
424
00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:43,879
so I was pushed, besides
engaging Trintignant and Sanda,
425
00:38:45,040 --> 00:38:49,637
to seek some collaborators in France,
and I was very happy about that.
426
00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:54,671
In this way I was able
to get to Georges Delerue
427
00:38:54,800 --> 00:39:02,992
who I liked very much and listened to many
times in Truffaut's and Godard's films.
428
00:39:03,720 --> 00:39:08,191
I met him, he understood
the film perfectly
429
00:39:08,320 --> 00:39:11,995
and I think he had everything
going for him.
430
00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:21,274
The music he composed
was so right for the film,
431
00:39:22,120 --> 00:39:28,674
so close to the spirit with which,
I think, I made the film.
432
00:39:30,640 --> 00:39:38,479
There was also great irony regarding
the time in which the film was set
433
00:39:39,720 --> 00:39:50,040
and also some little refinements
due to the period.
434
00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:25,158
They must stop dancing.
435
00:40:25,960 --> 00:40:26,950
2
4
B
436
00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:29,356
They're both so pretty.
437
00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:41,195
I remember when we recorded the music
for the guinguette in the studio,
438
00:40:42,360 --> 00:40:45,716
the popular dance hall
439
00:40:46,480 --> 00:40:51,350
where the conformist
and the others go dancing
440
00:40:53,080 --> 00:40:56,277
and Sandrelli and Sanda
embark on a tango.
441
00:40:58,360 --> 00:41:02,115
I remember how amused Delerue was
442
00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:10,873
and how he went looking
for those kinds of...
443
00:41:11,800 --> 00:41:14,872
...small accordions,
some sorts of bandoneons...
444
00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:23,720
That is, the whole philological
structure of the music of that age.
445
00:41:37,200 --> 00:41:43,719
“Chi & piu felice di me" was almost
part of a choice relating to screenplay.
446
00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:51,518
The screenplay says "Trio Le Rondinelle",
but in reality is the "Trio Lescano".
447
00:41:52,600 --> 00:41:56,833
It's just the memory,
the nostalgia for the Trio Lescano,
448
00:41:57,960 --> 00:42:01,078
perhaps regarded somewhat ironically.
449
00:42:03,080 --> 00:42:05,879
As a child, I listened
to the radio a lot
450
00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:13,270
like all the children
who were born in war time...
451
00:42:13,320 --> 00:42:18,633
There was a whistling,
which separated the radio programs,
452
00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:24,275
that had always fascinated me.
It was a very articulate,
453
00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:29,437
somewhat Rococo whistling...
454
00:42:30,720 --> 00:42:38,480
As there was a sequence with the radio
of that time at the beginning of the film,
455
00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:43,629
I finally got to mention,
include this whistling
456
00:42:43,760 --> 00:42:47,310
that separated radio programs
from each other.
457
00:42:47,920 --> 00:42:54,075
And with a touch of humour
and comedy as well:
458
00:42:54,720 --> 00:42:59,078
there is a whistler who lowers
himself to the microphone
459
00:42:59,160 --> 00:43:06,351
and makes that perfect whistle
we always heard on the radio.
460
00:43:14,840 --> 00:43:16,592
"Mystique of an Alliance”
461
00:43:16,720 --> 00:43:20,475
In short, in good movies
many things happen
462
00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:25,554
by chance or even by mistake.
463
00:43:26,080 --> 00:43:32,918
I chose “Come I'ombra", the music
for the last shots of the film,
464
00:43:33,640 --> 00:43:37,998
at the last moment, at the time
of going to the sound mixing,
465
00:43:38,160 --> 00:43:41,596
it wasn't in the original
score for the film.
466
00:43:41,800 --> 00:43:46,237
I chose that song
467
00:43:47,880 --> 00:43:50,998
fro J Np A
om
LJ t
IS
(
iA
ng
9 st
el
ne
“A to
468
00:43:51,120 --> 00:43:54,158
"You weary shadow
walking away from me..."
469
00:43:54,840 --> 00:44:00,597
Then the lyrics of the song
somehow fit
470
00:44:00,800 --> 00:44:03,110
that shot,
that moment in the film.
471
00:44:03,240 --> 00:44:07,677
But it's purely accidental,
it's not premeditated.
472
00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:09,438
And perhaps
it is even better like that.
473
00:44:13,400 --> 00:44:18,793
I can't remember if Alberto's
novel had already mentioned
474
00:44:19,440 --> 00:44:22,990
the dialogue between the two
characters, when they met in Paris
475
00:44:25,080 --> 00:44:31,395
and dug out one of the
professor's lectures on Plato's cave
476
00:44:32,000 --> 00:44:35,436
at Rome university.
477
00:44:35,800 --> 00:44:46,518
I re-read that myth and
it seemed perfect for the film
478
00:44:47,160 --> 00:44:55,955
and I thought it would be right
to shoot it with the help of shadows.
479
00:44:56,760 --> 00:44:58,159
MAD Professor,
Remember, Professor,
480
00:44:58,920 --> 00:45:00,399
as soon as you used
to enter the classroom
481
00:45:00,560 --> 00:45:02,392
we bad to shut the windows.
482
00:45:03,160 --> 00:45:05,629
You couldn't stand all that light,
that noise.
483
00:45:07,080 --> 00:45:09,071
Later, I understood
why you used to do that.
484
00:45:09,360 --> 00:45:13,957
All these years, you know what remained
most firmly imprinted on my memory?
485
00:45:15,000 --> 00:45:16,320
Your voice.
486
00:45:16,640 --> 00:45:21,635
Marcello summarizes the myth
of the cave in a few words.
487
00:45:21,760 --> 00:45:27,995
And while I was shooting I realized
488
00:45:28,160 --> 00:45:30,151
that what he is describing
is cinema after all.
489
00:45:30,360 --> 00:45:33,079
I mean, it's the device of cinema:
490
00:45:33,240 --> 00:45:39,634
you have a cave
with enchained prisoners
491
00:45:40,560 --> 00:45:45,509
with their backs to the entrance
who are looking at the end of the cave.
492
00:45:45,640 --> 00:45:49,554
Behind them, in the open air,
there's a fire.
493
00:45:49,720 --> 00:45:55,238
Two characters with some statues
pass in front of the fire.
494
00:45:56,320 --> 00:46:01,952
The fire casts the shadows of these
statues on the back of the cave.
495
00:46:02,280 --> 00:46:05,796
This is exactly
the mechanism of cinema.
496
00:46:06,600 --> 00:46:13,119
Then imagine, in 1969-70
it was nice to think and say
497
00:46:13,200 --> 00:46:17,398
that cinema was actually
invented by Plato.
498
00:46:17,840 --> 00:46:19,956
The enchained prisoners of Plato.
499
00:46:20,200 --> 00:46:21,873
And how they resemble us.
500
00:46:22,360 --> 00:46:25,034
- And what do they see?
- What do they see?
501
00:46:25,800 --> 00:46:28,633
You who come from Italy
should know from experience.
502
00:46:29,640 --> 00:46:31,756
They see only the shadows
the fire makes
503
00:46:31,880 --> 00:46:34,076
on the back of the cave
that faces them.
504
00:46:34,560 --> 00:46:36,471
Shadows.
The reflections of things.
505
00:46:36,680 --> 00:46:42,915
What the professor tells Marcello is:
506
00:46:43,800 --> 00:46:50,797
in this moment in Italy you aren't seeing
reality, but the shadows of reality.
507
00:46:54,680 --> 00:47:00,756
I clearly remember that
Storaro and I decided to shoot it
508
00:47:00,880 --> 00:47:04,316
using the shadows
that come and go
509
00:47:04,480 --> 00:47:08,713
in order to illustrate
the myth told by Marcello.
510
00:47:08,880 --> 00:47:14,432
The discovery that the myth
of the cave had a device
511
00:47:14,560 --> 00:47:22,559
very similar to that of cinema
really... thrilled us.
512
00:47:27,080 --> 00:47:36,273
I started undergoing my never-ending
analysis at the beginning of '69.
513
00:47:38,440 --> 00:47:46,074
The Spider's Stratagem" was written
during these early periods
514
00:47:46,920 --> 00:47:51,915
of great discovery of something new.
515
00:47:52,600 --> 00:48:01,076
It was as though psychoanalysis
gave me an extra lens
516
00:48:02,040 --> 00:48:08,116
which I could equip my camera with.
517
00:48:08,640 --> 00:48:14,477
I have to say that psychoanalysis
somehow helped me
518
00:48:15,680 --> 00:48:22,154
to understand these characters better, or
maybe to have a relationship with actors
519
00:48:22,280 --> 00:48:29,311
which was different from that of
the director who... is imposing,
520
00:48:29,480 --> 00:48:36,557
and more similar to that of the director
who listens, observes and proposes again.
521
00:48:41,000 --> 00:48:49,875
I remember that in analysis we talked
a lot about the film story.
522
00:48:54,080 --> 00:49:04,149
I had just had enthusiastic
moments typical of a beginner.
523
00:49:04,400 --> 00:49:10,555
But I must say I ended up
changing how the story ends
524
00:49:12,320 --> 00:49:15,631
precisely because of psychoanalysis.
525
00:49:17,000 --> 00:49:22,951
The ending by Moravia shows
the conformist and his family,
526
00:49:24,480 --> 00:49:27,552
consisting of his wife
and two children,
527
00:49:28,880 --> 00:49:33,829
fleeing from Rome after 25 July
to try to find
528
00:49:33,960 --> 00:49:39,399
P vey ry VEY)
a quiet place not ravaged by war.
529
00:49:40,800 --> 00:49:47,240
A fighter plane sees their car driving
through the Lazio countryside
530
00:49:47,360 --> 00:49:51,558
towards Ciociaria
which Moravia knew well,
531
00:49:51,720 --> 00:49:55,953
it goes down, fires at them
and they all die.
532
00:49:57,160 --> 00:50:01,870
Then I felt this ending
was a little bit...
533
00:50:03,560 --> 00:50:08,999
It seemed to me that there was
this deus ex machina
534
00:50:09,480 --> 00:50:13,599
illing the characters in the film,
killing the characters in the film,
535
00:50:13,720 --> 00:50:17,509
especially our hero.
536
00:50:18,480 --> 00:50:20,676
So I wondered:
537
00:50:21,960 --> 00:50:26,636
"Perhaps it would be even stronger
for Marcello's character,
538
00:50:27,240 --> 00:50:35,910
if on that night of 25 July
when Fascism collapses,
539
00:50:39,160 --> 00:50:43,631
he also has a revelation.
540
00:50:43,800 --> 00:50:49,591
He becomes aware from the few things
he sees around him
541
00:50:50,840 --> 00:50:56,677
and particularly from the reappearance
of a minor character
542
00:50:56,800 --> 00:50:59,314
but who is very important
in Marcello's life:
543
00:50:59,440 --> 00:51:09,680
the homosexual chauffeur
who kidnapped him at some point.
544
00:51:10,480 --> 00:51:14,439
Marcello thought he had Killed him
and realizes he had not.
545
00:51:14,600 --> 00:51:24,396
He realizes that his feeling different,
and therefore a murderer,
546
00:51:25,000 --> 00:51:29,551
had led him to try to be
like everyone else,
547
00:51:29,720 --> 00:51:36,638
thus to conform to everyone else.
548
00:51:36,680 --> 00:51:40,310
I shall play for you the last part
of a foxtrot by Maestro Delerue.
549
00:51:47,480 --> 00:51:50,836
What do you get
out of working for the OVRA?
550
00:51:53,000 --> 00:51:55,560
1 get the feeling I'm finally back
551
00:51:55,960 --> 00:51:58,076
to the normal state
I mentioned to you.
552
00:52:00,320 --> 00:52:04,951
- What's a normal man like in
your opinion? - A normal man!
553
00:52:07,880 --> 00:52:09,917
For me, a normal man is one
554
00:52:11,400 --> 00:52:15,678
who turns his head to look at
a beautiful woman's bottom
555
00:52:16,560 --> 00:52:18,995
and discovers he's not
the only one to have turned his head.
556
00:52:19,120 --> 00:52:20,997
At least 5 or 6 others
have done the same,
557
00:52:22,000 --> 00:52:27,473
and he is glad if he finds people
who are like him, his equals.
558
00:52:27,880 --> 00:52:29,996
That's why
he likes crowded beaches,
559
00:52:30,120 --> 00:52:32,316
football, the bars downtown...
560
00:52:32,480 --> 00:52:34,710
And immense rallies
in Piazza Venezia.
561
00:52:36,120 --> 00:52:38,316
He likes people similar to himself
562
00:52:38,800 --> 00:52:41,792
and does not trust
those who are different.
563
00:52:43,160 --> 00:52:46,198
That's why a normal man is
a true brother, a true citizen,
564
00:52:46,320 --> 00:52:48,834
- ...a true patriot.
- A true Fascist.
565
00:52:48,880 --> 00:52:50,757
This is the story of "The Conformist":
566
00:52:50,920 --> 00:52:56,871
the story of someone who,
feeling or being different,
567
00:52:59,600 --> 00:53:05,551
acts with a very strong will
568
00:53:06,520 --> 00:53:10,878
to try to be like other people,
like everyone else.
569
00:53:11,640 --> 00:53:16,999
Just in the very last
seconds of the film,
570
00:53:17,360 --> 00:53:27,156
perhaps Marcello has
this insight, this intuition...
571
00:53:27,720 --> 00:53:33,716
He realizes that everything
was based on imagination,
572
00:53:34,400 --> 00:53:37,472
on a very strong feeling of guilt.
573
00:53:37,720 --> 00:53:46,799
And that perhaps his diversity is
more sexual, profound and latent
574
00:53:47,920 --> 00:53:54,394
than that of having being a murderer,
something we will never know for sure.
575
00:53:54,520 --> 00:54:02,075
"You weary shadow
walking away from me..."
576
00:54:02,120 --> 00:54:08,992
What are you missing in life?
577
00:54:10,440 --> 00:54:17,198
Maybe you go looking for love
578
00:54:17,320 --> 00:54:24,158
that this heart can't give you
579
00:54:24,640 --> 00:54:31,831
Long is the road
of the unknown fate
580
00:54:32,080 --> 00:54:39,032
and its path doesn't shine with dew
581
00:54:40,840 --> 00:54:46,916
Shadow, don't get lost in the sun
582
00:54:47,320 --> 00:54:54,238
that burns the heart
with its warmth.
583
00:54:54,800 --> 00:54:58,714
Don't go on,
the destination is uncertain,
584
00:54:58,760 --> 00:55:02,469
tell me again: "You are love"
585
00:55:02,680 --> 00:55:06,230
Stand by my side once again
586
00:55:06,360 --> 00:55:09,751
Brief is the charm of youth
587
00:55:09,880 --> 00:55:17,753
"You weary shadow
walking away from me..."
588
00:55:17,880 --> 00:55:24,559
What are you missing in life?
589
00:55:26,240 --> 00:55:32,555
Maybe you go looking for love
590
00:55:32,960 --> 00:55:39,354
that this heart can't find for you
591
00:56:26,080 --> 00:56:27,957
- Manganiello.
- Yes, Dottore.
592
00:56:29,320 --> 00:56:31,834
- I've just had a fantastic dream.
- You did?
593
00:56:32,520 --> 00:56:34,909
I was in Switzerland.
And you were taking me
594
00:56:35,080 --> 00:56:37,356
for an operation in a hospital
because I was blind.
595
00:56:37,480 --> 00:56:39,039
Switzerland. It's beautiful.
596
00:56:40,000 --> 00:56:42,196
And Professor Quadri
did the operation.
597
00:56:42,880 --> 00:56:46,396
The operation was a success
and I was leaving soon
598
00:56:46,560 --> 00:56:50,155
with the wife of the Professor.
And she loved me.
599
00:56:53,880 --> 00:56:55,075
Switzerland.
52701
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