Italian 46 Midterm Practice

When did Silent FIlm begin ?

1895

When did Silent FIlm end?

1930, or so never

What’s an example of early forms of silent film?

What’s an example of modern forms of silent film?

Each surviving print is…

Different. There is no “true” version

How was each screening of a silent film different?

Musicians would improvise their accompaniment

Why was silent film “live”

It was a perfomance, not a screening

How is silent film listed?

By length, such as in meters

Why is silent film listed by length?

What is silent cinema?

What did intertitles have?

What was the purpose of tinting?

To depict the setting, environment, time and mood.

What colors represented what in tinting?

Blue for night-time, Yellow for indoor, Red for fire, violet for dawn/dusk, and green for outdoors

What is a diva film?

A film that stars a woman who is constrained by the limitations of morality and gender.

May affirm her own interests over her familys.

Always punished by death

What constitutes a diva?

Where were films exhibited?

Theaters, music halls, and local coffee places

Who directed Love Everlasting?

Mario Caserini

Who starred in Love Everlasting?

Lyda Borelli, who played as Elsa

Who is Lyda Borelli?

A fashion icon, and coined the phenomenon “Borelleggiare”—-were younger women widely imitated her gestues, hair, looks and body.

How does Love Everlasting begin and end in terms of filmic technique?

It begins as a play and transforms into a film

i.e “scenes” into “shots"

What are the best qualities of Love Everlasting?

What is mis-en-scene?

“Put on stage”, everything that is necessary to go to screenplay to cameras (i.e, vast, costuming, props, set and location shooting)

Related to the visual image (composition, camera movement and lighting)

What does the mis-en-scene in Love Everlasting convey?

It conveys luxury and something beyond the curtains (room closed off by the curtains)

What is melodrama?

How does Lyda Borelli act?

Through posture and gesture that convey a “liquid-movement” oe the body

How was performing viewed in Italy?

Akin to prostitution, coined as a “public-women” especially if done for money

Is Love Everlasting a feminist or anti-feminist film?

Feminist because it showcases the injustice of women’s lack

of freedom; Not feminist because it doesn’t do anything about it

What is amore-morte in Love Everlasting?

The interwinning of love and death, however, the diva is not a femme-fatale but a femme mortale (who love is immortal, will never die)

How was suicide used in Love Everlasting?

As a political act.

For men it was the only honorable way to escape shame.

For women it was always an act of political/social defiance that allows no avenue of escape from an impossible situation.

What is a femme fatale?

A beautiful and seductive women whose aware they are a “fatal attraction” for the male lead—-who will follow a path to ruin/death if he pursues it .

Who are some well-known Divas?

Lydia Borelli, Francesa Bertini, Pina Menichelli, Elena Sangro, Italia Almirante Manzii

What are some diva hallmarks?

How does Dalle Vacche define Diva?

As a “goddess”; the diva is spiritual

What is the New-Woman?

Modernity, new ideas about gender roles, represented freedom unavailable to Italian women (i.e wearing jupe-culottes and being outside)

What did Dalle Vacche’s research about the DIva FIlm show?

How was the Italian film industry?

Disorganized, and anarchic bevause everyone did everything (actresses could also direct and write)

Who directed Sangue Blue?

Nino Oxilia

Who starred in Sangue Blu?

Francesca Bertini, who played Mira

How was Sangue Blu recognized as?

An above-average diva film with unusually good composition, lighting and mis-en-scene

What cinematic techniques did Sangue Blu utilze?

Tinting, mis-en-scene, acting & meta-acting, movement, composition and filmic condition

What was the purpose of tinting, besides conveying?

It was an anti-piracy method used to stop the production of illegal copies. Tinting filmsas amber would make dupes blank.

How does Sangue Blu utilize mis-en-scene?

To present the world of the aritstocracy

How is the acting in Sangue Blu'?

It was restrained, subtle and realist compared to other diva films

What is composition?

The art of arranging things within the frame

What is the cultural context within Sangue Blu?

What is the meaning behind Sangue Blu?

What directed Assunta Spina?

Gustavo Serena, a Neapolitan

What type of story was Assunta Spina?

A melodramatic story of male jealousy, rage and violence alongside female sacrifice

What is “lo sfregio”

The slash, where a jealous (Neopolitan) man would slash the face of his lover witha razor to mark her as his (and ruin her)

Who is Francesca Bertini?

The highest-paid actress in the world

How did Assunta Spina originate?

Bertini had the idea to turn the play into a film, and wrote the screenplay as a co-director

How was Italy historically viewed in the 19th-20th century

As a geographical region

How was identity viewed in Italy?

It was based on local-identity (city-states)

What are two things you must know about Italy?

How does Northern Italy view itself?

How does Northern Italy view the South?

As agricultural, undeveloped and backwards

How does Southern Italy view the North?

As the victims of Northern exploitation and disconnected from the Italian state

What is Romantic Nationalism?

What is the risorgimiento?

The movement to unify Italy and the effort to mark independence

How was Italy post-19th century?

Who does Assunta defy?

The italian state for favor the neapolitan culture

How does Assunta Spina gratify the Northern audience?

They stay smug while have the pleasure of “slumming” it

How does Assunta Spina gratify the Southern audience?

They see it as a romanticized version of their world and cultural norms

How would Francesca Bertini’s acting be described?

Naturalistic and everyday movements of ordinary life

What tropesare utilized in the film Assunta Spina?

What are different type of editing?

What form of editing does Assunta Spina utilize?

Cuts and parallel montages

What was Satanic Rhapsody based on?

On the legend of Faust, a scholar who makes a deal with Mephisto who exchanges his soul for knowledge

What form of story is Satanic Rhapsody?

It is allegorical and symbolic, based on the Alba’s name (Dawn of Afterlife) and her castle (The Castle of Illusions)

Who directed Satanic Rhapsody?

Nino Oxilia, who orginally shot it in 1915 but waited to release it to the public in 1917 for the music

Who was behind the music of Satanic Rhapsody?

Pietro Mascagni, who composed Cavalleria Rusticana