What's In A Title? Italian Cinema Volume III Quiz

Answer: Quo Vadis?

The film is based on the 1895 novel "Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero" by Henryk Sienkiewicz, although "Quo vadis?", which translates from Latin as "Where are you going?".

"Quo Vadis?" is often said to be the first sword-and-sandals blockbuster, and its scale is certainly impressive even today. However, much of the camera work is quite static and it lacks something. Having said that, the fact that it's still very watchable over 100 years after being made is quite an achievement.

One noteworthy sequence is the Great Fire of Rome, which in the film is unreservedly attributed to Nero. It's the one bit of the film which breaks away from staginess and indulges in some more experimental, abstract imagery.

Answer: Stromboli

"Stromboli/Stromboli, Terra di Dio" is often remembered as the film which brought Rossellini and Bergman together. They had an adulterous relationship which lasted seven years and produced three children.

The film itself is a cracker, and not just as historical interest for the scenes of tuna fishing, as is sometimes believed. None of the characters come out of it very well as they all act nefariously. Neither is it a great advert for the grim island of Stromboli, which looks like the Falkland Islands without the sheep.

Bergman starred in Hitchcock's "Spellbound" (1945) and Rossellini's "Fear/La Paura"(1954).

"Stromboli/Stromboli, Terra di Dio" is on the list of "100 Film Italiani da Salvare/100 Italian Films to Save".

Answer: Umberto D

Umberto's full name is Umberto Domenico Ferrari and he is played by Carlo Battisti, who was a professor of linguistics and not a professional actor. He only made this one film. Flike (the dog) was played by Napoleone, who was a professional actor.

The screenplay was by prolific screenwriter Cesare Zavattini whose career in cinema spanned almost 50 years. Although he is best remembered for his Neorealist films with De Sica, he worked with everybody who was anybody in Italian cinema. In Carlo Lizzani's 2002 documentary film "Cesare Zavattini" it was revealed that Zavattini had a terrible fear of being poor, which is what led him to write such agonizing stories.

"Umberto D" stands as one of the profoundest looks at growing old and lonely. It wasn't well-received at the time, and was singled out by Prime Minister-to-be Giulio Andreotti as one of the worst of the Neorealist films guilty of "slandering Italy abroad" by "washing dirty linen in public". Those on the left weren't impressed either and upbraided De Sica for his pessimism. Apparently it was De Sica's favourite of his own films, and Ingmar Bergman (whose "Wild Strawberries" shares a lot with "Umberto D") is quoted as saying it was his favourite film of all time.

Answer: The Leopard

"The Leopard/Il Gattopardo" is taken from Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's novel of the same name. The title refers to a serval which is on the Prince's coat of arms.

Both Lampedusa and Visconti were members of the nobility, just like the world-weary Prince of Salina. Visconti was also a card-carrying member of the Italian Communist Party, although he was criticized by the Italian left for this film, which they claimed was too faithful in tone to the pessimistic conservatism of the novel.

The Prince is played by Burt Lancaster, who proved an initially skeptical Visconti wrong by delivering the performance of a lifetime. Claudia Cardinale and Alain Delon also excel.

The film is fabulous. The costumes, locations, use of light and colour, and flawless direction make it a joy to watch again and again since every viewing reveals something else.

"The Leopard/Il Gattopardo" won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, and is on the list of "100 Film Italiani da Salvare/100 Italian Films to Save".

Answer: The Hawks and the Sparrows

The crow in "The Hawks and the Sparrows/Uccellacci e Uccellini" is clearly a Marxist who is lamenting the crisis point which Marxism had reached in mid-1960's Italy. In case we miss the point, towards the end of the film we are shown some newsreel of the Italian Communist Party's leader Palmiro Togliatti's funeral. However, this rather clumsy device detracts somewhat from the film's overall classy execution, which is really the film's worth. Pasloini's repeated homage to great paintings from Italian art history, his wonderful close-ups, and the apparent ease with which he composes the frame are a joy to watch.

The father and son, as well as the two monks, are played brilliantly by Totò (father) and Ninetto Davoli (son), displaying Pasolini's skill for casting. Totò was already a huge star in Italian cinema, whereas the untrained Davoli was taking on his first speaking role.

"The Hawks and the Sparrows/Uccellacci e Uccellini," is on the list of "100 Film Italiani da Salvare/100 Italian Films to Save".

Answer: Django

The man with the coffin is Django, played by Franco Nero. According to screenplay writer Piero Vivarelli in the documentary "The Man with the Coffin", all Corbucci had when Vivarelli got involved was the idea of a scene of a man dragging a mud-splattered coffin. By chance, Vivarelli lent Corbucci some recordings of legendary Belgian guitarist Django Reinhardt. The pair were talking about Django Reinhardt and how he managed to play so well despite having two paralyzed fingers. Voilà the man with the coffin's name, the film's title, and, without giving away too much, a key scene in the film.

Since 1966, there have been countless films featuring the Django character, few of which have lived up to the original despite some fantastic titles, such as "Don't Wait, Django! Shoot!", "Django Does Not Forgive", "Gallows Rope for Django", "False Django", "Django's Cut Price Corpses", "Django... Adios!", "Long Live Django!", and "Django Unchained".

Answer: The Girl with the Pistol

The girl in question is played by Monica Vitti, whose sultry looks enchant several Brits along the way as she travels from Edinburgh, through Sheffield, Bath, London, Brighton and eventually to the Channel Islands. One of those Brits is played by Welsh star Sir Stanley Baker. He plays Dr. Osbourne who takes the volcanic, pistol-toting Assunta under his wing.

"The Girl with the Pistol/La Ragazza con la Pistola" playfully mocks both British and Italian (1960s) society equally well, and whenever it seems the film is veering too close to adulating one at the expense of the other, Monicelli masterfully steers it clear of cringeworthy cliché.

"The Girl with the Pistol/La Ragazza con la Pistola" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film but lost out to "War and Peace".

Answer: Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion

The first citizen above suspicion lives in the same building as the murdered woman, but we soon realise that the police inspector who is head of the murder squad is the untouchable citizen referred to in the title.

"Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion/Indagine su un Cittadino al di Sopra di Ogni Sospetto" is an overtly political film, not just in its condemnatory portrayal of corruption, but also the depiction of a state which wants to crush civil liberties. Although the satire verges on becoming maladroit, anybody familiar with Italian state corruption will recognize some pertinent truths.

The film is dominated by the performance of Gian Maria Volonté in the lead role. Volonté's heavily-accented stentorian voice ranting about "subversives" really grates on the nerves, which I suppose is exactly the desired effect. Volonté worked on a number of films with Elio Petri, with whom he shared fairly far-leaning left-wing sympathies. Volonté was also in one of the red herrings: "Bandits in Milan".

"Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion/Indagine su un Cittadino al di Sopra di Ogni Sospetto" won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and is on the list of "100 Film Italiani da Salvare/100 Italian Films to Save".

Answer: Deep Red

As "Deep Red/Profondo Rosso"'s alternative title "The Hatchet Murders" tells us, the murder weapon used tends to make deep, red cuts. Furthermore, red is associated with blood, anger, and love, hence the title.

Dario Argento started work in films as a screenwriter, then as a director. "Deep Red/Profondo Rosso" is his fifth feature film, and arguably his best-known. It also marks a historic moment since Argento met Daria Nicolodi who was to become his partner for roughly a decade and mother to his daughter, Asia Argento. Just as historic was the beginning of a partnership with rock band Goblin whose sound is as much a part of Argento's style as his roving camera and black leather gloves.

The pianist, Marcus Daly, was played by David Hemmings whose Italian odyssey had begun back in 1966 with Michelangelo Antonioni's "Blowup".

Answer: Gomorrah

The semi-fictional film "Gomorrah/Gomorra" is based on the non-fiction book by Roberto Saviano of the same name which brought the activities of the Camorra to the mainstream reading public. The title quotes a local priest, Giuseppe Diana, who said "The time has come to stop being a Gomorrah." Diana was subsequently murdered by the Camorra.

The real-life Scampia Feud (2004), which was triggered when some of the Di Lauro clan (part of the Camorra) tried to grasp power and take over, is what links four stories in the film. The stories are about several very different people, all perilously linked to organized crime.

It's an incredibly powerful film and a must-see since it highlights a truth many would like to sweep under the carpet, and sets straight anyone who still has any romantic ideas about the glamour of organized crime. The image of Bermuda-clad slobs with guns is a long way off the suave Corleones or Sopranos.

"Gomorrah" isn't just notable for its social relevance. Director Matteo Garrone has a distinctive visual style, uses a mixture of non-professional and professional actors who speak like real people. The realism has led some to declare a return to Neo-realism, which Garrone rejects.