Dino Risi

23.12.1916, Milan, Italy - 07.06.2008, Rome, Italy

 

Director
Risi was an Italian director and screenwriter. Before entering the world of film he earned a degree in medicine and worked as a psychiatrist. He also wrote film reviews and in the early 1940s briefly worked as assistant director to Mario Soldato and Albert Lattuada. At the end of WW II he resided in Switzerland where he studied under the director Jacques Feyder. Upon his return to Italy he began making short documentaries and in the 1950s completely abandoned psychiatry in order to direct feature films. His first film was Poveri ma belli (1957), but he achieved real popularity in Italy with The Easy Life (Il sorpasso, 1962). Early on, he specialized in comedy and became one of the most important directors of Italian comedy. He was one of the first directors to cast Sophia Loren and Vittorio Gassman. In 1975, for the film Scent of a Woman (Profumo di Donna, 1974) he won the Italian film award David as Best Director. He made films Il mattatore (1960), A Difficult Life (Una vita difficile, 1961), March on Rome (La marcia su Roma, 1963), Treasure of San Gennaro (Operazione San Gennaro, 1966), he Tiger and the Pussycat (Il tigre, 1967), Vedo nudo (1969), The Priest's Wife (La moglie del prete, 1971), In the Name of the Italian People (In nome del popolo italiano, 1971), Lost Soul (Anima persa, 1977), Fantasma d'amore (1981). In the 1980s he began working on TV and the last film he directed and wrote the screenplay for was the TV film Le ragazze di Miss Italia (2002). In 2002, at the Venice Film Festival he was awarded with the lifetime achievement award.

Filmography


Films by this director

Scent of a Woman

(Profumo di donna, 1974)

Directed by: Dino Risi
PHOTOGRAPHY: Claudio Cirillo
Synopsis:

Fausto is a captain who lost his sight in battle. On his way from Turin to Naples he is accompanied by a young cadet that he calls Cuccio. The captain does not want sympathy and is very independent, so Cuccio and he have problems getting along. Then Fausto asks Cuccio to find him a young woman but, dissatisfied, soon says that he can smell a beautiful woman himself. In Naples, Fausto has to meet a soldier who was injured in the same battle. The two of them have a secret pact…

color, 35 mm, 103 min

The Treasure of San Gennaro

(Operazione San Gennaro, 1966.)

Directed by: Dino Risi
PHOTOGRAPHY: Aldo Tonti
Synopsis:

A few Americans arrive in Naples in the 1960s with the intent to steal famous jewels from a local church. As foreigners, they don't know enough about the local environment and traditions, and seek advice of a well-known town thief Don Vincenzo. He is currently in prison, but he advises them to speak to young Armandino with whom they plan the robbery...

color, digital, 104 min
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