Special Subject – Anna Magnani Sampler, Part 1 - ROME OPEN CITY (1945), VOLCANO (1950), BELLISSIMA (1951) & THE GOLDEN COACH (1952)

In Part 1 of our Anna Magnani Sampler, we explore a range of the legendary Italian actress's modes and moods: from the neorealism of Rossellini's Rome, Open City (1945) to the postmodernism of Renoir's The Golden Coach (1952); from a working-class mother's tragi-comic attempt to make her daughter into a neorealist child star in Visconti's Bellissima (1951) to an ex-prostitute's tragi-heroic attempt to keep history from repeating itself with her equally stymied and frustrated sister in Dieterle's Vulcano (1950). Larger-than-life? True-to-life? The definition or antithesis of a star? We try to get a grip on the mercurial Magnani.    Time Codes: 0h 01m 00s:                Rome: Open City (1945) [dir. Roberto Rossellini] 0h 24m 56s:                Vulcano (1950) [dir. William Dieterle] 0h 42m 54s:                Bellissima (1951) [dir. Luchino Visconti] 0h 57m 23s:                The Golden Coach (1952) [dir. Jean Renoir]                                                   +++ * Marvel at our meticulously ridiculous Complete Viewing Schedule for the 2020s * Intro Song: "Sunday" by Jean Goldkette Orchestra with the Keller Sisters (courtesy of The Internet Archive) * Read Elise's latest film piece on Preston Sturges, Unfaithfully Yours, and the Narrative role of comedic scapegoating. * Check out Dave's new Robert Benchley blog – an attempt to annotate and reflect upon as many of the master humorist's 2000+ pieces as he can locate – Benchley Data: A Wayward Annotation Project!  Follow us on Twitter at @therebuggy Write to us at [email protected]