Monica Vitti (born 3 November 1931) is an Italian actress noted for her frosty expressiveness and starring roles in films by Michelangelo Antonioni.
Early career[]
Monica Vitti was born Maria Luisa Ceciarelli ar Rome. While a teenager she acted in amateur productions; then she trained as an actress at Rome's National Academy of Dramatic Arts, graduating in 1953 and also at Pittman's College, at which she played a teen in a charity performance of Dario Niccodemi's La nemica.
Vitti toured Germany with an Italian acting troupe and her first stage appearance in Rome was for Niccolò Machiavelli's La Mandragola.
Cinema[]
Vitti's first film role was in Ettore Scola's Ridere Ridere Ridere (1954). Her first important role was in Mario Amendola's Le dritte (1958).
In 1957 Vitti joined Michelangelo Antonioni's Teatro Nuovo di Milano under his direction, later playing a leading role in his internationally celebrated, award winning, and radically unconventional L'avventura (1960), as a detached and cool woman drifting into a relationship with the lover of her missing girlfriend. With a screen presence that has been described as stunning, Vitti is also credited with helping Antonioni raise money for the production and supporting him through its difficult location shooting.
Vitti later received critical praise for starring roles in other Antonioni films including: La notte (1961), L'eclisse (1962), and Il deserto rosso (1964), which are regarded, with L'avventura, usually as a single series with a continuity of style and topics.
Since late 1960s, Monica Vitti decided to leave such cryptic style of cinema though, to do light comedies again; she indeed found success so, for instance under the direction of Alberto Sordi (Polvere di stelle, 1973) and Ettore Scola (Dramma della gelosia, 1970), and co-starring with Marcello Mastroianni (Dramma della gelosia).
Vitti's only Hollywood effort was the title role in Modesty Blaise, a mod James Bond spoof with Terence Stamp (1966) of moderate success and panning critic reviews.
Later career[]
Since the second half of the 1970s, Monica Vitti received a decreasing amount of offers for her cinema roles.
Vitti's later movie appearances have mostly been in Italian films without international distribution. Notable exceptions include Luis Buñuel's Le Fantôme de la liberté (1974). Vitti starred with Barbara Bouchet in L'Anantra all'arancia a farcical sex comedy (1975). In 1980, Vitti reunited with Antonioni after 15 years in Il mistero di Oberwald. In 1989 Monica Vitti wrote, directed and starred Scandalo Segreto, which would mark her retirement from the screen of cinema.
In 1986, Monica Vitti returned to theaters again, both acting and teaching. During the 1990s she did television, acting and directing.
Vitti's likeness later was featured on an Italian postage stamp commemorating L'avventura. In 1993 Vitti was awarded the Festival Tribute at the Créteil International Women's Film Festival in France.
Personal life[]
Monica Vitti married Roberto Russo in 1995 after living with him since 1968.
Awards[]
- Nastro d'Argento (Italy): 3 occasions (Best Supporting Actress: 1962. Best Actress: 1969, 1976)
- David di Donatello (Italy): 5 occasions (Best Actress: 1969, 1971, 1974, 1976, 1979)
- Golden Grail (Italy): 4 occasions
Filmography[]
The original titles are given. A few roles are uncredited bit parts or voice overs.
- Ridere! Ridere! Ridere! (1954)
- Una pelliccia di visone (1954)
- Adriana Lecouvreur (1955)
- Le dritte (1958)
- L'avventura (1960)
- La notte (1961)
- Accattone (1961)
- L'eclisse (1962)
- Les Quatre vérités (1962)
- Château en Suède (1963)
- Follie d'estate (1963)
- Dragées au poivre (1963)
- Alta infedeltà (1964)
- Il deserto rosso (1964)
- Il disco volante (1964)
- Le bambole (1965)
- Le Fate (1966)
- Modesty Blaise (1966)
- Ti ho sposato per allegria (1967)
- Fai in fretta ad uccidermi... ho freddo! (1967)
- La Ragazza con la pistola (1968)
- La Femme écarlate (1968)
- La Cintura di castità (1968)
- Amore mio aiutami (1969)
- Ninì Tirabusciò: la donna che inventò la mossa (1970)
- Dramma della gelosia - tutti i particolari in cronaca (1970)
- Le Coppie (1970)
- La Pacifista (1970)
- La Supertestimone (1971)
- Noi donne siamo fatte così (1971)
- Teresa la ladra (1972)
- Gli ordini sono ordini (1972)
- La Tosca (1973)
- Polvere di stelle (1973)
- Le Fantôme de la liberté (1974)
- L'Anatra all'arancia (1975)
- A mezzanotte va la ronda del piacere (1975)
- Qui comincia l'avventura (1975)
- Basta che non si sappia in giro! (1976)
- Mimì Bluette ... fiore del mio giardino (1977)
- L'altra metà del cielo (1977)
- Per vivere meglio, divertitevi con noi (1978)
- La Raison d'état (1978)
- Letti selvaggi (1979)
- Amori miei (1979)
- An Almost Perfect Affair (1979)
- Il tango della gelosia (1980)
- Non ti conosco più amore (1980)
- Camera d'albergo (1981)
- Il mistero di Oberwald (1981)
- Io so che tu sai che io so (1982)
- Scusa se è poco (1982)
- Flirt (1983)
- Francesca è mia (1986)
- Scandalo Segreto (1989)
Television[]
- Ma tu mi vuoi bene? (1991 miniseries)
External links[]
- Monica Vitti at the Internet Movie Database (IMDB)
- Site on Monica Vitti
- Monica Vitti, at LeninImports.