Stardom, Italian Style

Marcia Landy is Distinguished Service Professor of English/Film Studies with a secondary appointment in the Department of French and Italian Languages and Literatures at the University of Pittsburgh. Her books include Monty Python's Flying Circus; Stars (edited with Lucy Fischer); The Historical Film; Italian Film; Queen Christina (with Amy Villarejo); and Fascism in Film: The Italian Commercial Cinema, 1931–1943.

"Writing on the nexus of aesthetics and politics, Landy (Univ. of Pittsburgh) prefers the filmic text over extra-filmic elements. She describes how in the Italian silent cinema, the "diva" and "divo" bridged tradition and modernity; how, in 1930s sound films, the star fired popular culture fascination but was de-idealized; and how Mussolini used cinema to project his virile image. Then, writes the author, as neorealism reworked old genres it remade old stars and reconceived the male and female body. Anna Magnani typified the resurgence of stardom. In the popular genres in the 1950s, stars embodied the quest for national identity in the changing social milieu. In discussing the 1960s, Landy looks at the social concern of comedies and how international stars (e.g., Marcello Mastroianni, Sophia Loren, Vittorio Gassman, Alberto Sordi, Monica Vitti) showed commonsense surviving in a threatening climate. Landy also discusses television, co-productions, the spaghetti western, horror films, and the emerging stardom of the director (Federico Fellini, Lena Wertmüller, Roberto Benigni, Dario Argento). A postscript proffers Italian President Silvio Berlusconi as televisual star, a wishful reflection of power and affluence. This comprehensive study of Italian stardom is closely argued, clearly written, and rich in detail and insight. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. — Choice"—M. Yacowar, emeritus, University of Calgary, December 2008"Stardom, Italian Style is a worthy introduction for casual and undergraduate readers, and contains valuable insights that Italian film specialists will enjoy."—Film & History"Marcia Landy has produced a wonderful and in many ways path-breaking examination of the history of Italian stardom from silent film to the present. . . . The book is rich in stimulating observations and thought-provoking propositions. As with other works by Professor Landy it is the fruit of an ideal blend of theoretical insights and historically grounded film analysis."—Ruth Ben-Ghiat, New York University

• ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Eloquent Bodies: The Cinema of Divismo2. The Stars Talk3. Stars amidst the Ruins: The Old and the New4. Popular Genres and Stars5. Starring Directors and Directing Stars: The Cinematic Landscape and Its Changing BodiesEpilogue: An End to Stardom?A PostscriptNotesBibliographyIndex