Beautiful Isabella
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Beautiful Isabella |
| Original title | C'era una volta ... |
| Country of production | Italy , France |
| original language | Italian |
| Publishing year | 1967 |
| length | 115 (German v. 96) minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Francesco Rosi |
| script | Francesco Rosi Giuseppe Patroni Griffi Raffaele La Capria Tonino Guerra |
| production |
Carlo Ponti for Compagnia Cinematografia Champion and Les Films Concordia |
| music | Piero Piccioni |
| camera | Pasqualino De Santis |
| cut | Jolanda Benvenuti |
| occupation | |
| |
More Than a Miracle (original title C'era una volta ... ) is in the Italian-French co-production incurred fairytale , the Francesco Rosi 1967 staged with prominent guests. The German-language premiere of the film took place on December 29, 1967.
action
The Spanish prince Rodrigo is thrown off during a ride and, while looking for his horse, meets the monk Joseph, who - actually unwilling to marry - predicts a wedding with a girl who makes seven dumplings and the pretty, simple country maid Isabella, whom he wants to induce to make him seven dumplings. However, she defies this request and, after spending some time in a barrel as a punishment, seeks advice from three witches. She turns Rodrigo into a statue for some time, who takes revenge by accusing her of being a witch. She finds shelter as a kitchen maid.
Rodrigo goes to a banquet where he has to choose the future princess from among the seven princesses from all parts of his kingdom. When he discovers Isabella among the servants, he smuggles her among the applicants. The princess is to be determined in a washing-up competition; Isabella is sure that as a maid she can win against the spoiled young ladies. However, she loses to one who cheats. However, Joseph, who has since become an angel, exposes the deceiver at the last moment and enables a happy ending.
Locations
The film was shot in Matera , the Charterhouse of Padula , Bracciano and Rome .
criticism
In his book about Francesco Rosi, Alexander J. Seiler considered the film “despite its four or five revisions that the script underwent […]” to be a “fairytale film with its own unique character: popular in tone, abundant in ideas and details and in the images of a plump, almost naive sensuality ”. Other Italian critics praised the fairy tales, told with verve in rough landscapes and dreamy costumes, but also the musical commentary.
The lexicon of international films gave less enthusiastic reviews : “Despite its beautiful pictures, the film is recognizable as a compromise with the industry. The committed realist Rosi was unable to realize his ideas of a homage to "pre-capitalist" folk culture staged with popular means; the interventions of the producer Carlo Ponti are obvious. ”. Even the Protestant film observer does not think much of the film: “A fairy tale film that is not easy enough for children, but offers older people hardly anything interesting apart from the demonstration of Sophia Loren's temperament.” Cinema.de describes the film as a costume romance gentle swipes at church and morality.
Remarks
For the version for the US market, the music was edited and partially re-recorded.
The German version has been shortened by almost 20 minutes; Prince Rodrigo became Prince Ramon.
Web links
- More Than a Miracle in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The film at comingsoon.it
Individual evidence
- ↑ C'era una volta, by Francesco Rosi . lorenarchives.com. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
- ^ Hanser, Munich 1982.
- ^ Massimo Bertarelli in Il Giornale of July 30, 2000
- ↑ Segnalazioni Cinematografiche, Vo. 38, 1968
- ↑ Beautiful Isabella. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Evangelical Press Association Munich, Review No. 26/1968
- ↑ with 12 pictures from the film