Viva Italia

20 years after the monumental "I mostri" which was a great example of Italian sketch comedy, 3 of the greatest Italian directors ever (Risi, Monicelli, Scola) the best Italian writers ever (Age, Scarpelli) the best Italian actors ever (Tognazzi, Gassmann, Sordi) one of the most beautiful woman in the world (Ornella Muti) participate to this great tribute. The last sketch (a funeral) is symbolic : the death of the Italian comedy, which made Italy the second country in the world for cinematographic productions during 50's and 60's. Roberto Benigni's "Life is beautiful" was a great attempt, but the Italian comedy (and Italian cinema) is still in the grave.

I NUOVI MOSTRI is a sketch movie composed by 14 short stories which have a common feature between them: they are all about real life circumstances where, somehow, the main characters assume a disruptive conduct turning themselves into real life monsters; as they put their own interests above everything else! It's more evident in episodes like "Senza Parole", "Come una Regina" or even "Auto Stop". In fact it's a sarcastic and black comedy - a pure "commedia all'italiana" - which is also a satire to the Italian society of that time! "First Aid" episode is hilarious portraying the Italian's health system difficulties of that time...

The cast is great, full of excellent actors of the 70's. The directors of these short stories were also just three of the most important Italian directors of all time: Ettore Scola, Dino Risi and Mário Monicelli!

I saw "Viva Italia" not long after its release, and still remember it. It felt, then, as a revival of the wonderful short-story format used by the French and the Italians to provide concentrated value at smaller expense than a full feature, thus raising the chances of the film being made. They were wonderful showcases, too, for the immense talent resident in those countries. Ugo Tognazzi's brilliant performance as impulsive chef of a small restaurant will stick in my memory forever; the whole movie is well worth watching if it were only for this particular episode. Pity it was not a revival, but a farewell to a fantastic era of wit, skill, hearty performance, and sophisticated direction.

This film was shown on Los Angeles first cable station, the Z Channel, as part of their Foreign Films Specials, in the late 70's. It is a series of short stories, each one very funny, and said, in the production notes, to show a little bit of Italy and its people.

One story is about an Italian gentleman, who provides a Good Samaritan service to an injured civilian; but is unable to deposit the man anywhere, as hospitals, convents, and emergency clinics refuse to accept the barely alive victim. Unable to relieve himself of this unwanted, injured man, he returns to the scene of the crash, and replaces the victim as he found him, hours before.

Another story is a "behind the scenes" look at an Italian restaurant, where two waiters / chefs stage a horrendous fight, while preparing a large meal for a hungry group of customers.

I have looked for this film to play again, either here in Los Angeles, in an art house revival or on cable television, but to no avail.

The following review is of the cut edition of the film, with a runtime of 87 minutes and a number of 9 episodes. The original version, banned in some places, consists of 14 episodes and has a runtime of 115 minutes. Sadly, it is very hard to find nowadays. The episodes not included in the cut version are "Il sospetto", "Mammina e mammone", "Cittadino esemplare", "Pornodiva", and "Sequestro di persona cara".

Fourteen years after the release of the first one, I nuovi mostri offers a look into Italian life in a series of 9 episodes, directed by Dino Risi, Ettore Scola and Mario Monicelli, and starred by Vittorio Gassman, Ugo Tognazzi, Alberto Sordi, and Ornella Muti.

Like the previous one, this new anthology focuses on questionable aspects of human nature and adds touches of comedy and satire. The quality varies, and, while entertaining and fun, it doesn't live up to I mostri from 1963.

My favorite episodes were: "Autostop" a man picks up a young woman hitchhiking, "Pronto soccorso" a nobleman (Alberto Sordi) finds a man injured in the streets, "Senza parole" a young stewardess meets a foreign man and falls in love.