Anna

I saw the movie 'Bitter Rice" and 'Anna' as a young woman, and they and the star, Sylvana Mangano had a galvanizing affect on me. I went to Catholic convent school as a youngster but was enrolled in public schools in the fourth grade so I identified with convent life.

I have never forgotten the songs she sang nor her leading man, Vittorio Guzeman. Only tonight (March 30, I thought to enter her name on a music site and was amazed when the two songs appeared! I down-loaded them (Non Dimenticar) and (Anna)! I think the movies above mentioned are the greatest movies of all time. Haven't been able to see either of them since I was that young girl...

Judging by the mostly ecstatic reviews it would appear that this film of Alberto Lattuarda has had quite an emotional impact and understandably so. It has been dismissed by critics as laughable melodrama. There are oodles of laughable melos out there but they are not all as well made and well played as this one. Having scored a hit three years earlier with 'Bitter Rice' it was obviously felt that there was more mileage to be had from the trio of Raf Vallone, Vittorio Gassman and Silvana Mangano. Vallone is again the honourable one, Gassman the rat and Silvana the meat in the sandwich. What can one say of La Mangano? An imperious, majestic and enigmatic artiste of great emotional power and depth. The highlight of the film for many will be Trovajoli's 'El Negro Zumbon' which she performs in a nightclub before becoming a nun(yes, it's that kind of film!) She is able to utilise her early training as a dancer but she lip-syncs to the voice of Flo Sandons whose singing career certainly benefited. As Sister Anna she is obliged to make a tough moral choice and her last line 'I have not lost' spoken to the strains of Nino Rota's lush score, should have you reaching for the Kleenex. At least I sincerely hope so!

I couldn't believe that some of these film's reviews are as new as 2010!! I saw this movie as a child (so long ago!) and never forgot it.

"La Mangano" (The stress goes on the first A: Mángano), at that time made a big hit here in Argentina, as did some other Italian beauties, like Silvana Pampanini and Gina Lollobrigida.

They were living LEGENDS.

"Bitter Rice" ("Riso amaro") shows Silvana Mangano as an incredibly sexy woman (same in this film, "Anna") and the baion she dances in one scene made history.

The love scenes between her and Vittorio Gasman are breathtaking, because both actors where terribly sexy.

At that time these movies were VERY osé, almost pornographic (they are so mild by comparison with what we see today...).

It's true what another reviewer says: "Only Rita Hayworth made such an impression when doing "Amado mio" and "Put the Blame on Mame" in "Gilda".

Nobody could get that feeling on film nowadays. As Gloria Swanson character puts it in "Sunset Boulevard": "We had faces then" (She meant in the silent era), but these Italian stars had faces AND BODIES to match!!

About Silvana Mangano, it's incredible the way this actress refined her looks after a while. Seeing her in "Morte a Venezia" ("Death in Venice"), by Visconti --1971--, where she plays Tadzio's mother, an extremely refined polish countess, it's almost impossible to associate her with the voluptuos woman in "Anna" and "Bitter Rice".

Her polished looks are even more glorious than when she was a sex bomb.

Same thing in "Gruppo di famiglia in un interno" --1974-- again by Visconti, with Burt Lancaster.

A true star that unfortunately had such a sad ending, but then, as Dorothy Parker put it when defending before Louis B. Mayer her bitter ending scripts: "Mr. Mayer, in real life there are no happy endings".

Silvana Mangano's was no exception.

Anna (Silvana Mangano) is a nun who works at a hospital taking care of patients, but the arrival of Andrea (Raf Vallone) will bring forward memories from her past.

This is the movie where the song "El negro zumbon" comes from. A song performed by Flo Sandon that became a hit single and was also featured in "Caro diario" from 1993, where we can see Nanni Moretti dancing in front of a TV in a shop.

Director Alberto Lattuada introduces us to Anna in her present situation as a nun working among doctors, but the coming of a new patient takes us to the past where we can see its protagonist's life before she became a nun.

Anna was a nightclub singer who captivated many clients every night performing songs. It is here Vittorio (Vittorio Gassman) was part of her life as the bartender in said club.

Thematically, the film explores how past and present collide, creating dilemmas with love at its core. Anna, as a sister working in the hospital, is something very much appreciated, but will this be enough to silence the voices now awakened that beckon her to follow her heart?

I think this is one of the most beautiful Italian films ever made and I know my views are shared by many! The wildly, beautiful Silvano and the late Vittorio Gassman are excellent in their roles. The songs and dances by Silvana can only be compared to the 'heat' generated by Rita Hayworth in "Gilda"--and you will find yourself loving those love songs for the rest of your life. When she becomes "Sister" Anna: you'll want to have a box of tissues handy.

Lovely Sophia Loren makes one of her first appearances in this beautiful film directed by Carlo Ponti.