Italian Movies / Cinema Italiano

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Ciao Italianista,

Do you love Italian movies? Well, not all of them of course. Some of them are downright silly or too violent. But watching Italian movies is a fun way to improve your Italian. Recently I have started watching Italian movies again. I do not have any special Italian channels and I don’t even have cable. I do have Netflix and Amazon Prime. I simply push the microphone on my remote and say “Italian movies” and so many Italian movies come up. Keep checking this page for my reviews of Italian movies.

The Magnificent Cuckhold

This is a 1964 black and white film directed by Antonio Pietrangeli starring Ugo Tognazzi and Claudia Cardinale. Andrea Artusi (Ugo Tognazzi) is an Italian businessman in Rome married to his beautiful young wife Maria Grazia (Claudia Cardinale). Andrea is seduced by another woman in his own home when he and his wife invite over another couple after a business convention where Andrea was the speaker about his hat business.

Andrea enters into an affair. But here the plot switches. Instead of it becoming a melodramatic movie about his new love affair, the story then focuses on his internal battle as he becomes convinced that his wife must be having an affair too.

This is what I love about Italians and Italian comedies. Andrea’s internal battle is funny. It makes you laugh without becoming anxious. Yes, his young beautiful wife does suffer a little because of her suddenly controlling and jealous husband, but it is temporary and the movie ends happily ever after. Especially for her…But you have to watch the movie yourself to find out how…

In addition, the scenery in the movie is beautiful. Set in 1964 in Rome, you travel to the Castelli Romani (the hills around Rome) for fancy parties at the couple’s new mansion. The interior design is crazy with so many pieces of artwork in all the many living rooms with modern furniture. In Rome, you also see nice sections of town and gorgeous Italian sports cars. The women’s fashion is amazing; the dresses, the hairstyles…so classic and beautiful.

Another highlight is the fantasies and daydreams of Andrea produced in his mind from his insane jealousy. The movie is rated R (1964 R) so the sexy betrayal scenes are done with artistry. They are mini-movies in themselves.

I highly recommend this movie for all that I have just said and also for the Italian language. The language is clear and understandable for non-native speakers. Turning on subtitles helps just so you can be sure you are getting all the nuances, but try not to look at them too much.

Buon Cinema!