A restored version of Italian
commedia all'italiana masterpiece L'oro di Napoli is to be the
'pre-opening' highlight ringing up the curtain on the 81st
Venice Film Festival marking the 50th anniversary of director
Vittorio De Sica's death and the 70th anniversary of the iconic
comedy's debut in cinemas.
Featuring an all-star cast of Sophia Loren, Silvana Mangano,
Paolo Stoppa, Eduardo De Filippo, Tina Pica, and De Sica
himself, all in a state of grace, the film is one of the
greatest masterpieces of Italian popular cinema.
Organisers said it would also be a way of paying homage to
Loren, who was 20 at the time and who will be 90 on September
20.
Martin Scorsese says in his My Voyage to Italy: "L'Oro di Napoli
was on television back then in New York and everyone in the
district saw it again and again and we really loved it. It
embodies something I really appreciate in Italian cinema: the
way it moves effortlessly between comedy and tragedy".
The fest runs from August 28 to September 7.
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