Anna Magnani and Authenticity | 1956

[@Lyndiloo]

She never looks like she's acting. Every movie clip looks like it could have been pulled from a personal vlog.

[@SDoesNotKnow]

It should be noted that James Wong Howe, one of the first if not the first Asian men to win an Oscar, won an Oscar for Best Cinematography for this film. He was nominated 10 times, and won twice. He introduced a lot of innovations to the craft and helped shape films to what we see today.

[@oof-wi7hp]

thank you, learning about POCs' contribution to american art and history is rare but important

[@lovepotionsinc]

'To return to Mr. de Mille’s analogy, lighting is like music: for with identically the same resources at hand, no two artists work the same way, even though their results may in the end prove all but identical. So, too, cinematographic lighting has its Mozarts and its Wagners-its artists who specialize in light, delicate tones, and others who prefer the sweeping effect, the crashing crescendo… This, in turn, necessitates the intrusion of the personal pronoun. If I do a thing one way, it does not follow that it is what John Seitz, or Karl Struss, or George Barnes would do. It does not follow that my way is the only way: it is simply the method that my experience and my personal inclinations suggest… Personally I have always felt that the problem of lighting is generally approached from the wrong angle. Instead of approaching any given set or action with the one question, “How shall I light this?” I prefer to approach it with the thought of “What compositions can I make with this set and this action?” Then I proceed to make those compositions-and the lighting automatically takes care of itself. ' - Notes from Chinese-American film pioneer James Wong Howe on the art of lighting Cinematographic Annual, Vol. 2, 1931

[@oof-wi7hp]

@@lovepotionsinc oooooooh 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@ethannielson942]

SDoesNotKnow And James Wong Howe never used diffused lenses instead achieving the effect he wanted with careful lighting and framing. Diffused lenses produced a kind of ethereal quality and were felt to have been detrimental to the film version of MAME (1974). www.ethansfilmreviews.com

[@SM-gl8yo]

Yes. And this was a particular triumph for Mr. Howe because he was 'Gray-Listed' during the height of the McCarthy era and was barred from the major studios from working.

[@dangerislander]

I first learned of Anna Magnani when Helen Mirren was asked "which actor she should love to collaborate with" during an Oscar Roundtable discussion. She answered "The greatest actress of all time: Anna Magnani".

[@lissandrafreljord7913]

Same.

[@lustforchanel3051]

Legends recognize legends

[@screenactorsguilable]

@@lissandrafreljord7913 10:24 how about Susan??

[@screenactorsguilable]

@@lustforchanel3051 10:30

[@Skabanis]

@Solidea75 what’s your point

[@yasminsherif6629]

I would really like an episode about the Ingrid -Rossellini “scandal” and how that affected bergman’s career

[@ruthiehenshallfan99]

That would definitely be covered in Bergman's second win.

[@austindevine3883]

agreed and her triumphant comeback and Oscar win for Anastasia

[@UncleMarco]

yes yes yes yes yes!!

[@sarasamaletdin4574]

I am sure she is making one but she needs to save some of the bigger stories.

[@dukedematteo1995]

To me it was obvious.....Ingrid was the all American perfect girl next door type...that's why America loved her. So when she cheated on her husband with some Italian director and had a kid with him....she wasnt the girl next door anymore she was a vain narcissistic actress. I've realized that all these actor/actress Hollywood types are so narcissistic ( either born that way or the fame causes it) that they love themselves much more than they could anyone else....that's why none of these marriages last. The character trait of narcissism is thru the roof in this profession....like I'm sure aggressiveness is in MMA fighters, law enforcement, etc or intelligence/conscientiousness is in science and medicine. High levels of narcissism is just part of the deal out in Tinsletown.

[@MyDarkmarc]

When Anna Magnani came to the United States for the first time she had one request she wanted to meet the actress that she thought was the greatest: Bette Davis. Bette Davis and Anna Magnani meet two times once in 1953 in New York City and other time in Italy in 1958 for a fashion show. This was the handwritten "Thank You" letter that Magnani wrote to Davis after their first meeting: Dear, dear Betty, before leaving I want to write you, without waiting for my arrival in Rome - I wanted to write you the last night of my stay in New York I wanted to have more time to stay with you - I will never forget you - I will never forget our meeting, I will not forget never your face - I will take it with me to Italy - I do not know why I left your home excited and stunned - the emotion of standing before you alive in front of me alive, having admired you so often, devoured you on screen - stunned by your interpretations - amazed because suddenly I found myself at the same time in your room, in front of a child - I swear the impression I received was great - a woman full of life, with so much inside, so much heat so much youthful interest in everything - you still have a lot to say with your art - but so much so. I was before you speechless. Do you remember? I looked at you, I listened to you talk, I had become like a lamb, I was hypnotized. Dear dear great Bette - you are so human, so tremendously human, and I feel very close to you I feel very much like you, as a woman. As an artist you know what you are for me. Always defend your art - always defend your artistic expression, freedom against everything and everyone. Only in this way you are yourself and in your case you are a great actress. I embrace you, I embrace you with infinite emotion and devotion, I will never forget you. Between the two actresses a friendship was born that would last for a lifetime.

[@ThewildvoiceOrg1]

*_“Anna Magnani is the greatest actress I have ever seen.”_** - Bette Davis*

[@wildnregaltv1610]

This letter was so sweet. I can see why they admired each other. Both were strong and unapologetically raw and wild, especially for their time.

[@rainespells1273]

This is fruity as hell 😭

[@windstorm1000]

This is such an amazing heartfelt tribute perhaps the best ever written of one great artist in gratitude to another.

[@windstorm1000]

Thank you for taking time to quote this long moving letter. So appreciated. So I aspirational! Great artists appreciate each other as well as we the audience appreciate THEM

[@VeeLondon1449]

(To a reporter who telephoned with news of her Oscar) “if you are joking me, I will get up immediately and kill you wherever you are” - Anna Magnani. One of my favourite actors off all time, I’ve seen all her films there is a beautiful rawness and electric realism in all of them. She is incredibly moving and fills the void with light.. A True Original ♥️x

[@newbatgirl]

That’s a great story.

[@honeydew75]

"had the best dark circles" agshsjs I love dark circles

[@ertfgghhhh]

Well u will love me

[@screenactorsguilable]

@@ertfgghhhh 10:47

[@DualGrey93]

Omg I SCREAMED when the Gaga "I'm Italian" meme showed up I wasn't ready 😂

[@TheMorganVEVO]

DualGrey LMAO! Me too 😂

[@freshname]

That was random. And somewhat odd.

[@ttm1795]

MEE TOO HAHAHAHA

[@conbiniii]

DualGrey SAME

[@chizembi2997]

I howled!

[@pampoovey6722]

When Bette Davis rates you as an actor, that's it. There is simply no higher praise. Loved this video. I hope it's the beginning of lots more lesser known/underappreciated artists videos.

[@JC-ii6gh]

I never heard of this actress or saw the Rose Tattoo. Something new for me to watch. Thank you.

[@nursen2106]

as child, I was very impressed by mama rosa. although from a childrens point of view maybe even more sad, I was so impressed by her. and how strong she was. I can recommend that film too

[@kostajovanovic3711]

Better start with her Italian works, there she really shows what a firce she is( rome open city, mamma roma)

[@kostajovanovic3711]

@Jarred Knox ah, back at your favourite pass time

[@nursen2106]

@Jarred Knox are you lonesome?

[@vins1979]

That Oscar to Magnani was like an award to the career, rather than just for her role in the Rose Tattoo. The only reason for why she won only one Oscar is because the Academy is heavily US-centric. It is not a coincidence that Magnani was nominated (and finally won) only when she starred in a movie produced in by Hollywood, directed by a US director and written by Tennessee Williams (who was a great friend of Magnani). Yet, Anna Magnani had already proved to be a great actress in many memorable movies. It's just that Hollywood thinks that non-Hollywood cinema is not 'real' cinema and not deserving of consideration. That's why I actually think that the Oscars are not in the same league of the truly international awards, like those of the Festival of Cannes and of the Festival of Venice. Those who love cinema know which awards are really important. That said, this video begins with Marilyn Monroe and maybe not everybody knows that Marilyn Monroe and Anna Magnani were actually friends! They became friends when MM received the 'Davide di Donatello' for best actress (awarded by the Italian Academy of Cinema), for her role in the Prince and the Showgirl. MM couldn't go to Italy, so the award was given to her in New York. Magnani was in the States to make a movie and it was her who gave her the prize. The two became friends: Magnani realised that, behind the public persona and the type-casted roles, MM was a complex and sensitive person as well as a great and professional actress. Two different women, for sure, yet they shared something special which allowed them to 'recognise' each other. Look at this video, where Magnani is clearly moved to tears when she gives the prize to Marilyn. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJjOgKSVYtShj5Y By the way, I recommend you to start with Mamma Roma, Bellissima and Angelina. Enjoy!!!

[@connordesmond5662]

Plenty of people request specific years for you to cover, and I think we should all be grateful that you essentially ignore those requests. Your analyses are deeper than merely pitting talent against talent; you pinpoint specific years that have had specific impacts within the Best Actress category and the film industry as a whole. You have a knack for making Best Actress categories of long ago relevant to today, and those requesting specific videos from you should allow you to explore your creative freedom and be grateful that such well-produced channels exist in the first place. Thank you.

[@toriagalaxy1566]

Best comment...I concur enthusiastically. She goes so much deeper than who won against what. I just sit waiting patiently for whatever she finds interesting to share. Follow wherever the passion leads...I'm Here For It!

[@SDoesNotKnow]

Agreed. She doesn't fall into the trap of truly bad-mouthing a performance that so many people who talk Oscar tend to do. I get tired of people treating performances and actors like some sort of stan war.

[@lollopollo231]

As an italian I’ve been waiting for this for MONTHS.

[@WellingtonOliveira_well_author]

You're cute 😊

[@onlinepersonae]

Lady gaga: I'M ITALIAN

[@lollopollo231]

No I’m a real italian born and raised in Naples, Italy, not a fake ass italian-american who can’t even speak the language of her/his supposed people

[@lollopollo231]

The gaga meme is hilarious tho

[@WellingtonOliveira_well_author]

@@lollopollo231 MARRY ME!

[@jodiegrief7473]

I love this. You’ve tackled the ‘actress dresses down to win an Oscar’ trope, but she already was ‘unglamorous’ and won based on her talent

[@mattbernabe]

Her performance in The Rose Tattoo is remarkable! She truly deserved that Oscar! Wish The Criterion Collection would pick up and remaster The Rose Tattoo and give it the proper treatment it deserves.

[@angelcastaneda529]

Do you think Susan Hayward for I’ll Cry Tomorrow gives her a good run for her money?

[@screenactorsguilable]

@@ronrossmore211 Susan is a frontrunner. Evidence in Cannes, but not industry-based like Anna here

[@screenactorsguilable]

@@angelcastaneda529 yep they are equitable here but this is Susan's 4th unlucky turn.

[@loveoffthedamned]

Tennessee was clearly the only person with good eyesight in the 50s America

[@AnnaGirardini]

Oh my gosh, I didn’t expect you to cover Anna Magnani’s Oscar win! Oh thank you 😊 She was truly great, and passionate, and sincere in her craft. Legend says that once she said to a makeup artist, about her wrinkles: “Don’t cover any of them. Leave them all out. It took me a lifetime to earn them”

[@pennypiper7382]

Annarosa Girardini ...love it. Just what Anna would say!😄

[@sweetmeme1987]

Never heard of her and now am obsessed and cant wait to check the movies out , this is why I love this channel, it educate, entertain, an inspire . Great work👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

[@nursen2106]

ok, I will mention it to you too :-D try Mama Roma. even as child, she could impress me

[@screenactorsguilable]

@@nursen2106 Susan Hayward at 10:50 should have a rewind too

[@lollopollo231]

I want to say something to all the non-italian speakers watching this video and being introduced to la signora Magnani for the first time: if you have the chance (except for her English performances) watch her movies in the original italian version (with subs ofc). She has a power in her voice that cannot be underestimated, besides her phisical acting which is flawless obviously. Yes I’m italian and I could be biased, but I’ve never seen a better actress in my life; a hard worker, dedicated purely on her craft and wishing to deeply emote the viewer. I still remember the first time I saw one of her performances: it was for Roma, Città Aperta, I was 11 and my grandmother made me watch it so that I could understand from a very early age what she went through during the war. I was gobsmacked.

[@Talisguy]

I have never seen an Anna Magnani performance, but seconded, because it's best to see most live-action performances with the original performer's voice if at all possible. Even if the actor you get to do the new voiceover is excellent, they're not going to sound as natural because you can almost always subconsciously tell that the voice doesn't quite match the physical performance. And it would be a crying shame to watch an actress renowned for her extremely natural performances in a way that constantly reminded you that you were watching a film.

[@johnbashian5596]

Thank you for that incite. I would agree that to watch her in the Italian versions would give us a better understanding and appreciation for her acting skills by hearing her speak in her own language.

[@michaelrecycle9838]

I'm reminded of the Norma Desmond line, "we had faces..." Anna Magnani had a face. Stunning.

[@lovepotionsinc]

She had the most soulful eyes and such powerful screen presence.

[@bryanmedina1995]

I had to admit that I had never heard of her ... until now. Really informative as usual.

[@Royalredpen]

You have a sponsor! I'm so happy for you! The hard work you put into these video essays shows every time and you deserve this. You have earned it! That said, I'd never heard of this actress before, but now I'm thrilled that I know who she is and her impact in Hollywood at a time when a lot of actresses seem to be pretty "cookie cutter." I really enjoyed this one. :)

[@oof-wi7hp]

i think another awesome thing this channel has done is that it has permanently disrupted my simplistic outlook towards actresses of old hollywood. each video goes into the complex structure of struggles these people had to face as working women who were constantly scrutinized under the public eye. and yet so many of them emerged victorious and made their own unique mark in cinematic history. it's beautiful so really none of them were cookie-cutter

[@screenactorsguilable]

@@oof-wi7hp However, noone mentioned the magnificence of Susan Hayward in comparison with Anna

[@pennypiper7382]

Quan Dang ..greatly admired Susan, Kim Novak,as well as Claudette Colbert, Irene Dunne, Bette Davis,Loretta Young, Maureen o’Hara, and many others who may have looked cookie cut,but were not.❤️🌼

[@Megan-wf2yv]

I’m so grateful to you for these videos- I feel like my film ‘education’ was so male centred in a way I never truly realised? Idk I guess I thought like ‘of course the only good films star men, who was giving women good parts?’ But this channel has opened my eyes to so many incredible performers.

[@oof-wi7hp]

BIGGEST MOOD IN THE GALAXY

[@mcnultyssobercompanion6372]

It's worth looking into female directors as well. Obviously there haven't been as many as there should be (that's slowly changing), but if you dig into cinema history you'll discover many fine films directed by women. Maybe more than you'd expect. 3 women directors whose work I admire very much are Ida Lupino, Liliana Cavani, and Larissa Shepitko. Cavani's *The Night Porter* is one of my favorite films of all time. It's challenging, sometimes a bit hard to watch, but brilliant.

[@noseofsauron236]

Thank you for introducing I would suppose many of us to a "new" actor. Even in the short clips you included, and they didn't have any audio, I could still feel Anna's emotions from her eyes and hands. Gonna try to watch her movies now.

[@elijahsackville-glucksburg]

In a time of glamour, Anna Magnani proved to be the fairest of them all with her screen presence, unique acting and authenticity that is rare at that time.

[@nigelhenriques1893]

Marlon Brando respected her a great deal, and its where I first heard of her. I became obssessed with her !!

[@thesuperkayow]

She's beyond amazing in L'AMORE, BELISSIMA and MAMMA ROMA. One of the greatest actresses ever lived.

[@MgMg-ld4iv]

can u do miyoshi umeki, the first asian to win an oscar?? 😍❤️

[@kostajovanovic3711]

She won supporting?

[@kostajovanovic3711]

Then it will not come soon

[@br0wn3y3db01]

Akwafina could win it 2020 😁

[@MaisahElysiumDevi]

I second this, that would be phenomenal 😍

[@jhhone]

@@br0wn3y3db01 I think JLo will win they are planning a blitz of promotion for her in "Hustlers"! Akwafina deserved a nomination & a win for "Crazy Rich Asians"! Michelle Yeoh also deserved a nomination at least!

[@Professicchio]

There is one anecdote, amongst many, that I need to mention about Anna: while preparing on a set, already an Oscar winner and pushing 50, she sees the make-up woman coming her way with a bunch of tools of the trade. Quite concerned, she stop her before she can begin her work and warns her in her earthy, brisk Roman accent: "Don't you dare covering up my wrinkles, it took me a lifetime to achieve them!". Can you imagine a woman, any woman, never mind a bone-fide Hollywood star like she was, not only not giving a toss about growing old and showing it but even be proud of it?! It was unheard of 70 years ago as it is now, even more so. This is what Anna Magnani was: simply too extraordinary and too real at the same time for this world.

[@Cat-tastrophee]

Anna looks so much like my Italian grandma. I miss her 😢. And yes, the dark under-eye bags are a thing, I inherited them, but I've always loved Italian eyes, with their dark intensity and sharply winged brows. They hold so much tenderness and pain.

[@minako134]

Thank you for bringing up that single Oscar win by an Asian woman. As an Asian mixed-race woman myself this really lit a fire under me!! I can't believe Michelle Yeoh never won one!!

[@eamonndeane587]

Michelle deserved to be nominated for The Lady...

[@rainespells1273]

Ay!!! She finally did 👏

[@ramitasetty446]

Well I bet you're very happy now lmao

[@knightfly28]

Anna Magnani is one of few actresses who you truly believe is actually living he role she’s playing.

[@tonyvillarreal5380]

Watching the clips from her films, it is striking how she blends in with the extras, I am so used to glamorous actresses, even in roles where they are dressed down, standing next to somewhat regular looking extras and because of the their natural beauty and their makeup and wardrobe you can find her instantly , but when Anna Magnani enters a room with extras she fits in, she looks like one of the workers or one of the mothers and that is something i'm not used to seeing.

[@jhhone]

Hollywood barriers never really went away! Emma Stone played Asian in "Aloha"! Back in the 90s a Hollywood executive actually suggested Julia Roberts as Harriet Tubman! I think Roberts would not have done it but you never know how far that idea would have gone! Hayward had said she desired to win for "I'll Cry Tomorrow" instead of her win for "I Want to Live". Writer Christopher Isherwood and his partner were visiting Tennessee Williams on the set of "The Rose Tattoo" and were shocked that Miss Magnani openly belched & farted in front of the crew! He said he couldn't believe a movie star would fart!

[@pennypiper7382]

jhhone ..that I didn’t know. Shame on u Anna. Always use the bathroom.

[@moonlightbabe3215]

She lowkey looks like Meryl Streep

[@kostajovanovic3711]

Hmm

[@JPLEYONKO4]

I think it's the other way around.

[@RNCHFND]

It's the slightly crooked nose

[@heavenboundsonliibaan52]

YES I was thinking About That

[@bringiton5282]

I think Anna is one of Meryl's idols.

[@dantedion9307]

I wonder if Meryl Streep channeled anna Magnani for her performance in the Bridges of Madison County.

[@SDoesNotKnow]

That is the perfect comparison!

[@bkrewind]

Meryl has talked about being inspired by her generally, but can't say for sure if she specficially inspired Meryl's performance in BMC!

[@bubblebobblegirl1]

I was thinking the same thing. Must have been some of her inspiration.

[@dangerouslysane]

Anna Magnani was a superb actress & deserved that Oscar. Sheer authenticity that comes across on film. This video's discussion about authenticity vs glamour made me reflect on the reaction when Elizabeth Taylor portrayed Martha in the film "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?"-although I was a kid at the time, I recall that much was made of Taylor's (about 32 at the time) dramatic transformation into a "middle aged" character-maybe a couple of silver streaks in her hair, a little weight gain. Because Taylor was so beautiful looking in real life, it probably took more time to make her look slightly frumpy for the role than it did to make her look stunning in other films. But at the time, the "transformation" was heralded as an incredibly brave artistic choice. Such is our culture. Even animated characters are altered to conform with western esthetics-(am looking at YOU-tie in marketing for "The Brave One")!

[@theyoutubeanalyst3731]

What about a video on Jennifer Lawrence's Oscar win? I've seen a few people suggest it and I think is a great idea, your videos on Gwyneth's and Nicole Kidman's were spot on and very insightful. Thanks for your work, you make want to learn about actresses and movies I've never heard before.

[@clasiusclay]

Aww yes! She and Gena Rowlands are my absolute favorites! 💞

[@shelby8364]

same!! ❤

[@catherinekerr2160]

Anna Magnani was just terrific! She won an Academy Award for The Rose Tattoo & was in Italian Neo Realism films. Bette Davis praised her. RIP 💖

[@liulfrmcshane]

Anna Magnani was endlessly amazing, as a performer and as a person. To me it seems she could never fail to make a character seem alive and real. She never seemed to be acting.

[@Allegroboffin]

Another wonderful and insightful piece! I came to Magnani by chance 15 years ago. I was stationed with my job in Islamabad, Pakistan. It was a dangerous time, movement was highly restricted and there was no entertainment accessible to westerners there so all there was to do in the evenings was watch movies at home. Luckily there was a DVD store nearby to my place which sold Criterion Collection of remastered classic 'arthouse' movies and I bought a bunch of DVDs including Mama Roma. I didn't expect much when I started watching Mama Roma......then Anna Magnani happened! It was one of the most transcendental movie moment I'd ever experienced! I was mesmerised by her! I'd never seen anyone like her. She was in stark contrast to the stiffness and artifice of the acting style of that era. The passion, expressiveness and emotional authenticity of her performance was unmatched by any actor I'd ever seen. After that I went back to the DVD store to see if I could find anymore of her films but alas there was nothing. When I returned to the UK at the end of my assignment I made it a mission to find more of her films. To this day no other actor has the emotional pull on me like Magnani, who is hands down my favourite ever actor. So thank you so much for this episode and for highlighting a legend that has largely been forgotten and overlooked outside Italy and a handful of European countries. I'm so happy that more people who follow your superb channel will get the opportunity to discover this legend.

[@MichelleRedSoul]

Going after someone's looks just demonstrates their lack of creativity as writers.

[@oof-wi7hp]

PREACH ✊🏽

[@SecretSwooper]

I think those writers were genuinely flabbergasted that a woman may be a leading actress and NOT look like a perfect angel, just like a normal woman.

[@screenactorsguilable]

@@SecretSwooper 10:31 Hayward too

[@pennypiper7382]

Anna had a raw kind of beauty.

[@victoriagoforth9748]

I watched her for the first time last week in Wild is the Wind.. She owned that film. ❤

[@Nikki-tx6kh]

I had a book about 50s actors and I still remember how much the author worshipped her in it. And I loved the little story about her taking food from posh restaurants to the stray cats of Rome.

[@rosemaryfranzese317]

I loved The Rose Tattoo. This was a very strong year, Summertime is still one my favourite films and Hepburn painted a stunning picture of middle aged loneliness. Magnani did deserve the win and thank goodness English speaking audiences had the chance to get to know her

[@atamoura]

Your channel deserves a bloody Oscar. The content is gold

[@Bexxxtuff]

The Rose Tattoo was very similar with The Bridges of Madison County and Meryl Streep was like mimicking Anna Magnani...

[@daniealex]

I LOVE Anna Magnani! I used to read this film blog called Mirror and the author mentioned Anna and The Fugitive Kind and I've been a fan ever since. Genius performer.

[@vinista256]

11:09 “Eleanor was ‘too ordinary’”-LOL. Hard for me to imagine as one of the many people who grew up knowing her as the glamorous, ice-cold Baroness in “The Sound of Music”!

[@hdrake1000]

I for sure remember her in The Rose Tattoo. I love Tennessee Williams.

[@gi2983]

I am italian and here she is a household name. I love her and she is such an eternal inspiration!

[@AndrewKomorowski97]

the Gaga meme... i died

[@TheRealJacRio]

Giiiiiirl you're big enough for sponsors now!!!!! So proud of you! Your videos are awesome. :)

[@jeebsunabia7972]

I've been having one hell of a bad day today... this video gave me all the life I needed! Thank you!

[@ferociousgumby]

PLEASE make more of these videos! I can never get enough.

[@GrinchIsBack]

I never clicked on a video so quickly. BKR that releases a video on Anna Magnani? I'm ecstatic.

[@sputniksweetheart5187]

My Goddess ! I'm so excited for this. She is my favorite actress !

[@bliss66]

Brilliant! Huge fan of Anna Magnani, great to see this added to your series.

[@EJMoreno]

Thank you for the Gaga "Italian" meme. So perfect. I love this video. I'm a Critics Choice voter and your videos have been great homework for me this award season

[@shannajhullaby]

You're my favorite KZbin channel. I just love you!

[@ViaDiva]

I have a very warped knowledge of the movie industry of the 20th century thanks to a weird encyclopedia on art that I read countless times when I was a teenager. This encyclopedia covers music, theater and movies, and it does it... like I said, weirdly. It didn't have anything at all to say about Katherine Hepburn, for example. But it had a lot to say about Anna Magnani! So you can imagine how delighted I am to actually see that my warped knowledge is worth something.

[@freshname]

She is just big in Europe. That is it. Hepburn was not that big, because of the films she stared. But things are diffirent now.

[@hervepp1]

Brilliant analysis as always. Looking forward for your next post. Thank you.

[@MyDarkmarc]

The Italian actress Anna Magnani only made four American films and for one of those films Anna received an Academy Award in 1955 as Serafina Delle Rose in the film version of Tennessee William's play The Rose Tattoo (1955, Paramount Pictures). From the start, she was a rank outsider, the illegitimate child of an Italian mother and an Egyptian father, born in Rome in 1907 and raised in grinding poverty. As a teenager, she sang songs in tawdry nightclubs, courting her Arabic flavor. She spent most of the 1930s in music halls, working in small roles on the stage and trying to break into movies. She was very attractive, but was already known for her dangerous volatility. In 1927 she acted in the screen version of La Nemica e Scampolo. She had also been in the stage production. She met Italian filmmaker Goffredo Alessandrini in 1933 and the two were married in 1935. He was one of the first Italian filmmakers to adapt the new sound technology used in American cinema. Her marriage to Alessandrini ended in 1950, and she never married again. Magnani once said, “Women like me can only submit to men capable of dominating them, and I have never found anyone capable of dominating me”. Magnani had a love affair with the actor Massimo Serato, by whom she had her only child, a son named Luca, who was born on October 29, 1942 in Rome, after her separation from Alessandrini, Magnani's life was struck by tragedy when Luca came down with crippling polio at only 18 months of age. He never regained use of his legs. As a result, she spent most of her early earnings for specialists and hospitals. After once seeing a legless war veteran drag himself along the sidewalk, she said, "I realize now that it's worse when they grow up", and resolved to earn enough to "shield him forever from want" As the pregnant woman Pina, Magnani is shot by German soldiers 56 minutes into “Rome, Open City,” which became a landmark and made her famous outside Italy. “Francesco!” she cries, running toward her fiancée after the Nazis have arrested him; when she is shot her body lies still in the street, her skirt above her knees so that the tops of her stockings are visible. “When I hear music, I lose all inhibition,” Magnani said in “Down with Misery” (1945), but of course the joke is that she is the least inhibited of all performers, especially when she gets worked up. She had a new sort of power on screen in the mid-1940s, and she made small moments-and small movies-momentous. The women Magnani was playing became multi-dimensional, abundantly faceted, with vivid behavior unfolding and then unfolding some more before our eyes in all directions possible. Then, in 1951, she found one of her greatest roles for director Luchino Visconti, playing a mother striving to get her plain daughter launched in movies. In that picture - Bellissima (1951) - Magnani abandoned all restraints, as a woman we would gladly strangle, but whose life force leaves us shocked. Of course, it's the mother who needs to act, and it was Visconti's grace to uncover a vulnerability in the excessiveness and to make the picture an international success. All of a sudden, roles were reversed: Bergman had opted for Italy - and increasing obscurity; but maybe Anna Magnani was ready for stardom. In her most ideally balanced vehicle, Renoir’s 1952, “The Golden Coach,” Magnani is filmed in color and she proved once again, as she had in “L’Amore,” that she is someone to make a film for and about. This is one of the best movies about both the loneliness and the glory of the life of an actor, and the fullness of their response to life. Laughter and anger always overtake Magnani on screen, and so watching her laugh or get angry is like listening to a singer with a voice that goes the highest up and the furthest down, like Maria Callas living by her wits. Magnani acted in English for this Renoir masterpiece, but she turned down the stage version of “The Rose Tattoo,” which Tennessee Williams especially wrote for her, because she felt her English was too shaky. Magnani was persuaded to appear in the film version of “The Rose Tattoo,” and the result was another picture in which she really is the entirety and the essence of everything on screen; the director Daniel Mann lets her scenes play out in very long takes so that we can ride the roller coaster of Magnani’s emotions and all the conflicts she is dramatizing. As Serafina Delle Rose, a woman sexually obsessed with her husband, Magnani has several memorable moments, like the scene where her neighbors come to tell her that her husband has been killed and she cries, “Don’t speak!” and then keeps repeating “Don’t speak” in a higher, strangled voice as she crumples down to the floor. Anna Magnina won an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1955 for The Rose Tattoo. Success made her no easier to get along with. There was another American movie, Wild Is the Wind (1957, Paramount Pictures) shot in Nevada. Her next film was, The Fugitive Kind (1960, United Artists), derived from another Tennessee Williams play, Orpheus Descending. It cast Magnani (then over 50) with Marlon Brando (17 years younger). Magnani’s last major role came in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s “Mamma Roma” (1962), where she plays a streetwalker. She commanded several very long tracking shots, ending one of them with an indelible line that she directs to Jesus up in the sky: “Explain to me why I’m a nobody and you’re the king of kings?” When Magnani became ill, Rossellini got back in contact with her (they hadn’t spoken in 13 years) and sent a note reading, “If you need me, call.” At Magnani’s funeral on September 23, 1973 her death was from pancreatic cancer, and 150,000 or so people came to pay tribute, and they applauded when her casket was carried out of church. She was buried in Rossellini’s family tomb, but then subsequently interred in the Cimitero Comunale of San Felice Circeo in southern Lazio. No one had been more alive than Magnani was, and that enormous vitality of hers is still there to be wolfed down in her most famous movies and enjoyed even in her smallest comedy programmers. They called her “La Lupa,” or “the she-wolf,” and that fierceness is her legacy, that hope that still burned in her eyes no matter how many or how deep her disappointments were. It is the poetic Tennessee Williams who perhaps best captured Magnani’s magnetism: “She is simply a rare being who seems to have about her a little lightning-shot cloud all her own.... In a crowded room she can sit perfectly motionless and silent and still you feel the atmospheric tension of her presence, its quiver and hum in the air like a live wire exposed.”

[@TheMorganVEVO]

I first learned about Anna Magnani in an Italian Cinema class recently. I’m obsessed with her now. 😁

[@sanfordpress54]

Me too! obsessed

[@mariaward1213]

'I salute brotherhood, the world of art and Anna Magnani.' ''

[@hadbetterdays]

There is a scene at the end of Volver where Carmen Maura watches an old Anna Magnani movie. The scene has Anna getting ready, with her bra, brushing her hair in front of the mirror. It's no coincidence. Pedro wanted to pay homage to women he knew all his life and grew up with (heavily influencing Penelope Cruz's character's look and persona in the film). And who better than Anna Magnani to represent them?

[@TracyMcDowell]

This is still my favorite of all the videos as of 2021

[@mattterranova2654]

I LOVED her in Tattoo! The very first time I watched it 30 + yrs ago her performance is one of a few that made me appreciate not just classic film but the art of REAL acting. True talent. She was terrific!

[@caseyaulbach7693]

Been following your channel for a few months now, and this is probably your best video to date. Keep up the great work!

[@NopeYiersan]

THANK YOU for pronouncing the "gn" sound right! You're one of the first non-Italians I've ever heard doing it right

[@tremilius]

Davvero! E' stata bravissima a pronunciare tutte le parole italiane (tranne Stromboli) in verita.

[@AnnaGirardini]

“Lollobrigida” wasn’t an easy one 👍🏻

[@alokinrainborn]

another one and a golden one, yet again! You're an amazing content creator with sucha pleasant voice and great info! I am genuinely happy when I get a bell notification that you have uploaded smth.! LOVE FROM SERBIA!

[@francisco.mrsm.22]

I watched Rome, Open City this year for an International Film class and her performance stood out against the rest of the main cast. Her drive and power in the movie were enigmatic, and her death scene is still one of the moments in the movie that stands out in my mind. Great video as always, and I like the recommended movie list you did for this and the Judy video. I struggle with knowing where to begin exploring actors' older filmography, so this has really helped me focus view more.

[@chizembi2997]

Only a little monster would put the Gaga meme. I've never stanned this page more!

[@AJ_582]

Congrats on the sponsor! I always look forward to your videos. I always learn so much

[@nujeru99]

Such a FANTASTIC video. I watched “The Rose Tattoo” for the first time only a couple of years ago, and was immediately stunned and drawn into Magnani’s electric performance. She was so believable, so unapologetically organic, and so electric in every scene she’s in Also I LOVE how you bluntly called the Hollywood studio system on the carpet for Jennifer Jones’ casting in Love is a Many Splintered Thing. Yellowface doesn’t get the traction in America that Blackface does, but it was just as insulting and hideous...and has gone on for just as long

[@windstorm1000]

My acting coach, whose one of the best in America, said the two greatest actors were/are Anna and Vanessa Redgrave (another narrative!)-- instinctive, yes authentic, so natural, passionate and much more . She also said that Anna never did her craft the safe way like so many actors. She took chances risks. Went all out. Anna during takes in a scene said " lets do one more take for couraggio/courage". Inother words always go all out. Very instructive! . THATS Anna great artist . And we, her audience, are recipients of this greatness, enjoy, are inspired by this couraggio. Anna obviously way ahead of her time. In time of glam hwood she bucked the trend with authentic for sure. It took mainstream hwood another ten years to catch up more fully. Definitely a maverick.

[@chavl597]

I first saw her in “Belissima” and i immediately fell in love with her acting.

[@vickinoeske1711]

Where have I been all my life never having heard of this actress? Thanks for the education.

[@brettthebad]

Thank you so much - I've never forgotten her....

[@corgeousgeorge]

I have never heard of this actress, as always your channel brings such insight and perspective, your research is so very commendable!

[@Dennisanyone-]

One of the top 5 best actress performances. Love me some Anna. She got quite the ovation when she presented best actor to Yul Brynner the year following her win, but was a no show for her win.

[@gaber1346]

I’m so happy you put the recommendations at the end of the video again like you did with Judy so helpful for film buffs in training like me 😊

[@lizd.8655]

I'm ashamed that I didn't know who this woman was and since this video first came out, I'm proud to say that I've watched some of your recommended films and I'm now in love! It sucks that she's been eclipsed in recent memory by the Bergman-Rossellini scandal and more "conventional" Italian beauties like Loren but I'm grateful that she still managed to leave an amazing legacy behind

[@Paintergrl1313]

She’s beautiful in an authentic way. She’s unaltered, she’s not faking it. It’s an easy going beauty and that did not jive with 1950s attitudes. It’s a damn shame really.

[@michaelkahn1984]

So happy you made a video on Magnani. There is so little info about her out there. No major or real biographies, almost zero content of any kind. Been trying to track down lots of her work for years to no avail. That scene in Mama Roma when she is walking down the street, waxing poetic about her life. Ugh. Easily one of the best acted scenes in cinema history. Ever always, wonderful content. Cheers dudette!

[@andresland182]

Yay! I came across a notification of your video only after 51 seconds after having been uploaded! And what a great choice: Anna Magnani. Anna was amazing and this video show depth and teaches us how she became a game changer and showed, what you said, reality in her performance. I also liked what you said on women of color and institutional barriers (please, people in the back, listen!) And now I want to see a video on Miyoshi Umeki. Your videos make my day (and I know I am not the only one hwo feels that way).

[@Wendell_Lee]

Yay! For having a sponsor!! Makes my day when you upload!! ♥️♥️

[@outinsider]

I watched The Rose Tattoo ages ago when I was a teenage classic movie fan in the early 2000s, and Magnani was just visceral. Naturally, authentically visceral. Thank you for writing this tribute to her that I didn't know I needed reminding of. Also, I love Meryl in The Bridges of Madison County and thought after watching The Rose Tattoo that Bridges was Meryl's Magnani role. I just hope that when I see the movies again that I won't think that it would be possible for Meryl to have appropriated Magnani for her portrayal. But, I just think of that scene in the truck and the rain, and that is all Meryl. I cannot wait for your next video!

[@tisarareal.2223]

Thank you so much for doing this video essay! She's been my favorite actress since I saw A Human Voice, when I was a child.

[@cakredi4132]

*Anna can play in one of today's movies and still be relevant.* Be Kind Rewind, please make an episode about the Queen of Noir, Veronica Lake. Thank you.

[@vintagesubliminals3398]

THANK YOU! What a wonderful video

[@iwasrootingforyou8872]

i hope you do Supporting Actresses and Best/Supporting Actors in the near future

[@jenm3056]

Wahoo!!! This was beautiful. I have loved Anna Magnini for decades and this was so beautifully done with both the historical and contemporary contexts. Thank you for such incredible work.

[@chrisdimopoulos3768]

Thanks so much for this. She s my all time favorite.

[@King-hz2uj]

So happy that you finally got a sponsor. You deserve it for your hardwork and research in making these videos. Next please: Meryl Streep in Sophie’s Choice :)

[@JohnSydney225]

I think Anna Magnani is a very talented and remarkably beautiful woman. She looks like your everyday person walking on the street. She doesn't need makeup or glitz and glamour to get a role, or for me to think she's one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen.

[@fitnessfreak7851]

I've heard of her, but didn't know much about her...thank you for giving this talented actress a spotlight on your video.

[@nursen2106]

as a child (maybe 10 or 11) I saw Mama Roma on TV. even tough, I didn't get everything, because my mother interrupted a lot, I remember the key scenes even now - 35 years later. even as child I understood, that she was the key to the whole film. that she was carrying it with her performance. first, I found it interesting to see all the children performing to make it into a film as little actresses, but then it was all about that mother and her feeling as mother and as a person from the low class. sharing all that she suddenly becomes a very strong person. very impressive.

[@eamonndeane587]

Thank You for Bringing attention to Anna Magnani here. I definitely will check out more of her Work.