Here in the United States, Italian actor and director Rossano Brazzi is usually remembered as the star of such American film classics as South Pacific, Summertime and Three Coins In The Fountain. What we don't always realize is just how truly international and extensive his career was. He was a hugely popular stage and screen actor in his native Italy for well over a decade before his first American film, considered at a very early age to be one of the best and brightest young stars of the Italian theater. He then astonished critics and public alike, at the age of twenty-four, with his electric film portrayal of a middle aged Edmund Kean in Dumas' Kean, and delivered a critically acclaimed and award-winning performance in the Italian film classic Noi Vivi/Addio Kira("We The Living/ Goodbye Kira") two years later. He starred in at least twenty-eight films before arriving in the United States in 1939 for his first film (Little Women), among them Tosca, as Mario Cavaradossi, I due Foscari as the young Jacopo Foscari, Una donna dell'ovest ("Girl of the Golden West"), which was the first Italian western ever made, and the enormously popular Aquila nera ("Black Eagle") series. He made films in France, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Great Britain. He starred in several popular telenovelas and TV movies in Italy and at least two European (and one American) television series. In his 55-year career, he acted in (and/or directed) over 230 films, as well as maintaining a presence in Italy as an accomplished stage actor.
Above, left: Rossano Brazzi and French model Miriam Bru, Venice Grand Hotel, 1955.
Updated Recently
A new section has been added to the web site: Latest News and Updates. When something has been added to the web site, it will appear either here, or, more likely, in the "Latest News" section. Check Latest News and Updates even if the date on this page hasn't changed.
Added to the web site: the text and photos of a wonderful piece on his lovemaking techniques. (Keep in mind that this was written and photographed in the mid 1950's when "lovemaking" meant something entirely different than it does today. Then, it meant, "getting a woman so weak in the knees and pliable that she might actually welcome a deep, soul-searching kiss".) And, of course, no one was more skilled at this art than Rossano. This was from Parade Magazine from the Chicago Sun-Times dated October 16, 1955, and included some photographs he'd agreed to pose for, with French model Miriam Bru. Had to be one of the best jobs Miriam ever had - she appears to be more than pliable by the conclusion of the photo shoot. His verbal description of the process is also illuminating ("...I treat the girl as if no other woman existed. She is the object of my eyes, my heart, my worship ..."), so if you can tear yourself away from the visuals, check out the text.
Also in the Library is an ad from January 1955 for the trans-Atlantic ocean liner, the S.S. United States. Rossano appeared in the ad as one of their repeat passengers - when this photo (left) was taken for the advertisement, he was, according to the caption, on his 9th crossing! The full text reads: "9th crossing. Italian film star Rossano Brazzi knows that traveling on the S.S. UNITED STATES is a vacation in itself. There are acres of deck space, a gym, swimming pool, three Meyer Davis orchestras, and first-run movies every night." (Wonder if they ever showed any of his movies, while he was onboard?)
The fuller plot of "Per Amore, Per Magia" has also been added to the film page. There are also a few photos from the movie on the site, http://digilander.libero.it/morandissima/index3.htm, which is, of course, a web site dedicated to singer Gianni Morandi. Also in the film was another famous Italian singer (think of her as Italy's Celine Dion of the 1950's): Mina. Now - if we could only find a copy of the film!For those unfamiliar with Gianni Morandi - if you ever get the chance to watch a video or listen to a CD, do so. He has by now attained almost legendary status in Italy and certainly in other countries as well - it is to our great detriment here in the United States and in other western nations, that we tend not to import non-English-speaking music, as it has prevented us from truly appreciating Morandi's astounding career and talent. A true family man, he has also performed in films with his daughter, while his son Marco can be typically seen behind Dad on the concert stage, playing drums.
Two New Videos
The Survivors
Tosca
Brazzi Fans' Thoughts On ...
I've been collecting various opinions on aspects of Rossano's career and films that really didn't fit on a specific movie page, but fell into the category of "General Discussions". Best way to make those available to everyone was to create a separate section for them. It will take me a while to get them typed and uploaded ... but to start off that section, here are:
A New Biography!
A new biography has been released in pamphlet format in Italy. As we are listed as a source of information for the biography, there is little in a purely historical sense that you don't already know ... BUT the author, Fulco Scarpellini, did provide some additional films for the filmography, some additional awards that we didn't know about, some additional theatrical performances, some photos you definitely haven't seen, as well as a few comments from friends and family that are heartwarming to read. I've done my best translating the full text, and have contacted Signor Scarpelli asking for original copies of the pamphlet for those who are interested. Until I can lay my hands on an original (as opposed to a xeroxed copy), I do apologize for the photos. Once I can scan the originals, I'll replace them.
One thing I didn't actually know - but probably suspected, given conversations with various fans over the years - was his truly spiritual nature that found direction through some truly powerful dreams he had throughout his life. The ring he wore throughout his life - the three faces of the Muse - was actually a gift to him from his first girlfriend, whose death by leukemia he learned of through a dramatic dream, one in which she delightedly predicted an astounding future for him ... he also anticipated his wife Lidia's illness via another dream, before the doctors diagnosed her illness.
You'll really enjoy this one!
"Ingiusta Condanna (1952)"
Is due to be re-released!! The rights to this film have been acquired by a distributor, but unfortunately, we can't yet tell you by whom, or when, or in what format ... but as it was released in the U.S. as ">"Guilt Is Not Mine", I've been told it's dubbed, unfortunately. When we have more information on this, you'll be the first to know.
"A Latin Lover Looks At American Women"
This article was found in the August 25, 1957 issue of "Family Weekly", published out of Chicago. In this, Rossano claims that he and Lidia took a "motor trip" across the country, so that he could learn more about American women. They did take the motor trip - but the real reason was that Rossano hated flying. "Women-watching" was just one of the added attractions. Makes you wonder what the waitresses in Iowa rest stops thought when they looked up and found Rossano Brazzi standing there! The text and accompanying photos from this article can be found by clicking here.
Autographs
We've come across some really interesting Rossano Brazzi autographs, either through autograph sellers, or sold by people on E-Bay and other sites ... some of them actually his. To make it easier on those trying to ascertain if an autograph is genuine, we've collected a series of autographs we know to be his - for example, those provided by his family, and other great examples which match the first. Go to the autograph page for some examples.
We're also trying to collect samples of those autographs which were, in fact, signed by either Lidia or her father (who managed Rossano's fan mail for a while, when it became simply too overwhelming for him to do it all himself) - so, if you have one, cheer up - at least it was signed by someone who lived with him!
Fatal Frames Now Available
The DVD version of "Fotogrammi Mortali" (aka "Fatal Frames") was available as of August 22nd via Amazon.com --
while this isn't - as you know - the best film Rossano ever made, it is his final one ... you can read all about his
involvement with the film on the Fatal Frames page, and you can order the film from
Amazon.com.
More Films In The Filmography
What do Rossano Brazzi and Taster's Choice coffee have in common? (And we don't mean being stimulating to wake up with, in the morning!) The correct answer to that question would be "Anthony Head". Head, currently known in the United States as a regular on "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" first gained notoriety as "the intriguing romantic lead in a dozen Taster's Choice commercials, each tracing the budding romance between two neighbors who share a love for the same coffee." Back in 1987, however, he co-starred with Rossano in yet another television movie in Italy we haven't been able to find: "Devil's Hill" ("La collina del diavolo"). If anyone has a copy of it, drop us a line:
Devil's Hill (1987)Television movie, 1987, Italy, directed by Vittorio Sindoni. Story by Nicola Badalucco. Produced by Massimo Saraceni. Shot on location in South America and Europe. Released as a 100-minute feature film and as a 4-episode miniseries. Also distributed in English. Other title: La Collina del Diavolo.
Cast: Anthony Head, Tony Musante, Iris Peynado, Francisco Rabal, Rossano Brazzi, and Oscar Colina.
L'elemento D (1984)
Also found on the IMDB for 1984, an Italian television film, "L'elemento D", with Rossano listed as the only cast member thus far.
Anchi I ladri hanni un santo" (1981)
Perhaps the recent monumental success of Roberto Benigni's "Life is Beautiful", and everyone's enchantment with the animated personality of Benigni himself, results in the re-release of some of his past films - among them, "Anchi I ladri hanni un santo" (1981). The English version of that would be, "Even Thieves Have a Patron Saint" ... and according to the not always 100% accurate folks over at the Internet Movie Database, the cast of characters in that film were Roberto Benigni and Rossano Brazzi, the director was Giampiero Tartagni and the producer of the film was ... Oscar Brazzi. What we wouldn't give to find THAT movie ... if it exists .... which it doesn’t, on Benigni’s filmography, anyway. If anyone can come to the bottom of that mystery, we’d be very grateful!
Miscellany
Does anyone out there have a copy of -- or ANY memorabilia from -- the 1972-1973 Tony Awards??? Rossano was a presenter, and
we'd love to hear from you. Drop us a line at Brazzi!
Be sure and watch for re-runs of the American Movie Classics network's "Real-to-Reel" series, when they air re-runs of a special documentary entitled "Hollywood Screen Tests, Take 1". Among the screen tests discovered in 20th Century Fox film vaults is Christine Carere's screen test for "A Certain Smile". And, of course, assisting her in her screen test is Rossano, in some never-before-seen footage. The confusion begins when Rossano enthuses about the singing acoustics found in bathrooms, Christine is embarrassed by the public discussion of anyone doing anything in a bathroom, and, in the absense of a common language, together they almost set Italo-Franco relations back about 30 years ... well, you'll see what happens. Please do tune in -- you'll love it!
Television Schedule
Rossano's movies for the current month can be located courtesy of TV Now.com, and can be found by clicking here..
We're also proud to continue with Chapter Four of our ongoing "SERIAL" ... translating a French storybook on one of his films and providing it in monthly segments with accompanying photos in a serial format ... you'll learn to hate those dreaded words, "to be continued!" ...
Strange Links
We've collected a few this month that you might find interesting ... or not ...
You might not have known that "The Italian Job" has developed into quite a cult classic ... with groups of fans of the film re-enacting the famous car chase between Italy and Great Britain. If you enjoyed the classic cars, as well as Rossano's opening "blowing up the Miura" scene, you'll enjoy the web site dedicated to The Italian Job.
Greetings to Mombasa, Kenya! This was one of our favorite finds on the Internet - this is a web site that scans postcards so that you can send postcards to everyone you know, over the Internet - saving you the trouble of touring to a far-away location, buying a card, standing on line in a foreign post office for postage and then returning home long before your postcard does! At some point, this self-titled “tacky-postcard-mailing service” located a postcard with Rossano on it, and decided to do a little research on him. Which is how they found our web site. Their comments on the site itself are pretty funny: “I had no idea who this guy was when I first saw this card, but I knew he had to be important to merit that much photo- retouching. Later, it occurred to me that I really should find out who he is before including him in the Archive." You should go check out the site, say "Hi!" and send a postcard to everyone you know. (And who said he had his photo re-touched?
It seems that more than one actor has picked up their European accents by listening to Rossano's voice. The first is a popular character ("Stefano") on a daily soap opera; the second, it turns out, is Christopher Walken. Walken was interviewed recently, and described how he came by his accent. Check out the enjoyable Walken interview.
Lastly, after receiving quite a few letters asking about recordings of the songs associated with Rossano's movies,
we've begun to do a little research on that very subject, and have found quite a few of them. Of course, we started with
the easier songs, and it may take us a while before we find them ALL. Some of them might be surprising - did you know
that The Temptations recorded "Some Enchanted Evening"? (Neither did we, until we found the recording!) It seems that
lots of these songs have been recorded by numerous artists in numerous styles (jazz, pop, soul, country, classical,
instrumental and Jamaican reggae, so far), so, no matter what your preference is, chances are you'll find a version you'll
enjoy. Here are the songs we've located recordings of, so far:
This Nearly Was Mine
Three Coins In The Fountain
Summertime in Venice
A Certain Smile
The information in this web page is provided by BRAZZI!, the official Rossano Brazzi International Network, sanctioned
by the Brazzi family, and serving as his estate's representative here in the United States. The information on this site
is also available in a newsletter format which, until full color photographs can be downloaded in 10 seconds from a
Web Site without crashing your hard drive, provides much more in the way of artwork and photographs. If you, or someone
you know, would like to receive copies of the newsletter, our mailing address is:
331 West 57th Street
Box 269
New York, New York 10019
E-Mail: chiara2@aol.com
In the meanwhile, here you can find his filmography, a more extensive biography than any other source provides, a list of videos available and possible sources for them, all of the cast, crew and production information that we could find on as many Rossano Brazzi films as we could locate, lists of newsletter articles the members of the Network have provided, little factoids of information you might not have known, and some selected articles from past newsletters, dating back to 1995.
If you would like to contribute to this web site, we encourage anyone who has seen or enjoyed any of Rossano's movies to add a review or a synopsis of your own (see the individual film pages for "Viewer Feedback"). For those with more ... er ... poetic tendencies, we offer you the opportunity to forget everything you ever learned about writing good poetry and join us in the on-going "World's Worst Ode to Rossano Brazzi" contest, inspired by an anonymous American Brazzi-phile in the 1950's. (Again, see the Newsletter 1995-1997 section!). Within a few months, by request, we'll have merchandise for sale, as well. Anything else you might want to see in this one unified source of information on Rossano Brazzi, let us know. Researching his international career is an ongoing process, and we're always delighted to hear from his fans, friends and peers with information to contribute and thoughts to share.
Parliamo l'italiano.
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Rossano on TV this month
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