Anna Magnani and Authenticity | 1956

imagine your typical to 1950s movie star maybe you're thinking of someone like Marilyn Monroe beautifully made up in a dress that clings in all the right places or maybe you're thinking of someone like Doris Day wholesome perky ready to serenade with a song maybe are thinking about an elegant fashion icon like Grace Kelly or Audrey Hepburn there are those archetypes and then there's Anna mignon II described as volcanic forceful and high-voltage man Yanni broke Hollywood's traditional notion of stardom and in the process and a new benchmark for excellence in acting in 1956 she became the first Italian actress to win the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in the Rose Tattoo of course she wouldn't be the last and not Best Actress but just for good measure well I'm Italian I'm Italians though Anna mignon II may not necessarily be a household name today or even your first thought we can think about stars of the 1950's her work in Italian and American cinema has caused critics historians and actors alike to consistently rank her as one of the greatest actresses of all time so in this video we'll explore why the conditions that caused her exposure in America why audiences fell in love with her and what exactly distinguished her from her peers in Hollywood before we get started I want to say thank you to Skillshare for sponsoring this video Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes that anyone can join so be sure to stay tuned to the end of this episode to learn more about how Skillshare can work for you this story begins in the aftermath of world war ii Europe was devastated and faced the enormous task of resuming some semblance of normal life bit by bit nations were slowly recovered rebuilding their infrastructure and the industries that had thrived before the war including the film industry the conflict had virtually frozen the foreign film market in the United States but studios began to actively attempt to recapture that market as things started to pick up so by 1947 the film import boom was on theatres in every major city dedicated themselves to exhibiting foreign films films like Roberto Rossellini's Rome open city Rome Open City he follows members of the Italian resistance as they evade detection during the Nazi occupation of Rome in 1944 born out of a desire to authentically portray the hardships caused by the war and frankly by a lack of resources to do anything else italian neorealists filmmakers like Rossellini rejected hollywood's polished sentimental style of filmmaking instead they took to the streets using documentary like cinematography to capture those stories of ordinary working-class people employing a blend of professional and non-professional actors their films were meant to evoke real life not to be a venue for escape among the professional hired actors was Anna mignon II in what is now one of the most famous scenes in cinematic history Ana's character pina realizes her fiance has been taken into custody she pushes past Nazi guards to chase him down but meets of Ruta lend her furious breakaway sprint and blood-curdling cries in the scene required a physicality and raw desperation that had been absent in American cinema especially for women critics and audiences responded to Rome open city with shock Bosley Crowther of the New York Times wrote that it's candid overpowering realism made it unquestionably one of the strongest dramatic films yet made about the recent war on an even won best actress from the National Board of Review now on Aman Yanni's stage and screen performance is as witty working heroines have garnered her moderate fame in Italy but before Rome open city most Americans had no idea who she was still even after just one film it was clear that she was an entirely new phenomenon as scholar Elle Bailey McDaniel wrote for American audiences mignon II represented exactly what Hollywood had consistently failed to produce reality the non glamorous human being and for audiences conditioned by Hollywood's expectations reality is exotic that non glamorous part was probably the most noticeable difference between Anna and her American contemporaries unlike the typical Hollywood superstar Anna did not slather her face with heavy makeup or obsess over the latest fashions she looked like a real person and to be honest had the best dark circles I have ever seen I am obsessed still the press could not let her live and discuss her appearance in very blunt terms her audiences find her ugly one New York Times article stated they point to her squarish short body set on thin legs they say she never combs her pitch black hair which straggles unevenly about her a regularly cut face one fan magazine added that her success was somewhat unexpected given that she was not a raving beauty and had rather large teeth and it was surprising honestly 1950s society did not forgive difference very easily but there she was a nearly 50 year old woman in an industry that thinks women die when they turned 35 yet each article that wasted a paragraph insulting her looks quickly made sure to explain that in spite of all that her fans remained loyal American audiences could apparently excuse her lack of glamour because she was literally explosive as an actress so much so that she was frequently referred to as the most impressive actress since Greta Garbo yet she and Garbo captivated audiences in entirely different ways Garbo was an untouchable elegant aloof goddess man Yanni was one of the people as relatable as a neighbor like the shanwa that made her famous Anna aimed for authenticity and naturalism she added small improvisation to familiarize her dialogue and more accurately mimic real conversation she moved fluidly through her space like it was a home not a set with marks to hit so her screen presence especially compared to her American peers feels less like a performance than it does a genuine expression of emotion audiences quickly caught on and pointed out how her acting was so natural that you felt like you were living with her critics and scholars in search of ways to describe Ana style and emotional intensity literally turned to nature for the right words she's volcanic she erupt she's a tigress a tempest the word earthy comes up a lot essentially a veiled acknowledgement of maternal and working-class associations after Rome Open City as the foreign film market continued to bloom Ana's films more frequently made their way to the United States again and again she earned rave reviews for films like the miracle one critic wrote that her performance in Cocteau's the human voice was one of the greatest pieces of film acting ever seen her international reputation increased considerably after the release of bellissima in 1951 when honest spent several weeks promoting the film in New York familiarizing herself with the press interviews parties a reception with an ambassador a television appearance even tea with Betty Davis who by the way called honor the greatest actress she'd ever seen her name also became tabloid fodder when Roberto Rossellini left her for Ingrid Bergman during the filming of Stromboli the affair scandalized the American public who as I mentioned were not a very forgiving people and could not believe that a married respectable woman like Ingrid Bergman could fall in love and worse get pregnant with a man who was not her husband on of course was devastated but happened to fall on the right side of the scandal for the American press the affair cast her in the role of the discarded mistress victim and pathetic underdog by 1952 my nannies work was well known to the American entertainment community especially the circles in New York City among her fans was playwright Tennessee Williams eager to collaborate with the actress he found the sexiest he wrote the Rose Tattoo specifically with Anna in mind the play follows Serafina delle Rosa an Italian immigrant and seamstress who is obsessed with her husband after his untimely death she assumes an epic grief and goes into virtual seclusion for three years as her idealized image of him begins to unravel she learns to accept his death and pursues the affection of another man Anna did not accept the role in the play's initial Broadway run fearing that her English was not developed enough to adequately portray the character but after testing her english and jean renoir is the golden coach she took on Serafina in the film version in 1955 finally audiences saw men Yanni's neo-realist style transplanted into an American film as usual the excellence is in the details her hands as her neighbors come to tell her her husband has died the way she refuses a woman's business under her breath one of the most startling aspects of the film was as photoplay put it the film's forthright and healthy approach to the subject of sex Serafina was revolutionary in her unapologetic sexuality though not explicit by today's standards the film subverted the 1950s wholesome domestic caretaker stereotype by giving her real desires without shaming her for example mcdaniel notes that in several scenes Burt Lancaster's body is literally laid out for visual consumption represented through sarafina's point of view because of this sensors initially greeted the Rose Tattoo with resistance but unlike several of his other stage two film adaptations Williams preserved the themes for the most part critics raved and the Oscar predictions began al Steen wrote in motion picture daily that even if some of the patrons don't like the story the acting of Miss manana would be such a conversation topic that others will want to see it out of curiosity most critics will miss their guesses if she doesn't win an Oscar or at least a nomination the independent film Journal agreed the glowing and impetuous performance given by the Italian star will long be remembered and will certainly win an Oscar nomination perhaps the acting plum itself that spring Ana was nominated for Best Actress alongside Katherine Hepburn in summertime as a single woman who falls in love while traveling alone in Venice Jennifer Jones in love is a many-splendored thing as God helped me a Eurasian doctor who falls in love with an American reporter during the Chinese Civil War Eleanor Parker and interrupted melody as opera singer Marjorie Lawrence who built a new career after her polio diagnosis and Susan Hayward in I'll cry tomorrow as actress Lillian Roth who uses AAA to overcome her alcoholism Hayward then a four-time nominee and one of the industry's top box office draws was considered honest top competition for the award recently divorced she'd gone through a bout of depression herself that had resulted in a suicide attempt she survived thanks to the help of emergency medical workers but the vulnerability of that time pride Susan open and the performance including a scene in which her character attempt suicide shows it though sometimes outlandish she really commits to the film's grisly portrayal of alcoholism and earned extra points for singing all the songs herself Eleanor Parker had to fight for the role of the real-life stage star Marjorie Lawrence the producer of the film Jack Cummings believed Eleanor was too ordinary and mild-mannered to play a diva like her and furious at this news Eleanor stormed into Cummings office and outlined her vision for the character in the most diva way she possibly could she earned the role some of the best reviews of her career and her third Oscar nomination but as margarita land Azuri points out over on TCM MGM chose to put his promotional clout behind four-time nominee susan hayward instead love is a many-splendored thing was considered somewhat of a comeback for jennifer jones her husband David O Selznick had micromanage her career which turned off a lot of producers who weren't interested in his interference or frankly her IC personnel and caused opportunities to dry up obviously Jennifer Jones was not Asian and yet here she is in yellow face playing one and it's not like there weren't Chinese women they could have hired Lin Dai lucilla you Mon Malia and Lili quoi to name a few but they didn't because the censors had concerns about portraying an actual interracial couple rather than I guess a fake one so once again for the people in the back institutional barriers have prevented women of color from attaining equal opportunities in film and white women have specifically benefited from that oppression this offense seems particularly egregious given that just two years later Asian actresses were cast in sayonara including Miyoshi you meki who remains the only Asian woman to have an acting Oscar like the Rose Tattoo and love is a many-splendored thing summertime faced some resistance from the censors who were bothered by its relatively casual representation of adultery still the film's overall merits were hard to deny and after a few cuts it won their approval katharine hepburn eager to work with British director David Lean accepted the role after Shirley booth was passed over for being too old despite the fact that she had won a Tony for the play version the time of the cuckoo just one year earlier paramount mobilised considerable resources to advertise the Rose Tattoo wherever possible on agrees the cover of Parade magazine giving readers a glimpse into her Italian home while producer Hal Wallis personally participated in a large-scale promotional campaign to several key cities where he conducted interviews with critics about the making of the film still I never believed she would win and chose not to attend the ceremony after her name was called Marisa Pavan who played her daughter in the Rose Tattoo accepted on her behalf as is the case now paramount saw a substantial monetary boost in ticket sales for the Rose Tattoo after Anna's Oscar win despite the financial incentives and the rave reviews Mon Yanni's career in Hollywood was somewhat short-lived she earned another Best Actress nomination in 1958 for wild as the wind but as Tony Mitchell points out she was eclipsed by the softer more conventional and optimistic beauty of Sofia and Gina Lollobrigida who were more easily assimilated into stereotypes of Italian sensuality as a new era of filmmaking began in the 1960s the reality is exotic but fantasy is to ottoman Yanni's lack of artificiality complicated the notion of stardom in a way that no previous Best Actress winner had both aesthetically and stylistically she was an anomaly in her time and in some ways she would be an anomaly in ours we live in an extravagantly aesthetic society and her over rejection of glamour would be as subversive today as it was then if not more still her influence is undeniable and resonates throughout the Best Actress category think about how Jane Fonda improvised one of the most powerful scenes include or how Jenna Rowland's earned a nomination for what is essentially an indoor neo-realist film if you're looking to explore money Yanni's work for the first time here are a few places you could get started my hope is that obviously you enjoy the films and the performances but also that they inspire some questions about the relationship between celebrity performance and authenticity today people ask me pretty often how long it takes me to make a video and while that definitely varies depending on that but so that I'm making the same thing is true every single time it takes the most time for me to write the essay sometimes it's just hard to get your thoughts out on paper which is why something like Skillshare is so good for me Skillshare is an online community with thousands of classes covering dozens of creative and entrepreneurial skills Premium Membership gives you unlimited access so you can join the classes and communities that are just right for you so let's say you wanted to make your own video essay about how Grace Kelly deserved her Oscar I don't know why you would want to make that video but let's say you did there is a writing class specifically about writing for the internet and writing shareable good video content so you can learn how to do that really easily and avoid some of the mistakes that I've been making with Skillshare Skillshare is also incredibly affordable especially when it comes to pricing in-person classes and workshops an annual subscription is less than ten dollars a month because Skillshare is sponsoring this video you can sign up with with the link in the description and get a two month free trial the link is right down there in the description and you know what useless but I'm gonna put it up right on the screen right now so go sign up try it out let me know you think back to my patrons [Music] [Music]

Channel: Be Kind Rewind

Views: 106,593

Rating: 4.9550734 out of 5

Keywords: Anna Magnani, The Rose Tattoo, Academy Awards, Best Actress, Oscars, Rome Open City, 1955, 1956, Katharine Hepburn, Summertime, Susan Hayward, I'll Cry Tomorrow, Love is a many-splendored thing, Jennifer Jones, Eleanor Parker, Interrupted Melody, Tennessee Williams, Roberto Rossellini

Id: L3DdzN6Ji7M

Length: 16min 45sec (1005 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 25 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/AlwaysSunnyDragRace]

I love it too. I love the analysis when Julie Andrews won for Mary Poppins. Very comprehensive.

[u/filmlover23]

There was a day at work that I literally watched four of these in a row!