Hello everyone and welcome 
back to my channel
today we're here to talk about Italy
well Italy in classic movies
in romantic classic movies 
which is and it is not the same thing
if you know what I mean
well we're here to talk about 
Italy in romantic classic movies
from the 50s and the 60s
which includes some of my favorites
even though we're heading 
towards September here in Barcelona
it's still super hot and it doesn't 
feel like summer is going anywhere
at least for this week so I thought 
I'd use this last more "summery" week
to talk about classic
romantic or romance movies set in Italy
during the 50s and the 60s 
as I was saying
which tended to also be 
set during the summer
that genre of movies 
the romantic genre
has always
been really special to me
these movies have been always
a real treat for me
and I think we all need a bit 
of escapism from time to time
and that's what these 
movies essentially offer
and that is why I
wanted to share five movies
that in my opinion 
are delightful to watch
full disclosure this week's video could
have also been titled
"let's take a look at Rossano 
Brazzi's filmography"
because three out of the five movies
that I will talk about today
include this Italian actor in the cast
also to put this week's video topic 
into perspective
I'll say that the relationship 
between Italy and Hollywood
goes way back but it was really after
World War II when this European country
started to be used more
and more as a film set
as more Hollywood productions 
were filmed in Italy
the worldwide success of Roman Holiday
Italy and more specifically Rome
became a huge worldwide
love destination
and especially in terms of classic
movies and Hollywood
it was very much like Paris 
the epitome of romance and passion
there were also the famous
Cinecittà studios
which became the largest European studios
and became the center point of film 
productions in the european continent
with examples such as the aforementioned
Roman Holiday
Ben Hur or The Barefoot Contessa
aside from that if we think 
about romantic movies
and romantic comedies and dramas
the setting tends to be a very 
important part of the story
much like fairy tales with which 
they tend to have a very close connection
in terms of argument and stories
these type of films need in many instances 
some sort of different background
from your everyday life
sometimes just a set of extraordinary circumstances 
or unusual circumstances taking place
sometimes everything coming together
but in any case, the setting
is very important in romance movies
Italy has been a very enticing place 
for literature and other arts
so it's no wonder that it ended 
up having such an impact
especially in Hollywood movies 
since also the US
have had lots much like other countries
lots and lots of Italian immigration
the Italian culture is very present
within I think
and I'm by no means an expert
in US culture
so it is no wonder
that there are so many examples 
of romantic movies and other genres as well
set in Italy or very much 
related to Italy
I personally can understand 
that fascination
as I've been lucky enough 
to travel to Italy several times
and it is a beautiful country
I love the food, I love the music,
I love the culture, the arts
the language
but we also have to keep in mind 
that the image of the cities, of Italy
that those film provide is in most cases 
an idealization of the country
or a very stereotyped look
but at the same time i'm not trying 
in this video to discuss realism
or an accurate portray of Italy
we're talking about romantic movies 
which again much like fairy tales
they occupy a special place in my heart 
where fantasy, imagination
suspense of disbelief exists so
as such I will discuss these movies
and although again they
take place in Italian cities
which are displayed 
wonderfully before us
and we have some Italian characters too
there's always an idealization
of the culture, the country 
so again as such
we're going to view or talk about
romantic movies set in Italy
so with no more ado 
let's jump into it!
the first movie we'll talk about is
you guessed it: Roman Holiday
I bet almost all the tourists that visit
or used to visit Rome
at some point go to la Bocca de la verità
or the Mouth of Truth
that appears in the movie and does the
trick or the joke of the hand
that Gregory Peck does
in this movie
that scene from Roman Holiday is
just as eternal and as iconic
as the city it was set in
as much as this movie helped Audrey 
and Gregory's career a lot
I think it had a great impact in terms of 
the city appeal as a tourist destination
I think that all the elements to be
honest in this case are perfectly balanced
and it is one of those eternal movies that
somehow encapsulate an era, a feeling
and everything was perfect
the cast was perfect
the director, the story
 everything just worked
in case there is anyone 
who hasn't watched the film yet
the story's premise is somewhat reminiscent 
of It Happened One Night
and it tells
the story of a European princess 
on a diplomatic trip to Rome
who escapes her guardians and ends 
up meeting a US journalist
who is in very much in need of a good scoop 
and romance blossoms between them
we also have to remember
that Audrey Hepburn won an Oscar
for Best Actress for this movie
it was her first US movie
she had previously worked
in England, in the UK
but this was her breakthrough role 
she totally made an impact
she won an Oscar and she is magnetic
she is beautiful, she is genuine and
Gregory Peck, I think he is quite
wonderful too in this movie
it was his first comedic role or
role that had comedy bits in it and
he does this brilliantly and
also the way he looks at her 
especially towards the end of the movie
I won't say anything but oh my gosh
the way he looks at her...
I'm always in awe of her of his acting 
it's one of the most beautiful acting
I've ever seen on film
also in the movie we have Eddie Albert 
who plays the photographer friend
of Gregory Peck
he plays some sort of what it 
would be later referred to as a "paparazzi"
which is a term that I believe came later because of the movie La dolce vita
which also takes place in Rome 
and is also quite iconic
all these movies helped increase 
the appeal of Rome
and have had a tremendous impact 
as even up to our days
we find people imitating their scenes 
or acting them out again
and in the case of Roman Holiday
it kind of started a trend of
romantic movies set in Italy
but particularly in Rome
also in terms of the city 
Rome in this film is another character too
it's a bond for the characters 
that they will always share
it reminds me in a way of Casablanca 
with that line "We'll always have Paris"
so for the characters
of Roman Holiday
they could have also perfectly have said
"We'll always have Rome"
and boy the city plays a 
tremendous part on that
i'm just fishing to say that
this movie had and still has 
a tremendous impact on
anyone who watches it and it is
again one of those movies
much like a fairy tale
that you'd like to step into
or be able to step
into at some point
after Roman Holiday came 
Three Coins in the Fountain
and this movie totally represents
your more formulaic 1950s
romantic comedy or melodrama
set in stunning italy
 in Rome again
for this movie they just went straight on
to what audiences wanted
and they gave them almost
four minutes I think or over three minutes
of what it feels like a a beautiful 
travelogue of different spots
different places, stunning 
places in Rome
with the fantastic song of 
Three Coins in the Fountain
sung by Frank Sinatra with 
glorious stereophonic sound, Cinemascope
I mean...
Seeking happiness
thrown by three hopeful lovers
which one will the fountain bless
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
and it feels like the plot is merely 
an excuse to extend
that possibility of keep on
viewing those fantastic Roman places
with also a touch or a dash of 
Venice which is also another of the locations
of the beautiful locations of the movie
the 50s were also that period
which we have discussed 
in other videos
when television was increasingly popular 
and therefore studios in a way to compete
and attract audiences back to
the movie theaters
incorporated different technical 
 improvements in a way to make the experience
of being in a movie theater even 
more amazing for the audience
and also we have here Cinemascope
stereophonic sound
and there was also all those scenes
featuring Rome and the way that 
is shot in the beginning
it's again a way to entice viewers 
back to movie theaters
the plot is paper thin but at the same time even 
though some of the stories or situations
are not realistic at all
at the same time
I think it gives you a feeling of what
the 50s was in terms of the moral standards
you get to see how corporations worked
and Americans working abroad
in this case in Europe
and especially women
what they had to face in those 
days at least you get a hint of that
and it's I think quite interesting
it also has different stories
three stories in this case
so it's quite nice to also see different
characters and situations
happening at the same time 
I think it's quite beautifully and
quite well done
in this case it was directed by Jean Negulesco
who I think before the 50s
he had done quite a few film noirs 
he had directed quite a few film noirs
but in the 50s at least
 that's how I knew him
or came to be aware of his work 
it's in the 50s in comedies
like How to Marry a Millionaire
I think he was quite an efficient
director for this type of movies
as I was saying
this movie has three different stories
and it has six different characters
three men, three women
and one of those men
hold on to your seats is Rossano Brazzi
and the three couples are formed by Jean
Peters and Rossano Brazzi
then we have Maggie McNamara 
and Louis Jourdan
and last we have Dorothy McGuire
and Clifton Webb
all those actors and actresses
 were quite popular at the time
even though some of them are nowadays 
a bit forgotten to be honest
but I think they all worked
pretty well in this movie
in my case the couples that I prefer
are the one formed by Rossano 
and Jean Peters
I think that out of
all the three couples
they are the most passionate 
the one that it feels more real to me
for what they experience
and my other favorite couple
of the movie is the one formed by
Dorothy McGuire and Clifton Webb
which believe it or not have 
great chemistry, I think
in this movie and he's not in his
usual super cynical although he is but
super cynical character
he is somehow balanced by 
Dorothy McGuire who is super funny
in my opinion in this movie
and they both work really well
their relationship is also quite 
relatable and quite funny
they bring the comedy bits in the movie
and I quite enjoy them to be honest
and out of those three couples perhaps 
the couple that is my least favorite
is the one formed by Maggie McNamara 
and Louis Jourdan
they don't seem to 
at least from my perspective
to have that same level of chemistry
to work that well as the other two
and since there's deception
and kind of like this portrayal 
of the woman on the hunt for a man
that whole deception on her part 
which is quite obvious
and when you're watching the movie 
you're like oh no it's not possible
that Louis Jourdan's character is not realizing 
that she is making everything up
in order to like the exact 
same things he does
we also have another character 
within the movie
aside from the city is 
the Fountain of Trevi
which is where the lovers and now pretty much everyone who goes to Rome
throws a coin in order to be able to
return someday to Rome
and that is something that even though
it's really corny
it's very well done and it's very 
nice to watch
and it's something that everyone who has
seen the movie picks up
if you have been to Rome too
you'll know that the fountain doesn't 
look like it does in the movie
for one thing it's normally packed 
with tourists and it's also in a very narrow place
so again Hollywood depiction 
versus reality
very very different 
but all in all I think
it's a very entertaining movie
quite well done and delightful
and it's certainly
a romantic film that I've watched a lot
and that it's always a treat
next movie
this time from the 60s
is Come September which is a film 
that I have previously mentioned
in the video dedicated to Rock Hudson
which i'll leave a card here
so I strongly encourage 
you to watch it if you haven't already
without going back
over what I said back then
I will say that this is in my opinion one of the best classic romantic comedies ever made
and that's because I think 
it has all the elements
a great cast
terrific music
wonderful director
great script
and a beautiful location
it features Milan
 it features Rome briefly
and it features Portofino 
where rock hudson's villa is located
and it's nowadays a
famous vacation spot for celebrities
according to imdb this movie was shot
almost entirely on location
and due to weather conditions
the shooting took almost 12 months
it starred if you haven't 
watched it already
Rock Hudson as I mentioned
Gina Lollobrigida
Bobby Darin
Sandra Dee and also 
wonderful character actor Walter Slezak
they're all quite amazing
I think in here
especially Rock, Gina and Walter 
they nailed it to be honest
but also newcomer Bobby Darin 
and Sandra Dee
were in my opinion very good
and it's again a delightful film to watch
I laugh so much even though 
I know exactly what they're going to say
I always laugh at Rock Hudson's 
reactions when he gets mad
I laugh a lot again at some of 
the lines that Gina Lollobrigida
she's super funny here
laughing at Italian stereotypes
as well and also American 
versus Italian stereotypes
it contains lots of clichés but it's so 
intelligently brought up
and it is so funny to watch
that I just can't help to find it delightful
and again one of the best romantic
 comedies that i've ever seen
the next movie we'll talk about is Summertime
which is a movie that I discovered 
not so long ago to be honest
and it's the second movie in which we'll see
the man of the hour in terms of
 classic romantic movies set in Italy
Rossano Brazzi again
in this instance the film 
takes place in Venice
wonderfully photographed by its 
director David Lean and Jack Hidlyard
and pretty much in the fashion of his famous
movie Brief Encounter we are immersed in an intimate story between two lonely characters
without giving away too much from the movie it tells the story of a middle-aged
secretary from the US who is
taking her dream trip to Venice
and while she's there she falls in love
with an Italian you guessed it again
with Rossano Brazzi's character
and it is quite simple story but
very well told, very beautifully told
it was based on a play by Arthur Laurents
and this original play was called 
The Time of the Cuckoo
but in fact as I read from Katharine
Hepburn's memoir called "Me"
I specifically looked up what she said
about filming Summertime and she said
that basically the script 
was rewritten by David Lean
and she was totally in awe
of the British film director
the way he absorbed everything around him
and in fact it seems that he 
became so enamored with Venice
that it became his second home
as I was
mentioning in the beginning
it is beautifully photographed and shot
especially the first scenes 
when she arrives in Venice
it is so magnificent the way it is
filmed that you can almost feel as
you're walking with her
she plays wonderfully this 
very vulnerable and lonely woman
it was quite a surprise for me
to watch because at first to be honest
I postponed watching this movie 
for a long time
because it felt like it was one 
of those cliche romances
and I couldn't also initially picture
together Katharine Hepburn 
and Rossano Brazzi
they felt very different but a couple of
years ago I was finally able to find it
and it it really surprised me as I said
I found it really beautiful 
they work very well together
one that I regret again postponing 
for so long
the last movie I will talk about today
is called Light in the Piazza
and it's a movie that I recently
very very recently in fact heard about
and was able to find and it's in fact
because of Twitter and also because
of the passing of Olivia de Havilland
because when that happened
I saw on twitter many people
tweeting about
their favorite Olivia de Havilland films 
and this particular film
that I hadn't ever before heard of to be honest
was mentioned quite a lot and it was
also part I believe
of TCM's program for Olivia de Havilland's
for Summer Under the Stars I believe
and it just kept
popping up on twitter and I had to find it
and I also had in mind back then this
idea for a video
so it felt like it was something that
I really had to
find out about
then I learned that Rossano Brazzi 
was again in it
and I just had to totally include it
I just recently watched it
and it's quite different from the rest
of the movies that i mentioned today
there is certainly romance in the movie
but it is an unusual film I would say
and Olivia de Havilland is great in it
as you know she is one of my favorite actresses
as i've made it evident many times and
it is again a different type of romance
in this case Olivia plays the
mother of actress Yvette Mimieux
and they travel to Florence
in this case for the most part of the
movie also Rome
but it's just a small part of the movie
for the most part again
it takes place in Florence, in Firenze
and then we have George Hamilton who
plays the son
of Rossano Brazzi who falls in love with
Yvette's character
so he falls in love with her
and is completely oblivious of anything
else but her kindness 
her goodness and that's all
he cares about
basically the movie is about Olivia's conflict 
between protecting her daughter
and letting her lead a full life
and that's essentially the plot 
of the movie
the romance in this case is between Yvette and George Hamilton's character
and it's a very again pure and naive
kind of romance, first love and i think
Yvette's performance
is quite good as well
I think she's lovely
and she's charming
it is a movie that I found
delightful perhaps a bit long
but all in all it was a movie that I
enjoyed and that I thought it would be
great to include as a little mini
tribute to the late Olivia de Havilland
and you can see many of the sites
the beautiful sites of Florence 
in this movie and you can see the atmosphere
the food, the cafes,
 it is really another movie to
travel through 
to travel with
and be transported to Italy and enjoy some cannelloni
something fun that I found from the movie is that 
their surname is johnson and in Italy
in Florence they're convinced that there
is somehow related to Van Johnson
is like a recurring joke in the movie
and it's really funny
and i'm glad I found out about 
this movie
all right that was all for today's video
taking a look at five of my favorite
classic romantic films
set in Italy there are certainly more
movies that I could have included here
and i'm hoping that in the comments
you'll mention the ones you
loved the most
another movie that I was 
tempted to include
it is a film that it's in fact from the 90s
I don't know how pure we are here with
or I should be
sometimes with classic movies but it is
Only You, I don't know if you have watched it
it is a 90s movie
with Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr
and Bonnie Hunt that I really loved
growing up
I hope this video again made your
imagination soar
that made us all be transported to
lovely lovely Italy
one that I hope to return at some point
and that you also enjoyed my little
 mini tribute to Rossano Brazzi
who was quite omnipresent 
during the 50s and the 60s
in Hollywood productions and
he's in many movies 
that I've enjoyed throughout the years
so here's also my
mini tribute to Rossano Brazzi
so thank you so much for watching!
thank you so much for sharing 
the love for classic movies
for sharing the love for romantic movies
for Italy
as always take care
stay safe and see you all in my next video
Ciao!
 
