Week 4 (28th July 2017): Roberto Benigni

                28th July 2017

                                          

                                                                Roberto Benigni 

Who is Roberto Benigni?

Roberto Benigni was born on October 27, 1952 in Manciano La Misericordia, Castiglion Fiorentino, Tuscany, Italy as Roberto Remigio Benigni. He is an actor and writer, known for Life Is Beautiful (1997), Pinocchio (2002) and The Monster (1994). He has been married to Nicoletta Braschi since December 26, 1991.

He debuted his first film in 1976 with Berlinguer, ti voglio bene (Berlinguer, I Love You). Benigni’s foray as a director was in the 1982 television monologue Tu Mi Turbi (You Disturb Me) which criticized Pope John Paul II. In 1997, La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful) was his most famous film, which he wrote, directed and played in. Benigni received the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film, and it also won a Best Foreign Language Film award.

Films by Roberto Benigni

1.Life is Beautiful (1997)

 

 Life is beautiful is a 1997 italian comedy-drama film directed and starred by Roberto Benigni with co-writer Vincenzo Cerami.Roberto Benigni portrays a Jewish Italian book shop owner named Guido Orefice.Guido uses his imagination to protect his son from the horrid situations in a Nazi concentration camp.This film was mostly inspired by a book called In the End,I beat Hitler by Rubino Romeo Salmoni and Benigni's father,who spent 2 years in a German labour camp during World War 2.The movie became the most famous movie ever made by Benigni.It won the Grand Prix at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, nine David di Donatello Awards, including Best Film, in Italy, and three Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Benigni.

2.The Tiger and The Snow (2005) 

 

The Tiger and The Snow is a 2005 Italian movie directed and starred by Roberto Benigni himself.It is a romantic comedy in Rome and Baghdad during the Iraq War.The movie inspired by a fairy tale called "Sleeping Beauty",features Tom Waits;singer-songwriter as himself in recurring dream sequences and a surprise ending.The movie opens with a celebration of love with poetic references as mentioned in the closing credits.

3.Johnny Stecchino (1991)

Johnny Stecchino is an Italian comedy film starring Roberto Benigni as a protagonist and director.Johnny Stecchino is one of the most collaborations with his wife and co-star,Nicoletta Braschi.It was the highest-grossing film in 1991 during its release in 1991.This film follows the life of Dante, a quirky school bus driver (Benigni) for students with Down syndrome, who bears a striking resemblance to Johnny Stecchino, an Italian mafioso who is wanted by Sicilian mobsters for treason and murder. The film's plot begins to unravel when Dante meets Maria, the wife of Stecchino, who begins her plan into tricking mobsters to kill Dante thinking he is Stecchino. 

4.Down by The Law (1986)

 

 Starring Tom Waits,John Lurie and Roberto Benigni,the film centers on the arrest, incarceration, and escape from jail of three men. It discards jailbreak film conventions by focusing on the interaction between the convicts rather than on the mechanics of the escape.

Quotes by Roberto Benigni

 It's a sign of mediocrity when you demonstrate gratitude with moderation.

I would like to tell that I was really loved,with the simplicity,...What is more simple than to tell to a little boy,'This is not the truth,it is a game?'.

Stop thinking about what could go wrong and start thinking about what could go right.

My duty is to try to reach beauty.Cinema is emotion.When you laugh,you cry.