Il bell'Antonio

Versione restaurata dalla
Compass film

in collaborazione con
Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia - Cineteca Nazionale

Dir.:
Mauro Bolognini

Story:
dal romanzo "Il bell'Antonio" di Vitaliano Brancati

Script:
Vitaliano Brancati
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Gino Visentini

Phot.:
Armando Nannuzzi

Ed.:
Nino Baragli

Mus.:
Piero Piccioni

Scg./Prod. Des.:
Piero Tosi

Cast.:
Marcello Mastroianni (Antonio Magnano, il bell'Antonio)
Claudia Cardinale (Barbara Puglisi)
Pierre Brasseur (Alfio Magnano)
Rina Morelli (Rosaria Magnano)
Tomas Milian (Edoardo, cugino di Antonio)

Prod.:
Alfredo Bini in collaborazione con Cino Del Duca Arco Film, Roma e Lyre Cinematographique, Parigi;

Orig.:
Italia / Italy 1960
102' / v.o. italiano / 35mm

The young and attractive Antonio Mangano, to whom numerous love stories have been attributed, returns to his native Catania after many years spent in Rome; here he finds his father, Alfio, who urges him to behave properly and suggests he should marry Barbara Puglisi, a young, honest local girl from a good family. Conforming with his father's wishes, Antonio marries Barbara. The relationship is serene and balanced until Barbara is told by a maid that in a relationship between husband and wife, there is also a physical dimension to be reached; 3 months into the marriage, Barbara is totally unaware of this side of the relationship. A year later, aware of the situation, Barbara's father informs Alfio that the marriage between their children is to be considered invalid, due to the physical condition of the husband. The marriage is therefore annulled, Barbara immediately marries the elderly, rich, Duke of Bronte. Alfio, "in order to redeem his family's honor", once again resumes his visits to a local brothel, dying soon after. His widow, Rosaria Magnano, however quickly finds comfort elsewhere; the young housemaid, Santuzza, is in fact pregnant and Rosaria, having excluded all other possible candidates, concludes that the father of the unborn child is her son Antonio. The entire household celebrates and drinks a toast to the unborn child...all except Antonio who appears to be uninterested and self-absorbed.