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© DR- I VITELLONI - de F.Fellini (1953) p7
13/12/2012 04:42
Photo du bas : Alberto Sordi
Cast (partiel)
Franco Fabrizi : Fausto
Franco Interlenghi : Moraldo
Alberto Sordi : Alberto
Leopoldo Trieste : Leopoldo
Riccardo Fellini : Riccardo
Leonora Ruffo : Sandra
Jean Brochard : père de Fausto
Paola Borboni : signora Rubini
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La critique des spectateurs d'ImDB
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Fellini's best.
Author: FilmSnobby from San Diego
12 September 2004
Federico Fellini's second feature, *I Vitelloni* (literal trans.: "fatted veal calves"; figurative trans.: "the guys"), is an honest, unpretentious work from the Master before he became besotted with his own self-indulgence.It's autobiographical in several indirect ways. The depictions here of young men who are not quite so young anymore, living with their mothers, settling for dead-end jobs or simply not working, and generally languishing their lives away, are based on Fellini's own observations of such fellows in his boyhood home of Rimini.
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Autobiographical too in its sense of style: the movie is inescapably stamped by the Neo-Realism of Fellini's apprenticeship. The grimy faces of working-class people, crumbling tenements, and weed-choked rail-yards are all here. But with a difference: Fellini casts a critical eye on this scene, eschewing the usual Neo-Realist appeal to our presumed socialist sympathies. *I Vitelloni* is not a political film in the usual mid-century Italian manner. Fellini gives us a quintet of heroes who, for the most part, aspire to be bourgeois big-shots of their shabby seacoast town.
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Not content with that, he makes them lazy, as well . . . and then he asks us to root for them, to actually like them! Needless to say, the intelligentsia of the period didn't warm to this film, even as the film-going public in Europe loved it, recognizing themselves and their friends and their own hometowns in it.Just as Shakespeare shows us the brilliant results of striving within the non-negotiable limits of the nine-line sonnet or the blank verse of his plays, Fellini achieves genius in this film, stylistically, from the fruitful tension between the dictates of Neo-Realist imperatives (which no young Italian director of the Fifties could ignore if he wanted a career), and the dictates of his own vision
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For, even while being a dutifully serious Neo-Realist (even to the point of employing a static, unblinking, non-flashy camera on the proceedings -- hardly the "Fellini-esque" style we would see in later years!), the director's penchant for the grotesque can no longer contain itself. In this film we get the aging, corpulent homosexual actor, with hair in need of a cut, noisily slurping up soup while one of the Vitelloni reads aloud to him some terrible play he has composed.
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We get the nauseous parties, in which Fellini tosses the Neo-Realist camera in the trash and picks up his own camera, swooping with it into the hot, frantic fray, honing in for sweaty close-ups, climbing the rafters for a dizzying aerial view, skewing the angles while watching an off-key trumpet player blare into the ear of a miserable drunk, and filling the screen with gigantic papier-mache clowns that constitute the floats of a Lenten parade. At the same time, the mandate to keep himself in check, or perhaps the humble desire to make an easily digestible movie, gives *I Vitelloni* the discipline and order so lacking in post-*8-1/2* Fellini films.
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But the thematic meat of the movie provides the most fruitful tension. Fellini shows us the Vitelloni, the "guys", most of them creeping past 30, grasping after any passing pleasure that comes to hand, whether it be a woman (young or old, married or not, willing or not), a drunken night at the local pool hall, an attempt at petty thievery, a day of gambling at the races, or whatever. Then Fellini contrasts this with the older generation, tellingly single (their mates long buried), barely supporting the passel of lazy Vitelloni and assorted nieces and grandchildren who all lay about the family home. The old folks' sacrifices seem to have produced ignoble results, particularly within themselves: all too often, the old men and women are grouchy, unhappy, prone to fits of violence or weeping, and -- saddest of all -- lonely.
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The Vitelloni look at their elders, see the sterile results of lives rendered bereft by tradition and "sacrifice", and naturally rebel, searching in easy hedonism for the happiness that has eluded their parents. One character, a compulsive womanizer, plans on running away after he knocks up his girlfriend -- and why not? The womanizer's bitter father provides no wholesome example of "responsibility". Indeed, it seems as if the old man forces his son to marry the girl simply because he, the father, is friends with the girlfriend's father, and, after all, misery loves company.
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The question of whether or not the cad actually loves the girl is never asked. Guess how this marriage turns out.Without unduly spoiling things, one of the Vitelloni actually DOES escape the shabby town by movie's end, but even here Fellini offers an unequivocal qualification: the character, staring out the window as the train pulls out, hangs his head and weeps. He knows, as do we, that he will be just as unhappy in Rome as he was in this fictionalized Rimini. Meanwhile, a young boy who works at the train station waves goodbye to the leaving train and turns his back on it, balancing precariously on a rail as he boyishly walks off. Fellini indicates that some people will simply be happier than others, no matter the circumstances: truly one of cinema's bleaker statements on the human condition.I Vitelloni* remains a great masterpiece, and is Fellini's most neglected film . . . though it somehow seems fitting that a movie which virtually INVENTED the notion of "slackers" should be forgotten. No matter: perfection is rarely popular, anyway. 10 stars out of 10.
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© DR- I VITELLONI - de F.Fellini (1953) p8
13/12/2012 04:48
Photo du haut
Paola Borboni : signora Rubini la femme du patron
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Personnages
Fausto - Coureur de jupon, lâche et vaniteux, il séduit et engrosse la sœur de Moraldo. Obligé à l'épouser de vive force, il continue à la tromper, jusqu'à tenter de séduire la patronne de la boutique d'objets de piété où son beau-père lui a finalement trouvé un emploi de magasinier. Après avoir poussé sa jeune femme au désespoir, il rentrera dans le rang suite à une correction administrée à coups de ceinturon par son père.
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The interchangeability of gang members
Author: Nick Pett from London, England
10 August 2004
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I think that the only other user to have commented on this film may have missed some of the point. The actions of the characters are not hard to understand. Fausto is a womaniser because he does not take love and its attendant responsibilities seriously. Alberto and Riccardo booze and smoke and hang around because those are the roles designated to some men in adult gangs of this kind. Moraldo sees Fausto's womanising and is torn between loyalty to the camaraderie of the group and to his friend and love for his sister, resulting in him helping Fausto to protect Sandra from the truth.
With regards to the lack of character definition of the characters, I don't think that this should be seen as a problem. Their inability to escape the attraction of a casual life robs them of character and their love of the gang robs them of individuality. The interchangeability of their looks and the swapping of facial hair styles illustrates the dynamics of a gang - shared vocabulary, shared likes and dislikes, playing off each other.I think that this is a perfect distillation of the aimless lives of adult males, unable to break away from the gang. Whether this is Fellini's best or not, it is a very affecting study of small-town ennui and male relationships.
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© DR- I VITELLONI - de F.Fellini (1953) p9
13/12/2012 04:55
Personnages
Alberto - Personnage léger, capricieux et émotif. Son affection sans borne pour sa mère, l'attention jalouse qu'il porte à sa sœur, ainsi que quelques scènes équivoques (dont celle du carnaval) font planer sur Alberto un soupçon d'homosexualité.
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Author: Galina from Virginia, USA
14 November 2005
Somewhere on his way from neo-to sur-young Federico Fellini had made a "I Vitelloni" (1953),lighthearted unconventional, bold, and above all entertaining film that tells the story of hopes and miseries of four friends, four young men, "I Vitelloni" in a small seashore province town. "Vitellone" means "idle young person of the provinces, often an eternal student". The title matches its characters very well. They live in the town where nothing much happens; they don't have jobs and spend the money given by their loving families. They have the most ardent hopes and they face the cruel disappointments.
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They are different - cynical skirt chaser Fausto who is forced to marry a girl pregnant with his baby; the intellectual and ambitious Leopoldo who dreams of becoming a famous writer; the irresponsible "big child" Alberto (Alberto Sordy, the famous comic, absolutely wonderful in his early role), and Moraldo, the only one of the group who in the final scene will leave the town of his childhood to start a new life.
I loved I Vitelloni. Nino Rota's music is above any words (as always) as well as the young director's camera work, the character study and acting. I think of "I Vitelloni" as more realistic and sober "Amarcord" in B/W. One of scenes was absolutely stunning -the carnival - the music, the dancing, the camera's rapid but fluid movements - simply breathtaking.It is without doubt that Fellini influenced a lot of directors, and there are similarities between "I Vitelloni" and George Lucas' "American Graffiti" and Barry Levinson's "Diner". Stanley Kubrick and Marin Scorsese both named "I Vitelloni" as one of their favorite films.Highly recommended: 9/10
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29 out of 43 people found the following review useful:
Scorsese Knows Best
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I first saw this film as a college student in an Italian Cinema class. I was impressed then, and recently saw it again and was touched anew by these characters.Then I noted that Martin Scorsese,in his documentary about Italian film on Turner Movies Classics("My Voyage to Italy") names this film as a huge inspiration for his film "Mean Streets" -- and I felt totally exonerated that I had always placed this film up there with La Strada, 8 1/2, La Dolce Vita, and Amarcord.
Scorsese sets the record straight about how these characters are successfully fleshed out -- including Moraldo, the Fellini autobiographical character. This is a film of simple beauty, and while it may lack the complex allegorical meanings of La Dolce Vita and 8 1/2, the story more than delivers in its straight forward approach to story telling.Forget Diner (a decent movie), Slackers, Clerks, and any other "slacker/loafer" movie; I Vitelloni transcends the genre -- and it is a true classic.Rent this film - it will not let you down.
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© DR- I VITELLONI - de F.Fellini (1953) p10
13/12/2012 05:02
En haut Jean Brochard (le pêre)
Personnages
Sandra - Sœur de Moraldo, elle sert de fil rouge au scénario. Dans les premières scènes du film, elle s'évanouit pendant un concours de beauté et on découvre vite qu'elle est enceinte et que Fausto est le père de son enfant.L'aveu, le mariage, le départ en voyage de noces et le retour, le ménage et les tromperies de son nouvel époux émaillent le film d'incidents domestiques qui évoquent le carcan des règles provinciales et constituent un repoussoir pour les autres Vitelloni.
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listen to it too
Author: Fiona-39 from Belfast, N.I
12 August 2004
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This is a wonderful film. The BFI have got their act together and made a new print, so finally I get to see this - and to be honest I preferred it to La Dolce Vita (despite absence of Mastrionni - sexiest man in history of cinema). Anyway, some of these scenes were just breath-takingly beautiful, especially the aftermath of the carnival, where Angelo looks drunkenly at the clowns (about to become a key Fellini motif). What especially impressed was the soundtrack, which lurched from a fairly typical 'melodrama' score to brilliant use of natural sound, especially the cold wind whipping around the streets off the sea.
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This sound adds pathos, and helps you understand that sandra and Faustos' 'happy end' is merely temporary: this is a desolate place which makes for desolate lives. It differs from neo-realist classics such as Bicycle Thieves in that it places malaise into the spiritual and emotional realm rather than the financial, although you still get some sense that the boys' economic hardship is maybe not entirely voluntary. Really genuienely enjoyable on your first watch, something I don't think you can say about all Fellini's films, beautifully shot and wonderfully paced, you feel as if you have witnessed a little miracle watching this film.
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© DR- I VITELLONI - de F.Fellini (1953) p11
13/12/2012 05:09
Personnages
Riccardo - Figure secondaire du quintet, Riccardo est le bon camarade, solidaire et bon vivant, distrayant les autres par ses talents de chanteur et toujours prêt à suivre la dernière mode qu'ils ont adoptée.
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Fellini's early watershed
Author: axsmashcrushallthree
23 June 2006
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The genesis of "I Vitelloni" occurred at a critical time for Federico Fellini. His previous film, "The White Sheik" had been met with such disappointment by critics and audiences that his directoral career was in jeopardy. So, with the need for a successful production on his head, Fellini decided to make a simple comedy...!
The simple story of the five "loafers" and "dreamers" could have been maudlin and trite, but in the hands of Fellini, the story unfolds like a beautiful flower as part of an overall powerful, moving experience. Few directors have communicated their personal vision and experience as intensely as did Fellini. While there is dispute as to whether there is a direct correlation of the character of Moraldo to Fellini himself, Fellini puts us comfortably into his shoes and we connect with Moraldo's frustrations, aspirations, and eventually, his exodus.
With "I Vitteloni", Fellini began to hit his stride of 10 years of greatness, culminating in "Otto e Mezzo". The episodic character exploration of the latter years isn't as dominant here, but the allusions to people, places, and things are presented in full force. The story is easier to follow than later films and is a more central part of the film. This coherence is easier to grasp, making it more accessible for the Fellini neophyte.But, with all of the talk about Fellini, this is still a magnificent movie that stands on its own. See it.
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17 out of 27 people found the following review useful:
Not one of the Maestro's masterworks, but very good nonetheless
Author: zetes from Saint Paul, MN
7 September 2001
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I Vitelloni was Federico Fellini's third film, and it shows very well how he was maturing in his style, and likewise very well how he was not yet fully mature. His next film would be La Strada, one of the world's great films. I Vitelloni, although many who have had the chance to see it champion it as one of his best, is a tier down from La Strada and his other melodramatic masterpiece , Nights of Cabiria (his other masterpieces IMO are La Dolce Vita, 8 ½, and Amarcord of those I've seen, which are all of the ones that are generally considered to be great; I'd also make a case for And the Ship Sails On).
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The film's flaws are mostly in the script: it is sloppy. There are several great scenes, a couple of the best, especially in a visual aspect, that Fellini ever created, but more often the actions of the characters are difficult to understand. The characters themselves aren't all that well defined - in a scene that has since become common, the five title characters are introduced to us by a narrator, who tells us certain primary traits for each of them. Sadly, we only learn a bit more about most of them. What really harms the film, though, is the fact that a few of these main characters are difficult to distinguish from one another.
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To make things worse, as time moves on in the film, the characters constantly change the style of their facial hair!The film is quite episodic, which is actually Fellini's most common way of going about it, but most of the events in his better films seem to bear more weight on the emotions of the films. I Vitelloni is still a very good film, but, given its unavailability, it's unnecessary to knock yourself down searching it out. Perhaps Criterion will release it on DVD soon. Maybe, if it has some good extras, I'll purchase it. 8/10.
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