Dino Risi (23 December 1916 – 7 June 2008) was an Italian

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

. With

Mario Monicelli Mario Alberto Ettore Monicelli (; 16 May 1915 – 29 November 2010) was an Italian film director and screenwriter and one of the masters of the '' Commedia all'Italiana'' (Comedy Italian style). He was nominated six times for an Oscar, and was a ...

, Luigi Comencini,

Nanni Loy Nanni Loy (born Giovanni Loi; 23 October 1925 – 21 August 1995) was an Italian film, theatre and TV director. Specifically, Nanni Loy was Sardinian, and one of several notable Sardinian film makers, including Franco Solinas. Biography Lo ...

and

Ettore Scola Ettore Scola (; 10 May 1931 – 19 January 2016) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He received a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film in 1978 for his film '' A Special Day'' and over the course of his film career was nominated for fiv ...

, he was one of the masters of ''

commedia all'italiana Commedia all'italiana (, pl. Commedie all'italiana, "Comedy in the Italian way") or Italian-style comedy is an Italian film genre born in Italy in the 1950s and developed in the 1960s and 1970s. It is widely considered to have started with Mar ...

''.

Biography

Risi was born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

. He had an older brother, Fernando, a cinematographer, and a younger brother,

Nelo Nelo (MAR Kayaks Ltda) is a Portuguese company that designs and manufactures kayaks and canoes for racing, touring, fitness, sea racing, paracanoe, surfski, and slalom. It is currently the most successful brand in the sport, attested by the n ...

(1920–2015), a director and writer. At the age of twelve, Risi became an

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

and was looked after by relatives and friends of his family.Italian director Dino Risi dies
BBC.co.uk; accessed 19 November 2015. He studied medicine but refused to become a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

, as his parents wished Risi started his career in cinema as an assistant director to cinema figures such as Mario Soldati and

Alberto Lattuada Alberto Lattuada (; 13 November 1914 – 3 July 2005) was an Italian film director. Career Lattuada was born in Vaprio d'Adda, the son of composer Felice Lattuada. He was initially interested in literature, becoming, while still a student, a ...

. Later he began directing his own films and was credited with giving early opportunities to future acting stars such as

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...

and

Vittorio Gassman Vittorio Gassman (; born Gassmann; 1 September 1922 – 29 June 2000), popularly known as , was an Italian actor, director and screenwriter. He is considered one of the greatest Italian actors, whose career includes both important productions ...

. His 1966 film ''

Treasure of San Gennaro ''Treasure of San Gennaro'' ( it, Operazione San Gennaro) is a 1966 Italian comedy film starring Nino Manfredi, Senta Berger, Totò and Claudine Auger. It is directed by Dino Risi and is a funny classic story of a perfect robbery plan gone wrong i ...

'' was entered into the 5th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Silver Prize. His biggest hits were '' Poor, But Handsome'' (''Poveri ma belli''), followed by two sequels, which he also directed; ''

A Difficult Life ''A Difficult Life'' (Italian: ''Una vita difficile'') is a ''Commedia all'italiana'' or Italian-style comedy film directed by Dino Risi in 1961. The film was included on the 100 Italian Films To Be Saved ( 100 film italiani da salvare). Plot T ...

'' (''Una vita difficile''); ''

The Easy Life ''Il sorpasso'' (, occasionally titled ''The Easy Life'') is a 1962 Italian cult comedy film co-written and directed by Dino Risi and starring Vittorio Gassman, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Catherine Spaak. It is considered Risi's masterpiece and o ...

'' (''Il sorpasso''); '' Opiate '67'' or, in a cut version, '' 15 From Rome'' (''I Mostri''); and '' Scent of a Woman'' (''Profumo di Donna''), which was

remade Bas-Lag is the fictional world in which several of English author China Miéville's novels are set. Bas-Lag is a world where both magic (referred to as "thaumaturgy") and steampunk technology exist, and is home to many intelligent races. It is in ...

by Martin Brest starring

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...

in 1992. In 2002, he was awarded the Golden Lion – Honorary Award (Leone d'oro alla carriera) at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

for his life-time work. Two of his films, '' Il giovedì'' and '' Il commissario Lo Gatto'', were shown in a retrospective section on Italian comedy at the

67th Venice International Film Festival The 67th annual Venice International Film Festival held in Venice, Italy, took place from 1 to 11 September 2010. American film director and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino was the head of the Jury. The opening film of the festival was Darren Aro ...

. He died on 7 June 2008 at his residence in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. He was 91 and was survived by two children, Claudio (1948-2020) and Marco Risi (1951), both film directors.

Filmography

*''Verso la vita'' (1946) *''Tigullio minore'' (1947) *''1848'' (1948) * '' Songs in the Streets'' (1950) * '' Vacation with a Gangster'' (1952) *''

Il viale della speranza ''Il viale della speranza'' (English: ''The street of hope'') is a 1953 Italian drama film directed by Dino Risi. It grossed over 100 million lire at the Italian box office. Cast * Cosetta Greco as Luisa Guglielmi * Liliana Bonfatti as Giuditt ...

'' (1953) *'' L'amore in città'' (episode "Paradiso per 4 ore", 1953) *''

Il segno di Venere ''The Sign of Venus'' ( it, Il segno di Venere) is a 1955 Italian comedy film directed by Dino Risi and starring Sophia Loren. It was entered into the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. Plot The story revolves around an attractive woman named Agnese (Lo ...

'' (1955) *'' Pane, amore e...'' (1955) *''

Poveri ma belli ''Poveri ma belli'' (U.S. title: ''Poor, But Handsome''; U.K. title: ''A Girl in Bikini'') is a successful 1957 Italian comedy film directed by Dino Risi. There have been two sequels, also directed by Risi and starring Marisa Allasio, Maurizio ...

'' (1956) *'' La nonna Sabella'' (1957) *''

Belle ma povere ''Belle ma povere'' (internationally released as ''Pretty But Poor'') is a 1957 Italian comedy film directed by Dino Risi. It is the sequel of ''Poveri ma belli'' and was followed by '' Poveri milionari''.Paolo D'Agostini, ''Dino Risi'', Editrice ...

'' (1957) *'' Venezia, la luna e tu'' (1959) *'' Il vedovo'' (1959) *'' Poveri milionari'' (1959) *''

Il mattatore ''Love and Larceny'' (in Italian, ''Il mattatore'', "The Showman") is a 1960 Italian comedy film directed by Dino Risi. It was entered into the 10th Berlin International Film Festival. Plot Gerardo is an aspiring actor, trying unsuccessfully ...

'' (1959) *'' Un amore a Roma'' (1960) *'' A porte chiuse'' (1961) *''

'' (''Una vita difficile'', 1961) *''

'' (''Il sorpasso'', 1962) *''

March on Rome The March on Rome ( it, Marcia su Roma) was an organized mass demonstration and a coup d'état in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 192 ...

'' (''La marcia su Roma'', 1962) *'' Il giovedì'' (1963) *'' I mostri'' (1963) *''

Le bambole ''Le bambole'' (U.S. title: ''The Dolls'', UK title: ''Four Kinds of Love'') is a 1965 Italian comedy film in four segments; starring Nino Manfredi, Virna Lisi, Elke Sommer, and Mario Montuori. The four vignettes—The Telephone Call (La telefona ...

'' (episode "La telefonata", 1965) *'' Il Gaucho'' (1965) *''

I complessi ''I complessi'' is a 1965 commedia all'italiana anthology film consisting of three episodes. Cast ;''Una giornata decisiva'' *Nino Manfredi: Quirino Raganelli *Ilaria Occhini: Gabriella * Riccardo Garrone: Alvaro Morandini *Umberto D'Orsi: E ...

'' (episode "Una giornata decisiva", 1965) *'' L'ombrellone'' (1966) *''

I nostri mariti ''I nostri mariti'' is a 1966 Italian comedy film directed by Luigi Filippo D'Amico, Dino Risi and Luigi Zampa. Cast * Alberto Sordi - Giovanni Lo Verso (segment "Il marito di Roberta") * Ugo Tognazzi - Carabiniere (segment "Il Marito di A ...

'' (episode "Il marito di Attilia", 1966) *'' Operazione San Gennaro'' (1966) *''

Il Tigre ''Il Tigre'', internationally released as ''The Tiger and the Pussycat'', is a 1967 Italian comedy film directed by Dino Risi. For his performance, Vittorio Gassman won the David di Donatello for best actor; the film also won the David di Donatell ...

'' (1967) *'' Straziami, ma di baci saziami'' (1968) *'' Il profeta'' (1968) *''

Vedo nudo ''Vedo nudo'' (internationally released as ''I See Naked'') is a 1969 Italian anthology comedy film directed by Dino Risi. All the episodes have sex as main theme and all star Nino Manfredi, who plays seven different characters. The film represe ...

'' (1969) *''

Il giovane normale ''Normal Young Man'' ( it, Il giovane normale) is a 1969 Italian comedy film directed by Dino Risi. It is based on the novel with the same name written by Umberto Simonetta. Cast * Lino Capolicchio: Giordano * Janet Agren: Diana * Eugene Wa ...

'' (1969) *'' In nome del popolo italiano'' (1971) *'' La moglie del prete'' (1971) *'' Noi donne siamo fatte così'' (1971) *'' Mordi e fuggi'' (1973) *'' Sessomatto'' (1973) *'' Profumo di donna'' (1974) *''

The Career of a Chambermaid ''Telefoni bianchi'' (''White Telephones'', internationally released as ''The Career of a Chambermaid'') is a 1976 Italian comedy film directed by Dino Risi. For this film Agostina Belli was awarded with a Special David di Donatello for her pe ...

'' (1976) *'' Anima persa'' (1977) *''

La stanza del vescovo LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'' (1977) *''

I nuovi mostri ''I nuovi mostri'' (English-language version: ''Viva l'Italia!''; meaning of Italian original title: "The new monsters") is a 1977 commedia all'italiana film composed by 14 episodes, directed by Dino Risi, Ettore Scola and Mario Monicelli. It is a ...

'' (episodes "Con i saluti degli amici", "Tantum ergo", "Pornodiva", "Mammina mammona" and "Senza parole", 1978) *'' Primo amore'' (1978) *'' Caro papà'' (1979) *'' Sono fotogenico'' (1980) *'' Sunday Lovers/I seduttori della domenica'' (episode "Roma", 1980) *'' Fantasma d'amore'' (1981) *'' Sesso e volentieri'' (1982) *''...e la vita continua'' (TV, 1984) *''

Dagobert Dagobert or Taginbert is a Germanic male given name, possibly from Old Frankish ''Dag'' "day" and ''beraht'' "bright". Alternatively, it has been identified as Gaulish ''dago'' "good" ''berxto'' "bright". Animals * Roi Dagobert (born 1964), ...

'' (1984) *'' Scemo di guerra'' (1985) *'' Teresa'' (1987) *'' Il commissario Lo Gatto'' (1987) *'' Il vizio di vivere'' (TV, 1989) *'' Tolgo il disturbo'' (1990) *'' Vita coi figli'' (TV, 1990) *'' Giovani e belli'' (1996) *''Esercizi di stile'' (episode "Myriam", 1996)

References

External links

*
BBC obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Risi, Dino 1916 births 2008 deaths César Award winners Italian film directors Film people from Milan David di Donatello winners Nastro d'Argento winners David di Donatello Career Award winners