''I Knew Her Well'' ( it, Io la conoscevo bene) is a 1965

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

comedy-drama film directed by Antonio Pietrangeli and starring

Stefania Sandrelli Stefania Sandrelli (born 5 June 1946) is an Italian actress, famous for her many roles in the ''commedia all'Italiana'', starting from the 1960s. She was 14 years old when she starred in '' Divorce Italian Style'' as Angela, the cousin and love i ...

. In 2008 the film was selected to enter the list of the

100 Italian films to be saved The list of the ''100 Italian films to be saved'' ( it, 100 film italiani da salvare) was created with the aim to report "100 films that have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978". History The project was established ...

Plot synopsis

Adriana (Stefania Sandrelli) is a provincial Italian young woman who moves to Rome because she wants to be a celebrity.

Cast

as Adriana Astarelli *

Mario Adorf Mario Adorf (; born 8 September 1930) is a German actor, considered to be one of the great veteran character actors of European cinema. Since 1954, he has played both leading and supporting roles in over 200 film and television productions, am ...

as Emilio Ricci, aka Bietolone * Jean-Claude Brialy as Dario Marchionni *

Joachim Fuchsberger Joachim "Blacky" Fuchsberger (pronounced ; 11 March 1927 – 11 September 2014) was a German actor and television host, best known to a wide German-speaking audience as one of the recurring actors in various Edgar Wallace movies (often a Detecti ...

as The Writer * Nino Manfredi as Cianfanna *

Enrico Maria Salerno Enrico Maria Salerno (September 18, 1926 – February 28, 1994) was an Italian actor, voice actor and film director. He was also the voice of Clint Eastwood in the Italian version of Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy films, and the voice of Ch ...

as Roberto *

Ugo Tognazzi Ugo Tognazzi (23 March 1922 – 27 October 1990) was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter. Early life Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a travelling clerk fo ...

as Gigi Baggini * Karin Dor as Barbara, the lady friend of Adriana *

Franco Fabrizi Franco Fabrizi (; 15 February 1916 – 18 October 1995) was an Italian actor. Life and career Son of a barber and a cinema cashier, Franco Fabrizi started his career as a model and an actor in fotoromanzi. Fabrizi also starred on several revu ...

as Paganelli * Turi Ferro as Il commissario *

Robert Hoffmann Robert Hoffmann (30 August 1939 – 4 July 2022) was an Austrian actor, best known to British audiences for his title role performance in '' The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe'' (1964). Hoffmann was born in Salzburg. ''Crusoe'' was his screen d ...

as Antonio Marais *

Franco Nero Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero (born 23 November 1941), known professionally as Franco Nero, is an Italian actor, producer, and director. His breakthrough role was as the title character in the Spaghetti Western film '' Django'' (1966), ...

as Italo - The garage attendant * Véronique Vendell as Alice Stendhal (credited as Veronique Vendell) * Franca Polesello as Maria - The usherette *

Renato Terra Renato Terra (26 July 1922 in Naples – 28 November 2010 in Rome) had a career working in film as an actor, and has appeared in over 80 movies. In 1977 he retired to become a poet. Young, he attended the Experimental Center of Cinematography in ...

as Man in the caravan (credited as Renato Terra Caizzi)

Soundtrack

* "L'Eclisse twist" Performed by Mina * "Addio" Performed by Mina * "Ogni giorno che passa" Performed by Mia Genberg * "Le stelle d'oro" Performed by

Peppino Di Capri Peppino di Capri (born Giuseppe Faiella on 27 July 1939) is an Italian popular music singer, songwriter and pianist, successful in Italy and Europe. His international hits include "St. Tropez Twist", "Daniela", "Torna piccina", "Roberta", "Melanco ...

* "Sweet William" Performed by

Millie Millie is a feminine given name or diminutive form of various other given names, such as Emily, Millicent, Mildred, Camilla or sometimes Amelia. People with the given name Notable people with the given name include: * Millie Bailey (1918–20 ...

* "Surf della Frusta" By Gino Marinacci * "Oggi e domenica per noi" Performed by

Sergio Endrigo Sergio Endrigo (; 15 June 1933 – 7 September 2005) was an Italian singer-songwriter. Born in Pola, Istria in Italy (now Pula, Croatia), he has been often compared—for style and nature—to authors of the so-called "Genoa school" like Gino P ...

* "Mani bucate" Performed by

* "Lasciati baciare col Letkiss" Performed by Gemelle Kessler * "Roberta" Performed by

* "What Am I Living For" Performed by

* "More" Performed by

Gilbert Bécaud Gilbert Bécaud (, 24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001) was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are " Nathalie" and "Et maintenant", a 1961 release ...

* "E se domani" Performed by Mina * "Abbracciami forte" Performed by Ornella Vanoni * "Dimmi la verità" Performed by

* "Toi" Performed by

* " Let Kiss" Orchestrated by Yvar Sanna

Awards

*Three

Nastro d'Argento The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani ...

awards: Best Director, Best Script, and Best Supporting Actor (Ugo Tognazzi). *Pietrangeli was named Best Director at the Mar del Plata Film Festival

References

External links

*
''I Knew Her Well: City Girl''
an essay by

Alexander Stille Alexander Stille (born 1 January 1957 in New York City) is an American author and journalist. He is the son of Ugo Stille, a well-known Italian journalist and a former editor of Italy's Milan-based Corriere della Sera newspaper. Alexander Stille g ...

at the Criterion Collection 1965 films Italian black-and-white films 1960s Italian-language films 1965 comedy-drama films Commedia all'italiana Films directed by Antonio Pietrangeli Films with screenplays by Ruggero Maccari Films scored by Benedetto Ghiglia 1960s Italian films {{comedy-drama-film-stub