''The Magnificent Adventurer'' () is a 1963

adventure film The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...

directed by

Riccardo Freda Riccardo Freda (24 February 1909 – 20 December 1999) was an Italian film director. He worked in a variety of genres, including sword-and-sandal, horror film, horror, ''giallo'' and spy films. Freda began directing ''I Vampiri'' in 1956. The f ...

. It is loosely based on real life events of

Benvenuto Cellini Benvenuto Cellini (, ; 3 November 150013 February 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author. His best-known extant works include the ''Cellini Salt Cellar'', the sculpture of ''Perseus with the Head of Medusa'', and his autobiography ...

Plot

Cast

Production

''The Magnificent Adventurer'' was director

's last film for Panda Cinematografica. It was based on the real-life character of

, a sculptor, goldsmith, draftsman, soldier and musician. A memoir of his life gained huge popularity during the 19th century which became the inspiration for other famous writers such as

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

. Freda was fascinated by Cellini, declaring him Cellini has "always been a model of independence for me. However, he was more of a great brigand than a great artist." The script does follow Cellini's memoirs, and places him in an imaginary scenario. ''The Magnificent Adventurer'' was shot under the title ''Le avventure di Benvenuto Cellini'' between March and April 1963 in Rome at Castle Sant'Angelo, Castle d'Ostia, and at the De Paolis Studios.

Release

''The Magnificent Adventurer'' was released in Italy on August 3, 1963 where it was distributed by Regional. It grossed 121 million lire in Italy which film historian and critic Roberto Curti described as "nondescript". The film was released as ''Laventurier magnifigue (L'Aigle de Florence)'' and was purchased by

American International Pictures American International Pictures, LLC (AIP or American International Productions) is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution c ...

for distribution to television as ''The Magnificent Adventurer''. It was also released under the title ''The Burning of Rome''.

Reception

A contemporary review in the ''

Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' described the film as "more serious and sober than much of Freda's other recent work, and his admirers may be a little disappointed at the often lethargic and lackluster result, which is quite inferior to the very similar ''Seventh Sword'' for instance." Richard Roud referred to the film as "a constant pleasure to the eye" and "a glittering riot of delicate colour shadings in both sets and costumes".

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

* 1963 films 1960s historical adventure films French historical adventure films Italian historical adventure films Spanish historical adventure films Films directed by Riccardo Freda Films scored by Francesco De Masi Films set in Rome Films set in the 16th century Biographical films about artists Cultural depictions of Michelangelo Cultural depictions of Francis I of France Cultural depictions of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Cultural depictions of Pope Clement VII Cultural depictions of Benvenuto Cellini Biographical films about sculptors 1960s French films 1960s Italian films {{1960s-France-film-stub