Valerio Zurlini (19 March 1926 – 26 October 1982) was an Italian stage and film director and screenwriter.
Biography
During his law studies in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, he started working in the theatre. In 1943, he joined the
Italian resistance. Zurlini became a member of the
Italian Communist Party.
[Elliott Stein]
Valerio Zurlini's Autumn Tales
''The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'', 22 August 2000. He filmed short documentaries in the immediate post-war period before he directed his first feature film in 1954, ''
The Girls of San Frediano''.
[Biography of Valerio Zurlini](_blank)
In 1958, Zurlini won the together with
Leonardo Benvenuti,
Piero De Bernardi and
Alberto Lattuada for Best Script for Lattuada's ''
Guendalina''. Zurlini made his name as a director with his second feature film, ''
Violent Summer'' (1959), starring
Eleonora Rossi Drago and
Jean Louis Trintignant.
In 1961, Zurlini filmed ''
Girl with a Suitcase'', starring
Claudia Cardinale, who became a film star in Italy,
and
Jacques Perrin, who would become Zurlini's favorite actor. His 1962 film ''
Family Diary'' earned Zurlini the
Golden Lion at the
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...
(it tied with
Tarkovsky's ''
Ivan's Childhood''). Both ''The Girls of San Frediano'' and ''Family Diary'' were based on
Vasco Pratolini's work.
''
The Camp Followers'' (1965) was entered into the
4th Moscow International Film Festival, where it won the Special Silver Prize.
Zurlini admired the work of Italian novelist
Giorgio Bassani and hoped to adapt his novel ''
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis'', which was subsequently directed by
Vittorio De Sica in 1971 (see ''
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis'').
Zurlini's last film, ''
The Desert of the Tartars'' (1976), produced by Jacques Perrin and featuring an all-star ensemble, was based on
Dino Buzzati's
novel of the same name. It earned Zurlini both the
David di Donatello and the for Best Director. In 1977 he was a member of the jury at the
10th Moscow International Film Festival.
The visual style of Zurlini's adaptations was informed by
Giorgio de Chirico,
Giorgio Morandi and
Ottone Rosai's paintings.
[Rolando Caputo. Literary cineastes: the Italian novel and the cinema. In: Peter E. Bondanella & Andrea Ciccarelli (eds.). ]
The Cambridge Companion to the Italian Novel
'. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. p.182-196 During the last years of his life Zurlini taught at the
Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
. He died in
Verona on 26 October 1982.
[Peter Lennon]
Leave it to Diva
''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', 9 May 2003.
After Zurlini's death, his work fell into relative obscurity,
but regained popularity in the 2000s after several of his retrospectives were met with success internationally. In 2006,
NoShame Films released ''The Desert of the Tartars'', ''Violent Summer'' and ''Girl With a Suitcase'' on DVD.
Filmography (selected)
* ''
The Girls of San Frediano'' (1954)
* ''
Guendalina'' (1957, screenplay only)
* ''
Violent Summer'' (1959)
* ''
Girl with a Suitcase'' (1961)
* ''
Family Diary'' (1962)
* ''
The Camp Followers'' (1965)
* ''
Black Jesus'' (1968)
* ''
Indian Summer'' (1972)
* ''
The Desert of the Tartars'' (1976)
References
Further reading
* Toffetti, Sergio (a cura di). ''Valerio Zurlini''. Torino: Lindau, 1993.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zurlini, Valerio
Italian film directors
20th-century Italian screenwriters
Italian male screenwriters
Italian theatre directors
Film people from Bologna
1926 births
1982 deaths
Academic staff of the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia
David di Donatello winners
Nastro d'Argento winners
Directors of Golden Lion winners
20th-century Italian male writers