Your primer to Italian film’s legendary screen sirens, from Sophia Loren to Anita Ekberg

by Isabel Slone July 9, 2015

Summer always comes with the alluring promise of escape. If you can’t make it out to a cottage to go swimming in a lake, then perhaps the next best thing is a dark, air-conditioned movie theatre. This summer, TIFF is screening two retrospectives: Summer in Italy and More Than Life Itself: Rediscovering the Films of Vittorio de Sica, where you can go to lose yourself to the lush visuals and foreign landscape of 1960s Italy for 90 minutes at a time.

Both retrospectives pay homage to the golden age of Italian cinema. Many of Italy’s film studios had been damaged during WWII, so these neorealist films were often shot in the streets, sometimes using non-professional actors. Directors like Luchino Visconti, Roberto Rossellini, and Vittoria de Sica, were able to take the political and economic turmoil the country was facing and spin it into beautiful examples of film.

We’ll be taking history lessons from the smouldering screen sirens at the heart of the retrospective; Claudia Cardinale, Anna Magnani, Monica Vitti and of course, Sophia Loren. Their retro beauty looks are stunningly now: strong brows, dark eyeliner and the occasional smattering of armpit hair. Not to mention their commanding confidence and sly sexuality all make for scene-stealing style.

It’s time. Close your eyes and imagine you’re surrounded by lush trees, cobblestone streets and a warm summer breeze is blowing gently on your skin. Now open your eyes and head directly to TIFF.

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Sophia Loren Two Women

In Two Women (1960), Sophia Loren sports tousled hair and plenty of printed housedresses while playing a mother fleeing with her daughter from Allied bombs during WWII. Playing Friday July 17th at 6:30pm.

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Monica Vitti Red Desert

The stunning Monica Vitti often wears black in Red Desert (1964), to contrast with the rich reds that dominate the industrial landscapes in film. Playing Tuesday, July 21st at 6:30pm.

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Claudia Cardinale Sandra

In Sandra (1965) Claudia Cardinale’s bronzed skin and bedhead is the epitome of carefree summer style – but her character is hiding an unsettling childhood secret. Playing Thursday, July 9th at 6:30pm.

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Anita Ekberg La Dolce Vita

Anita Ekberg plays a glamorous actress with perfect blonde waves and a scandalously low-cut LBD in La Dolce Vita (1960). The film won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design. Playing Saturday, August 1st at 5:30pm.

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Claudia Cardinale The Leopard

Claudia Cardinale’s frothy dresses will fulfill all your lingering princess fantasies in The Leopard (1963), an epic period piece about Italian royalty during the late 1900s. Playing Saturday August 8th at 3pm.

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Anna Magnani The Passionate Thief

The Passionate Thief (1960) predates Sex and the City by nearly 40 years, but Anna Magnani’s blonde ‘do and wild child style seem like a direct style inspiration for SATC’s spunky heroine, Carrie. Playing Friday, July 24th at 6:30pm.

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Anna Canzi The Fiances

Anna Canzi’s serious style and smoldering eye contact hit dead centre in The Fiances (1963), where she plays an unsatisfied woman growing ever more distant to her betrothed. Playing Saturday, July 18th at 3pm.

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