Il bidone (1955)

Note des utilisateurs:

7.6/10   

Réalisateur:

Federico Fellini

Writers:

Federico Fellini (writer)
Ennio Flaiano (writer)

Release Date:

octobre 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Drame

Plot:

Aging small-time con man Augusto, who swindles peasants, works with two younger men: Roberto, who wants to become the Italian Johnny Ray...

Plot Keywords:

Peasant | Drug Dealer | Imposture | Cheating | Middle Age

Awards:

1 nomination

Avis des utilisateurs:

The middle chapter in Fellini's "trilogy of loneliness"

Ensemble

Broderick Crawford	...	Augusto
Giulietta Masina	...	Iris
Richard Basehart	...	Picasso
Franco Fabrizi	...	Roberto
Sue Ellen Blake	...	Anna
Irene Cefaro	...	Marisa
Alberto De Amicis	...	Rinaldo
Lorella De Luca	...	Patrizia
Giacomo Gabrielli	...	Il Baron Vargas
Riccardo Garrone	...	Riccardo
Paul Grenter
Emilio Manfredi
Lucetta Muratori
Mario Passante
Sara Simoni

Autre(s) titre(s):

The Swindle (USA)
The Swindlers (UK)

Durée:

Argentina:100 min | Spain:95 min | USA:92 min | 112 min (original version)

Pays:

Italy | France

Langue:

Italien | Anglais

Couleur:

Noir et Blanc

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Son:

Mono

Classification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:12

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

Acquedotto dell'Acqua Felice, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Titanus

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Incontrôlable (2006)

The middle chapter in Fellini's "trilogy of loneliness"

The middle chapter in Fellini's "trilogy of loneliness", made by a master between "La Strada" (1954), and "Nights of Cabiria," (1957), "Il Bidone" (1955) is less known, for long time simply forgotten (and I can't imagine why) but powerful, humorous, heartbreaking, and poignant film. Broderick Crawford, Academy Award winner for playing Willie Stark, a corrupt politician and a charismatic man in "All the King's Men" (1949), gives a compelling performance as Augusto, an aging con man, a leader of a trio of small time crooks who take advantage of poor and uneducated Italians in both country side and poor quarters of Rome. Augusto realizes at the age of 48 that his life of selfishness, greed, and wrongdoings only made his existence meaningless. Once in his life, he decided to con the con men in order to help his daughter whom he rarely sees but deeply loves with fulfilling her dreams of better life but a swindle gone wrong leads Augusto to the final scene of pain, both physical and mental, to loneliness and desperation. It is very much like "Nights of Cabiria" final scene but without eternal hope of Cabiria's smile…

Technically, "Il Bidone" is a very strong film with memorable performances, including the smaller cameos. Fellini's directing is as satisfying as always and many scenes remind of his future triumphs (New Year party is a stunning sequence and brings to mind "La Dolce Vita", 1960 ). Nino Rota's music and Otello Martinelli's cinematography add to many pleasures of the film, one of them is Giulietta Masina who plays supporting role of Iris, the wife of Picasso (Richard Basehart), the younger con artist with a dream to become an Artist. Both, Masina and Basehart starred in Fellini's first chapter of "trilogy of loneliness", "La Strada" (1954).