Tag: Italian cinema

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Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life, 1960) is one of the most hailed and fêted films of all time. It was both a commercial and a critical success. It had an immediate and enduring influence on film, fashion, and popular culture in general. It won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1960. It was nominated for four Oscars and won Best Costume Design. Nino Rota’s music is also iconic. To this day, La Dolce Vita is regularly included in lists of the greatest films of all time. (more…)

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I have been watching 1970s Nazisploitation movies lately. This started when, on a whim, I thought it would be funny to write a review of Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS, which is one of those movies that everyone has heard of — because, credit where it’s due, it is one hell of a name — but which very few people have ever actually seen. Nonetheless, you still hear people drop the name as a punchline all the time. If some conservative bimbo offers a milquetoast take that is mildly critical of Black Lives Matter, someone will inevitably say, “Who does she think she is, Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS?” So I thought I’d watch it just to know where the joke came from. (more…)