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{{Short description|1986 documentary film}}
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'''''Portrait of Gina''''', or '''''Viva Italia''''' is a 1958 [[documentary film]] by [[Orson Welles]]. It was funded by [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC TV]]. Around 30 minutes long, it follows a similar style to ''[[The Fountain of Youth (film)|The Fountain of Youth]]'' (1958) and ''[[F for Fake]]'' (1973).


"Portrait of Gina" was a 'documentary-essay' Orson Welles filmed in 1958 with funding from ABC TV; the film is about 30 minutes long, and was done in a style akin to "F For Fake" and "The Fountain of Youth", though it is not as innovative as those productions. It was intended to be the first of a series called "Around the World with Orson Welles", which is also the name of a series Welles did for the BBC in 1956. Actually, "Portrait of Gina" is only this program's informal name; it is actually called "Viva Italia", and this is a more accurate moniker, as it is about Italy, where Welles's 3rd wife, Paola Mori, was from, and where Welles lived and worked for about 20 years (roughly 1950-1970). The picture discusses both negative and positive aspects of Italian culture, and perhaps this is why Gina Lollabrigida, who is interviewed at the end of the film, has forbidden it's being publicly shown. Vittorio De Sica, Rozzano Brazzi, Anna Gruber and Welles's wife, Paola Mori, are also briefly interviewed, and the film moves along at a rapid speed: it's cut 'quick on the eye' in the style of Welles's film-making. In fact, the only time it calms down is when Lollabrigida is interviewed in her country home.
It was intended to be the pilot for a television series called ''Around the World with Orson Welles'', which is also the name of [[Around the World with Orson Welles|a series Welles made]] in 1955 for British commercial television.<!-- For the commercial ITV network, NOT the BBC. Please check the WP article or elsewhere if this seems doubtful . --> The film is about Italy (Welles's third wife, [[Paola Mori]] was of Italian nationality) where the filmmaker lived and worked intermittently for about 20 years (roughly 1947–1969). The film discusses both negative and positive aspects of [[Italian culture]]. Actress [[Gina Lollobrigida]], who is interviewed at the end of the film, has refused it to be allowed a public release, reportedly because she was displeased by its portrayal of her as an ambitious young actress. [[Vittorio De Sica]], [[Rossano Brazzi]], Anna Gruber, and Welles' wife, [[Paola Mori]], are also briefly interviewed, and the film moves along at a rapid speed.


== History ==
When Welles submitted the film to ABC, they complained that they only received one reel of un-showable material, and it was never broadcast. Looking at the production today, one sees a program which is cut very fast and which is eccentric in the Welles style, but one which is coherent and well planned; it seems it was the style which ABC objected to. Around the same time Welles did another TV program on Alexander Dumas: it was rejected as being incompetent, and "The fountain of Youth" met a similar fate. Perhaps, as with his theatrical films, Welles was just too far ahead of his time.
When Welles submitted the film to ABC, they complained that they only received one reel of unorthodox material which they deemed unshowable, and it was never broadcast. Two years earlier, [[Orson Welles and People|Welles had made another TV program]], on [[Alexandre Dumas|Alexandre Dumas, père]]. It too was rejected as being unorthodox, while a further program made in 1956, ''[[The Fountain of Youth (film)|The Fountain of Youth]]'', was originally rejected on similar grounds (although it ended up getting a late-night screening in 1958, resulting in a [[Peabody Award]]).


In the late 1950s, Welles left the only copy of "Viva Italia" in his hotel room at the Hotel Ritz in Paris. The film cans were unmarked (!), so they ended up in the hotel's lost-and-found department and were eventually moved to a storage facility. The film was thought to be permanently lost until, miraculously, it was discovered in 1986. It was at that point that it was finally given a public showing at an Italian film festival, which is where Lollabrigida saw it and took legal recourse to have it banned, which it remains to this day.
In the late 1950s, Welles left the only copy of ''Viva Italia'' in his hotel room at the [[Hôtel Ritz Paris|Hôtel Ritz]] in Paris. The film cans were unmarked, and ended up in the hotel's lost-and-found department and were eventually moved to a storage facility. The film was thought to be permanently lost until it was discovered in 1986. It was at that point that it was finally given a public showing at the [[Venice Film Festival]], which is where Lollobrigida saw it and took [[legal recourse]] to have it banned, which she succeeded in doing. Between the Italian film festival screening and the completion of Lollobrigida's legal proceedings, the film did have one broadcast on German television (with German subtitles), and so despite the Lollobrigida ban, [[bootleg recording]]s of this broadcast continue to circulate.


==Reception==
Welles: "Now I'm going to finish a film on Italian cinema, on Lollabrigida...A documentary in a very particular style, with drawings by Steinberg, a lot of still photographs, conversations, little stories...In fact, it's not at all a documentary. It's an essay, a personal essay.
After it screened at the Venice Film Festival, film critic [[Nigel Andrews]] called the film "an inspired piece of editing charlatanry as a Welles growling out questions from a New York studio pretends to be interviewing Vittorio de Sica and others in sunny Italy. The piece is filmed with whirlwind wit, revolving atlases and snatches of the Harry Lime theme."<ref>[[Nigel Andrews|Andrews, Nigel]], "Down and Out On the Adriatic". ''[[Financial Times]]'', September 6, 1986.</ref>


==See also==
Bazin: An essay based on fact?
* [[List of American films of 1958]]


==References==
Welles: Not on fact. It's based on fact as much as any essay, but...it's not trying to be factual, it's simply not telling lies. It's in the tradition of a diary, my reflections on a given subject, Lollabrigida, and not what she is in reality. And it's even more personal than giving my point of view; it truly is an essay." (1)
{{reflist}}
⚫
*Bazin, Andre: ''Orson Welles: A Critical View''. Foreword by [[François Truffaut]]; profile by [[Jean Cocteau]]; translated from the French by Jonathan Rosenbaum. Harper & Row, 1978.
⚫
*Welles, Orson, and Bogdanovich, Peter: ''This is Orson Welles''. Jonathan Rosenbaum, editor. HarperCollins, 1992; reprinted by DaCapo, 1998.


==External links==
*{{IMDb title|id=0166313|title=Portrait of Gina}}


{{Orson Welles|state=autocollapse}}
And here's Bogdanovich and Welles, c. 1970:


[[Category:Short films directed by Orson Welles]]
Bogdanovich: "What was the television documentary you prepared about Gina Lollabrigida?
[[Category:American short documentary films]]

[[Category:1958 films]]
Welles: It was about the Roman movie world. She was the leading subject, but a lot of other people were in it- De Sica and so on. The film was made as a pilot for ABC of a proposed series, a sort of magazine- a serious one, not variety. And they hated it and that was that.
[[Category:Documentary films about Italy]]

[[Category:1958 documentary films]]
Bogdanovich: "Was it ever broadcast?
[[Category:Documentary films about actors]]

[[Category:1950s American films]]
Welles: "No. They said it was technically incompetent and couldn't be shown. Had a lot of new ideas in it- done with Steinberg's drawings, many still photos, conversations, little stories- and they regarded that as technical incompetence. I spent a lot of time photographing movie posters. That bothered them too. It was made for that screen [TV], in the newspaper tradition. Me on a given subject, Lollabrigida, and not what she is in reality. An essay. Anyway, they hated it." (2)
[[Category:1986 short documentary films]]

[[Category:1986 films]]

[[Category:1980s American films]]
⚫
1. Bazin,Andre: "Orson Welles: A Critical View". Foreword by Francois Truffaut; profile by Jean Cocteau; translated from the French by Jonathan Rosenbaum. Harper & Row, 1978.

⚫
2. Welles, Orson, and Peter Bogdanovich: "This is Orson Welles". Orson Welles and Peter Bogdanovich ; Jonathan Rosenbaum, editor. HarperCollins, 1992; reprinted by DaCapo, 1998.

Latest revision as of 01:10, 16 November 2024

Portrait of Gina, or Viva Italia is a 1958 documentary film by Orson Welles. It was funded by ABC TV. Around 30 minutes long, it follows a similar style to The Fountain of Youth (1958) and F for Fake (1973).

It was intended to be the pilot for a television series called Around the World with Orson Welles, which is also the name of a series Welles made in 1955 for British commercial television. The film is about Italy (Welles's third wife, Paola Mori was of Italian nationality) where the filmmaker lived and worked intermittently for about 20 years (roughly 1947–1969). The film discusses both negative and positive aspects of Italian culture. Actress Gina Lollobrigida, who is interviewed at the end of the film, has refused it to be allowed a public release, reportedly because she was displeased by its portrayal of her as an ambitious young actress. Vittorio De Sica, Rossano Brazzi, Anna Gruber, and Welles' wife, Paola Mori, are also briefly interviewed, and the film moves along at a rapid speed.

History

[edit]

When Welles submitted the film to ABC, they complained that they only received one reel of unorthodox material which they deemed unshowable, and it was never broadcast. Two years earlier, Welles had made another TV program, on Alexandre Dumas, père. It too was rejected as being unorthodox, while a further program made in 1956, The Fountain of Youth, was originally rejected on similar grounds (although it ended up getting a late-night screening in 1958, resulting in a Peabody Award).

In the late 1950s, Welles left the only copy of Viva Italia in his hotel room at the Hôtel Ritz in Paris. The film cans were unmarked, and ended up in the hotel's lost-and-found department and were eventually moved to a storage facility. The film was thought to be permanently lost until it was discovered in 1986. It was at that point that it was finally given a public showing at the Venice Film Festival, which is where Lollobrigida saw it and took legal recourse to have it banned, which she succeeded in doing. Between the Italian film festival screening and the completion of Lollobrigida's legal proceedings, the film did have one broadcast on German television (with German subtitles), and so despite the Lollobrigida ban, bootleg recordings of this broadcast continue to circulate.

Reception

[edit]

After it screened at the Venice Film Festival, film critic Nigel Andrews called the film "an inspired piece of editing charlatanry as a Welles growling out questions from a New York studio pretends to be interviewing Vittorio de Sica and others in sunny Italy. The piece is filmed with whirlwind wit, revolving atlases and snatches of the Harry Lime theme."[1]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Andrews, Nigel, "Down and Out On the Adriatic". Financial Times, September 6, 1986.
  • Bazin, Andre: Orson Welles: A Critical View. Foreword by François Truffaut; profile by Jean Cocteau; translated from the French by Jonathan Rosenbaum. Harper & Row, 1978.
  • Welles, Orson, and Bogdanovich, Peter: This is Orson Welles. Jonathan Rosenbaum, editor. HarperCollins, 1992; reprinted by DaCapo, 1998.
[edit]
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