Happy Valentine's (2 of 4): Love in the Arts........

These are scenes from two Shakespeare plays ("Romeo and Juliet" and "Othello") as well as a Turkish and an Italian film, a drawing of a French version of "Bonnie and Clyde" and a Japanese anime still.

Quote of the Day- Roberto Benigni

Today, we continue quoting people associated with the 16 nations competing in the Euro Cup 2012 soccer championships with a quote from Italian comic/actor/director Roberto Benigni ,59, who won a Best Actor Oscar for his role in "Life is Beautiful" (1997), a film that he also directed.

Though his fellow Italian Marcello Mastroianni (1924-1996) was a legendary actor who won two Golden Globes for Best Actor, Benigni was actually the first Italian to win a Best Actor Oscar.

For our quote, Benigni refers to the late director Frederico Fellini who directed many Mastroianni films including "La Dolce Vita" (1960):

"For me, Fellini was like a watermelon. It is there. A watermelon cannot die."

Quote of the Day- Frederico Fellini

Here is our quote of the day which comes for the late, great Italian director of such films as "8 1/2" and "La Dolce Vita:"

"A good opening and a good ending make for a good film provided they come close together."

Best Films of 1961

Since I looked at the best films from the years 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000last year, I am going to list my favorite films for the years following those years this year.

On my other blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time," I listed the best films from 1951. Here, I list my favorite films from 1961:


1. "Cleo from 5 to 7" (France. dir. Agnes Varda)

2. "Last Year of Marienbad" (France. dir. Alain Resnais)

3. "Divorce Italian Style" (Italy. dir. Pietro Germi)

4. "Viridiana" (Spain. dir. Luis Bunuel)

5. "West Side Story"* (dir. Robert Wise and Jerome Robins)

6. "A Woman is a Woman" (France. dir. Jean-Luc Godard)

7. "Splendor in the Grass" (dir. Elia Kazan)

8. "Accattone (Italy. dir. Pier Paolo Pasolini)

9. "Il Posto" (Italy. dir. Ermamo Olmi)

10. "Yojimbo" (Japan. dir. Akira Kurosawa)

Special Quote of the Week- Frederico Fellini

We wrap our series of quotes from famous Italians in honor of the 150th anniversary of Italy's unification with a quip from the great Italian film director Frederico Fellini (1920-1993).

Among his famous films are "La Strada" (1954), "La Dolce Vita" (1960) and "8 1/2"
(1963). Fellini was a surrealist and this side of him was illustrated quite strakly with his later films, including "Satryicon" (1969) and "Amarcord" (1974).

Here is his quote:

"Censorship is advertising paid by the government."

SIDEBAR: We were wondering about the origins of the term 'gazooks,' also spelled 'gadzooks.' It turns out that it means several things. Two of them are: 1) an expression of alarm and 2) a term of surprise. I knew I had first heard the term on a cartoon or children's show as a child, but I forgot which one it was.

Well, it turns out, according to the Urban Dictionary, that the term was used very frequently on the now-campy "Batman" tv series with Adam West (as Batman) and Burt Ward (as Robin), which ran from 1966-68. Amazingly enough, there are 120 episodes of the show because it aired twice a week. Today, Adam West is 82 years old.

UPDATE: And, in the gazooks! department, this entry was actually meant for our other blog "Politics, Culture and Wastes of Time." Oh well....

Quote of the Week- Sophia Loren

Tonight, we continue with our quips from famous Italians since Italy is celebrating its 150th anniversary as a republic. Ironically, even though Sophia Loren is Italy's most recognized screen star around the world, she resides abroad in Geneva, Switzerland.

Loren, who will turn 77 on September 20, provided the voice for Maria Topolino in the upcoming animated film "Cars 2." She was the very first woman to win a Best Actress Oscar for a foreign-language when she won the award for the 1962 Italian film "Two Women." The French actress Marion Cottilard would be the second actress to achieve that rarity when she Oscared for her role as the iconic French singer Edith Piaf in the 2007 French film "La Vie en Rose."

Loren is also said to be an inspiration for the Spanish actress, superstar Penelope Cruz whose title role in Pedro Almodovar's film "Volver" (which recieved an Oscar nomination) is said to be inspired by the Italian legend.

Here is the quote from Loren:

"A woman's dress should be like a barbed-wired fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view."