Monica Vitti

Monica Vitti

Birth : 1931-11-03, Rome, Italy

Death : 2022-02-02

History

Monica Vitti (3 November 1931 – 2 February 2022) was an Italian actress best known for her starring roles in films directed by Michelangelo Antonioni during the early-to-mid 1960s. After working with Antonioni, Vitti changed focus and began making comedies, working with director Mario Monicelli on many films. She appeared with Marcello Mastroianni, Alain Delon, Richard Harris, Terence Stamp, Michael Caine, and Dirk Bogarde.

Profile

Monica Vitti
Monica Vitti
Monica Vitti
Monica Vitti
Monica Vitti
Monica Vitti

Movies

Noi siamo cinema
Herself
An Italian documentary about Italian cinema.
Vitti d'arte, Vitti d'amore
Archive footage
Necessarily far from the spotlights, Monica Vitti shines in a light intact to the eyes of spectators at every latitude. On scene the artistic path and life full of unpredictable events of an actress both introverted and sunny are recalled, through excerpts from her films and television programs, testimonies of friends and colleagues, leading exponents of Italian cinema of yesterday and today, critics, writers and costume experts.
Jeanne Moreau: Free Spirit
Self - Actress (archive footage)
An account of the life of actress Jeanne Moreau (1928-2017), a true icon of the New Wave and one of the most idolized French movie stars.
Monica Vitti, une étoile dans la nuit
Elle-même
1960
Herself (archive footage)
By presenting archive footage along with his own life story, filmmaker Gabriele Salvatores mediates an illustration of the economic boom in Italy during the 1960s.
L'occhio è per così dire l'evoluzione biologica di una lacrima e autoritratto Auschwitz
Herself
In the film we find some scrap of slow motion they see a Monica Vitti trying to cry, a meeting between Antonioni and Grifi, a film shot in the concentration camp of Auschwitz with a survivor who recounts those awful moments, a glimpse of Palestine today, Grifi's reflections on the prison.
Bellissime
Archival footage
Documentary consisting of archival footage that depicts the evolving conditions of Italian women during the first half of the 20th century.
Caro Antonioni
Self
A documentary portrait of Michangelo Antonioni based on Roland Barthes' essay.
Ma tu mi vuoi bene?
Anna Masetti
Secret Scandal
Writer
While reviewing her video diary, a woman finds footage of her husband cheating on her with her female friend. In desperation, she contemplates suicide, but her male film director friend suggests that they make an actual film about her.
Secret Scandal
Margherita
While reviewing her video diary, a woman finds footage of her husband cheating on her with her female friend. In desperation, she contemplates suicide, but her male film director friend suggests that they make an actual film about her.
Secret Scandal
Director
While reviewing her video diary, a woman finds footage of her husband cheating on her with her female friend. In desperation, she contemplates suicide, but her male film director friend suggests that they make an actual film about her.
Francesca is Mine
Producer
A middle-aged antiquarian's husband leaves her to go live with her best friend.
Francesca is Mine
Writer
A middle-aged antiquarian's husband leaves her to go live with her best friend.
Francesca is Mine
Francesca
A middle-aged antiquarian's husband leaves her to go live with her best friend.
Bellissimo: Images of the Italian Cinema
Herself
A documentary about the Italian cinema as art form and industry.
Ritorno a Lisca Bianca
Claudia (voice) (archive footage)
Twenty-three years after L'Avventura (1960), Michelangelo Antonioni returns to Lisca Bianca Island. The rarefied atmosphere of Anna's (Lea Massari's) disappearance is recalled by some audio excerpts from the original movie.
Flirt
Laura
After a 22 years wedding, a couple shows the signs of a crisis. She thinks he has a lover, and actually it seems so, but is the lover for real?
Flirt
Writer
After a 22 years wedding, a couple shows the signs of a crisis. She thinks he has a lover, and actually it seems so, but is the lover for real?
La fuggiDiva
Screenplay
Mockumentary about the life and career of the actress Monica Vitti.
La fuggiDiva
Director
Mockumentary about the life and career of the actress Monica Vitti.
La fuggiDiva
Herself
Mockumentary about the life and career of the actress Monica Vitti.
I Know That You Know That I Know
Livia
The investigations of a private eye shake up the almost broken marriage of a middle aged couple.
Unfaithfully Yours
Renata Adorni / Grazia Siriani
An omnibus of two different stories: In the first a divorced couple (actress wife and director husband) refresh their old passions via their common flat. In the second a well-to-do dentist-wife is attacked by her petty bourgeois family when she writes a sex novel.
The Mystery of Oberwald
The Queen
A hunted man breaks into the castle at Oberwald to kill the Queen, but faints before doing so. He is Sebastian, the splitting image of the King who was assassinated on his wedding day. The Queen discovers that Sebastian once wrote a subversive poem that she liked, even though it was attacking her. The Queen dares Sebastian to kill her, otherwise she vows to kill him.
The Tango of Jealousy
Lucia
Lucia has been married for ten years with Julius who is fond of horses and seems to prefer his wife. Lucy tries then ingelosirlo inventing a lover who sends flowers with tickets compromising and makes mysterious phone calls. But Julius seems immune to any kind of jealousy. Then one day is hired as a bodyguard by Lucia Diego, Diego, who has a passion for Rudolph Valentino and thinks he is a great seducer, Diego has a girlfriend away, Nunzia. And things start to get more serious.
Hotel Room
Flaminia
A couple of young movie makers have secretly filmed for over a year what was going on in a hotel room, trying to realize a "live act" of common people living their life. They get in touch with old and money-tight producer Mengaroni to edit their movie, but while they contact the accidental actors for gathering authorization, he starts to manipulate their work.
I Don't Understand You Anymore
Luisa Malpieri
On entering her bathroom, Luisa finds a naked man showering. She calls the police at once and the man is arrested. At the police station Alberto, a psychiatrist, recognizes the man: he is Paolo, Luisa's husband. Alberto offers to help Paolo, but when the two men arrive at his home, Paolo still in his bathrobe, Luisa hugs Alberto and calls him Paolo. The two men try everything they think of to help Luisa regain her memory until the last (but not too unexpected) surprise.
An Almost Perfect Affair
Maria
An idealistic first-time director lives for his art — until he meets a wife of an Italian producer at the Cannes Film Festival. A passionate affair begins, but the couple's romance is tested as they face the temptations of fame and fortune.
Tigers in Lipstick
Maria / The Prostitute
8 comic sketches set in Italy, with 4 of the most famous European sex symbols of the 70's playing 2 roles each.
Per vivere meglio, divertitevi con noi
Valentina Contarini (segment "Un incontro molto ravvicinato")
For having suffered the violence of seven Himalayan Sherpas, the Countess Valentina Contarini has fallen ill of "fallophobia" and consults a healer, a supposed extraterrestrial who is actually a young Swedish man who "works" for certain American psychologists.
My Loves
Anna Lisa Bianchi
Annalisa is married to Marco, a journalist too busy with her career, who neglects her even though she loves him deeply. He therefore decides to find another husband, the university professor Antonio, who marries without the first being able to notice it. Until she gets pregnant. David di Donatello 1979 for Monica Vitti.
State Reasons
Angela Ravelli
Professor Marrot obtains the secret documents containing evidence of the illegal weapon transactions between the French government, in the face of its high official Leroi, and two African countries. Before making the public statement, Marrot finds himself under surveillance. In the critical circumstances his Italian friend and partner Angela takes action and the game continues.
Il Cilindro
Rita
The comedy, centered on five characters (Rita, Rodolfo, Agostino, Bettina, and Don Attilio - "o viecchio pazzo"-), has as background the Italy of the 60s between the economic boom and the perennial unemployment crisis. The cylinder, well explained by "Agostino-Eduardo" in the comedy, is a representation of power, designed to intimidate the ignorant for its only evocative "power". It can also be seen as a sort of "Pirandellian mask", where the character of Augustine wears it to defend himself and represent something that he is not.
L'altra metà del cielo
Susanna Maccaluso
Don Vincenzo is a priest sent to a mining village in Australia, seeks to redeem the Sicilian Susanna.
Keep It To Yourself!
Amanda / Lia
Three episodes of casual erotic character: a porn scriptwriter and his secretary, a man locked up among homosexuals, and a shy man who decides to hire a prostitute over the phone.
Mimì Bluette... Flower of My Garden
Mimì Bluette
Mimi Bluette, daughter of a prostitute, lives in Paris where she is idolized by men of all kinds and class, is about to settle with a rich man when, in a bar, she meets a stranger.
Duck in Orange Sauce
Lisa
When his wife wants a divorce -- in preference of a romantic Frenchman -- husband Livio seemingly accepts. But when he sets up a last weekend together with his secretary and his wife's lover, the trip turns out to be part of an elaborate plan to win his wife back.
Blonde in Black Leather
Miele
Two racy women decide to chuck their mundane lives and go on a wild adventure.
The Immortal Bachelor
Tina Candela
Tina is on trial for the murder of her lover, Gino. The violent nature of their relationship, revealed in the trial, seems to make obvious that she accidentally killed him during a fight. The lone female jury member compares her life to Tina's and, believing her to be innocent, sets out on her own to find a missing witness that can prove Tina's innocence.
The Phantom of Liberty
Mme Foucault
This Surrealist film, with a title referencing the Communist Manifesto, strings together short incidents based on the life of director Luis Buñuel. Presented as chance encounters, these loosely related, intersecting situations, all without a consistent protagonist, reach from the 19th century to the 1970s. Touching briefly on subjects such as execution, pedophilia, incest, and sex, the film features an array of characters, including a sick father and incompetent police officers.
Stardust
Dea Dani
The lives of two local professional dancers change suddenly as American soldiers stop in their town hoping to be entertained in accordance with the Broadway style. Effectively, they perform up to their expectations. However, as the army men have to march northward, their moment of glory finishes heartlessly.
Teresa the Thief
Teresa
Teresa gets her first taste of crime -- and its consequences -- when, during World War II, she is nabbed for robbing an apartment. But being poor and perpetually starving, the pretty petty thief doesn't give up her quest for ill-gotten gains and soon turns to pick-pocketing. Despite her questionable thieving skills, the bumbling crook tries scheme after scheme, pilfering from strangers and dodging the law as she searches for a way to fund an adequate meal.
La Tosca
Floria Tosca
Rome, 1800. Napoleon threatens the power of the Church and executions of Jacobins are constant. Angelotti, the most famous of them all has escaped from prison and the chief of police is on his tail. Angelotti is being helped by a painter, lover of "La Tosca", a famous singer. The police chief suspects the truth and tries to arouse the jealousy of "La Tosca" to catch the escapee.
Orders are Orders
Giorgia
Giorgia, an unhappy housewife tired of marriage with her husband Amedeo, starts to hear a voice that orders her to perform actions out of the ordinary.
That's How We Women Are
la suonatrice di piatti, Zoe, Annunziata, Teresa, Alberta, Eliana, Katherine, Erika, Palmira, Agata, Laura, Fulvia
The film consists of twelve episodes, all with Monica Vitti as the protagonist.
The Superwitness
Isolina Pantò
Comedy about a man who is sentenced to life imprisonment mainly because of a woman's testimony, but she later marries him during his sentence
The Pacifist
Barbara
Barbara (Monica Vitti) is a journalist investigating the local counterculture who becomes involved, after an unpleasant start of battery and stalking, with Pierre Clémenti's louche all-around dropout.
The Couples
Adele / Giulia
Three episodes. Episode 1 - The Refrigerator (Monicelli). A married couple of two poor emigrant workers spend almost all their money to buy a refrigerator (a must in the '70s). The purchase is too expensive for their family balance sheet. To earn some money they decide to go for prostitution. The wife is not so unhappy to the perspective. Episode 2 - The Room (Sordi). To celebrate ten years of marriage a couple decides to spend a quick holiday in top luxury hotels in Sardinia. But the fashion luxury VIP world is too hard to enter; they soon will end in prison. Episode 3 - The Lion (De Sica). Two adulterous, Antonio and Giulia, are blocked by a lion, staying on the exit in the place they met. They both have to come back home, but couldn't move because of the lion’s presence. The critical situation soon drives them to their limit, revealing their real essence.
Ninì Tirabusciò:  The Woman Who Invented the Move
Maria Sarti aka Ninì Tirabusciò
Comedy set at the time of King Umberto I of Monza (Italy) about Maria Sarti, aka Ninì Tirabusciò, actress/singer who caused a scandal with her raunchy dancing.
A Drama of Jealousy (And Other Things)
Adelaide
Construction worker Oreste and young fiancee Adelaide meet Nello, cook in a pizzeria. This love triangle often go to communist rallies, and enjoy the filthy beach of Ostia. Will the hostile environment leave a way to jealousy?
Help Me, My Love
Raffaella Macchiavelli
Giovanni and Raffaella are happily married from ten years, but their relationship goes into crisis when Raffaella falls in love with Valerio Mantovani, a handsome forty-year-old man she knew during the concerts of chamber music she weekly attends with her mother.
The Scarlet Lady
Eva
Comedy about a self-made woman in Paris contemplating the idea of suicide at first, then murder.
The Girl with a Pistol
Assunta Patanè
A Sicilian woman is dishonored by her lover, then goes to London with a pistol intending to murder him.
On My Way to the Crusades, I Met a Girl Who...
Boccadoro
A chastity belt provides an endless amount of grief for a woman whose jealous husband has gone off to the Crusades.
Kill Me Quick, I'm Cold
Giovanna
Giovanna and Franco are lovers pretending to be brother and sister in order to con unsuspecting marks while staying in the most luxurious locales throughout Europe. In their travels, they come across the beautiful Christina, a girl who is being threatened by her brother, Sergio, in order to get the family fortune. But as Giovanna and Franco delve into their story, the double-crossing begins, and no one is sure who is getting tricked.
I Married You for Fun
Giuliana
Pietro is a young bourgeois lawyer who married Giuliana, a pretty girl who was a little unscrewed, and met at a party of artists. Despite the premises, everything between the two seems to work best.
Cinéma et Réalité
Self
In this documentary, giants of italian cinema such as Rossellini, De Sica, Fellini and Zavattini talk about the importance of cinema after WW2, and about huge moments of social rebellion. This movie gives the floor to the creators of italian neorealism.
Modesty Blaise
Modesty Blaise
Modesty Blaise, a secret agent whose hair color, hair style, and mod clothing change at a snap of her fingers is being used by the British government as a decoy in an effort to thwart a diamond heist. She is being set up by the feds but is wise to the plot and calls in sidekick Willie Garvin and a few other friends to outsmart them. Meanwhile, at his island hideaway, Gabriel, the diamond thief has his own plans for Blaise and Garvin.
The Queens
Sabina
Four unrelated short comedies by four different directors. "Queen Sabina"chronicles the sexual misadventures of a teenage girl on the road home. "Queen Armenia" centers on a self-serving opportunistic gypsy babysitter who uses her employer's kids for her own gain. The third episode, "Queen Elena" centers on a husband who learns a lesson about the perils of infidelity after he succumbs to the wiles of the seductive wife next door. The last vignette, "Queen Marta" centers on a wealthy woman who, when drunk, uses her butler as an outlet for her lust.
Antonioni: Documents and Testimonials
Self
A behind-the-scenes documentary about director Michelangelo Antonioni as he's shooting his segment of The Three Faces, a vehicle for Soraya, the former empress of Persia. Featuring interviews with Monica Vitti, Tonino Guerra and more.
The Dolls
Giovanna (segment "La Minestra")
This semi-amusing sex (romance) comedy has four separate stories: "The Telephone Call", written by Rodolfo Sonego, directed by Dino Risi. "A Treatise on Eugenics", written by Tullio Pinelli from a story by Luciano Salce and Steno, directed by Luigi Comencini. "The Soup", written by Rodolfo Sonego and Luigi Magni, directed by Franco Rossi. "Monsignor Cupid", written by Leo Benvenuti and Piero de Bernardi from a story by Boccaccio, directed by Mauro Bolognini.
The Flying Saucer
Dolores
An exasperated police inspector receives different eyewitness accounts surrounding a downed saucer and its female occupant.
Red Desert
Giuliana
Amid the modern wastelands and toxic factories of Italy, wife and mother Giuliana desperately tries to conceal her tenuous grip on reality from those around her, especially her successful yet neglectful husband, Ugo. Ugo's old pal, Corrado, shows up in town on a business trip and is more sensitive to Giuliana's anxieties. They begin an affair, but it does little to quell Giuliana's existential fears, and her mental state rapidly deteriorates.
High Infidelity
Gloria
Four different directors present lighthearted stories about married Italian couples and their dilemmas with jealousy, sex and love.
Follie d'estate
ragazza snob
Nutty, Naughty Chateau
Éléonore
An old castle in Sweden, inhabited by a family of 18th century dressing eccentrics, holds secrets, deception, and rumors of murder.
Sweet and Sour
Elle
Gerard, a young man from a "good family" dreams of becoming an actor. To do this, he follows everywhere his sister Frédérique who is infatuated with cinéma vérité.
3 Fables of Love
Madeleine (segment "Le lièvre et le tortue")
"Les quatre vérités" aka "The Four Truths" is a movie anthology that consists of four segments, all loosely parodying fables from the 17th-century French poet Jean de la Fontaine. The US cut usually features only 3 segments.
L'Eclisse
Vittoria
This romantic drama by Michelangelo Antonioni follows the love life of Vittoria, a beautiful literary translator living in Rome. After splitting from her writer boyfriend, Riccardo, Vittoria meets Piero, a lively stockbroker, on the hectic floor of the Roman stock exchange. Though Vittoria and Piero begin a relationship, it is not one without difficulties, and their commitment to one another is tested during an eclipse.
La Notte
Valentina Gherardini
A day in the life of an unfaithful married couple and their steadily deteriorating relationship in Milan.
L'Avventura
Claudia
Claudia and Anna join Anna's lover, Sandro, on a boat trip to a remote volcanic island. When Anna goes missing, a search is launched. In the meantime, Sandro and Claudia become involved in a romance despite Anna's disappearance, though the relationship suffers from guilt and tension.
Il borghese gentiluomo
Dorimente
The Third
Ofelia Granelli
A clothing merchant Ofelia, a naïve housewife Rina, and the outspoken nurse Edna meet at a police station and discover that they share a failed sentimental life.
A Mink Coat
Luisa Panetti
A newlywed couple win the lottery and the prize is a mink fur which might change their lives forever.
Ridere! Ridere! Ridere!
Maria Teresa
A series of comical sketches featuring a doctor, a travelling salesman and some posh gents.