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Special Features
- Pietro Germi: The Man with the Cigar in His Mouth, a 39-minute documentary by critic and filmmaker Mario Sesti
- Delighting in Contrasts, a new 30-minute interview featuring Stefania Sandrelli, Lando Buzzanca, and Mario Sesti
- Rare screen-test footage of actresses Daniela Roca and Stefania Sandrelli
- A new essay by film critic Stuart Klawans
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Divorce Italian Style is a comedy milestone--a brilliant, biting satire that was originally conceived as a drama; directed with nonstop inventiveness by a filmmaker who had never done comedy; and featuring an actor who, though not even among the first dozen players considered, cemented his international stardom with this performance. The movie also marked a breakthrough for foreign film in America, winning popular as well art-house success, Academy Award nominations for director Pietro Germi and star Marcello Mastroianni, and--the first of only a few foreign-language films to do so--the Oscar itself for Original Screenplay.
On the sun-blasted island of Sicily, Baron Ferdinand "Fefè" Cefalù (Mastroianni) breaks out of his heat- and boredom-induced stupor long enough to be smitten with mad passion for his 16-year-old cousin Angela (Stefania Sandrelli). But he's married--to Rosalia (Daniela Rocca), she of the unfortunate mustache--and the Italian Penal Code gives him no way out... except, of course, for catching his wife in adultery and availing himself of the patriarchal license to commit a "crime of honor." So Fefè searches for a way to fling Rosalia into the arms of another man.
Mastroianni's Fefè is an indelible masterpiece, visually and behaviorally: a portrait in painterly chiaroscuro, with brilliantined hair, eternally drooping eyelids, a cigarette holder angled in perpetual salute, and a manic, conspiratorial slouch, like Groucho Marx on painkillers. Germi's direction hustles the film along with bold, mobile camerawork, stream-of-consciousness lurches into fantasy and flashback, Fefè's feverish voiceover commentary, and a wonderfully propulsive music score by the late Carlo Rustichelli. --Richard T. Jameson
Product Description
Baron Ferdinando Cefalù (Marcello Mastroianni) longs to marry his nubile cousin Angela, but one obstacle stands in his way: his fatuous and fawning wife, Rosalia. His solution? Since divorce is illegal, he will devise a scenario wherein he can catch his spouse in the arms of another and murder her to save his honor-a lesser offense. Criterion is proud to present director Pietro Germi's hilarious and cutting satire of Italy's hypocritical judicial system and male-dominated culture, winner of the 1962 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, in a two-disc DVD edition that also features a documentary on the director, new interviews with the actors and screenwriter, screen-test footage, and more.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Just so you know, divorce is now permitted in Italy. But in 1962, the only way you could get a divorce was by... well, "Divorce Italian Style," a ka bumping off your adulterous spouse. This delightfully warped black comedy focuses on that very idea -- a disgruntled husband who goes to absurd lengths to get a "divorce."
Ferdinando Cefalú (Marcello Mastroianni) is a middle-aged Sicialian noble who is displeased with his life, and his adoring wife Rosalia (Daniela Rocca). In true midlife-crisis fashion, he falls for his angelic-looking cousin Angela (Stefania Sandrelli), but he can't get a divorce. Divorce isn't allowed in Italy at this time, so Ferdinando is left stewing over his problems, fantasizing about murdering Rosalia.
But then he hears about an odd law: if an adulterous spouse is caught in flagrante, then the wronged spouse can kill the adulterer and get off with a light prison sentence. So Ferdinando starts desperately searching for a potential lover for Rosalia, but she remains faithful. Then he locates an ex-boyfriend of hers, hoping to rekindle the old flame. But nothing goes quite according to plan...
Yes, it's a bit sick. But in such a funny way that it really doesn't offend. At a certain point it becomes less about Ferdinando trying to murder his wife, as it is an increasingly overwrought attempt to get her to commit adultery. Not to mention a spoof on traditional views on "family honor," where it is more shocking to NOT kill your adulterous spouse than it is to do so.
Ferdinando carefully straddles the line between being slime and being a funny character -- his surreal murder fantasies are hilarious, such as when he shoves Rosalia into a vat of soap. And in keeping with the spoof atmosphere, the romance is overemotional, the fighting is overwrought, and the contrived adultery/murder scheme is absurd. The final scene is the final tragicomic flourish, hinting at future disaster that Ferdinando deserves.
Pietro Germi at first seems to be making an offensive movie, but viewing it with a sense of humor shows that he's poking fun, and making wry social observations. He was also not above plugging Mastroianni's other movies -- one scene has a priest denouncing "La Dolce Vita," followed by crowds rushing to see it. Ferdinando's future brother-in-law ogles the beautiful Anita Eckberg, then hastily tells his fiancee that Eckberg is pretty, but "she has no soul."
The immortal Mastroianni injects just enough humanity into Ferdinando to keep us from loathing him -- in the middle of a midlife crisis, he seems increasingly confused as the movie goes on. Daniela Rocca sits on the fence between being devoted and annoying, while Sandrelli plays a girl who acts like an angel, but definitely isn't.
Thankfully Italian spouses no longer have to bump each other off to get a "divorce," but "Divorce Italian Style" remains a classic black comedy/social satire.
Ferdinando Cefalú (Marcello Mastroianni) is a middle-aged Sicialian noble who is displeased with his life, and his adoring wife Rosalia (Daniela Rocca). In true midlife-crisis fashion, he falls for his angelic-looking cousin Angela (Stefania Sandrelli), but he can't get a divorce. Divorce isn't allowed in Italy at this time, so Ferdinando is left stewing over his problems, fantasizing about murdering Rosalia.
But then he hears about an odd law: if an adulterous spouse is caught in flagrante, then the wronged spouse can kill the adulterer and get off with a light prison sentence. So Ferdinando starts desperately searching for a potential lover for Rosalia, but she remains faithful. Then he locates an ex-boyfriend of hers, hoping to rekindle the old flame. But nothing goes quite according to plan...
Yes, it's a bit sick. But in such a funny way that it really doesn't offend. At a certain point it becomes less about Ferdinando trying to murder his wife, as it is an increasingly overwrought attempt to get her to commit adultery. Not to mention a spoof on traditional views on "family honor," where it is more shocking to NOT kill your adulterous spouse than it is to do so.
Ferdinando carefully straddles the line between being slime and being a funny character -- his surreal murder fantasies are hilarious, such as when he shoves Rosalia into a vat of soap. And in keeping with the spoof atmosphere, the romance is overemotional, the fighting is overwrought, and the contrived adultery/murder scheme is absurd. The final scene is the final tragicomic flourish, hinting at future disaster that Ferdinando deserves.
Pietro Germi at first seems to be making an offensive movie, but viewing it with a sense of humor shows that he's poking fun, and making wry social observations. He was also not above plugging Mastroianni's other movies -- one scene has a priest denouncing "La Dolce Vita," followed by crowds rushing to see it. Ferdinando's future brother-in-law ogles the beautiful Anita Eckberg, then hastily tells his fiancee that Eckberg is pretty, but "she has no soul."
The immortal Mastroianni injects just enough humanity into Ferdinando to keep us from loathing him -- in the middle of a midlife crisis, he seems increasingly confused as the movie goes on. Daniela Rocca sits on the fence between being devoted and annoying, while Sandrelli plays a girl who acts like an angel, but definitely isn't.
Thankfully Italian spouses no longer have to bump each other off to get a "divorce," but "Divorce Italian Style" remains a classic black comedy/social satire.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
By Dymon Enlow
Format:DVD
I've never even heard of this movie before, I only rented it cause I'm on a noble quest (just like a knight!) to see every Criterion DVD. And I'm glad I did cause this movie is hilarious! I loved it. I'd even buy a copy if I wasn't flat broke.
Aristocrat Fefe cannot stand his wife. Loud, annoying, crazy facial hair she grates on his nerves all day then wants to cuddle, etc all night. Yuck! Lucky for him though there is a 16-year-old hottie next door that is in love with him. Yes!
Now all he has to do is get rid of his wife, but since divorce is illegal he's just gonna have to kill her, but that means prison unless! Unless he catches her in the arms of another man then he'll get less than 3 years! But who would ever want to be with his wife?
Flawlessly directed with an almost psychotic intensity I think I grinned like an idiot the entire movie. And the performance! Everybody was great, but Marcello Mastroianni was absolutely brilliant. I'd laugh even when he was just standing around thinking.
Double feature this with THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH.
D: Pietro Germi (MY FRIENDS, SEDUCED AND ABANDONED)
W: Ennio De Concini (SALON KITTY, BLACK SUNDAY)
Ferdinando Cefalu - Marcello Mastroianni (LA DOLCE VITA, 8 1/2)
Rosalina Cefalu - Daniela Rocca (THE SUCKER, BEHOLD A PALE HORSE)
Angela - Stefania Sandrelli (1900, THE CONFORMIST)
Aristocrat Fefe cannot stand his wife. Loud, annoying, crazy facial hair she grates on his nerves all day then wants to cuddle, etc all night. Yuck! Lucky for him though there is a 16-year-old hottie next door that is in love with him. Yes!
Now all he has to do is get rid of his wife, but since divorce is illegal he's just gonna have to kill her, but that means prison unless! Unless he catches her in the arms of another man then he'll get less than 3 years! But who would ever want to be with his wife?
Flawlessly directed with an almost psychotic intensity I think I grinned like an idiot the entire movie. And the performance! Everybody was great, but Marcello Mastroianni was absolutely brilliant. I'd laugh even when he was just standing around thinking.
Double feature this with THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH.
D: Pietro Germi (MY FRIENDS, SEDUCED AND ABANDONED)
W: Ennio De Concini (SALON KITTY, BLACK SUNDAY)
Ferdinando Cefalu - Marcello Mastroianni (LA DOLCE VITA, 8 1/2)
Rosalina Cefalu - Daniela Rocca (THE SUCKER, BEHOLD A PALE HORSE)
Angela - Stefania Sandrelli (1900, THE CONFORMIST)
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
I have never forgotten this movies since I first saw it when it came out in the 1960s. For years I have described it to friends and then several years ago it was finally released on video. What a treat to see it again. Many films don't stand the test of time, but this one does. Marcello Mastroianni portrays a wealthy, bored Sicilian barone who is as bored with his wife (who sports a slight mustasche), as he is with life. He catches the eye of a beautiful young woman (no mustasche), and decides he wants to marry her. Of course divorce is out of the question in Italy, so he concocts an elaborate scheme to kill his wife and win his new love.
Marcello plays the frantic schemer while at the same time suffering the whining self-centeredness of his wife with masterful facial expressions. His ennui and arrogance are visible from the way he smokes his cigarette to the little sucking sounds which occasionally escape from the side of his mouth. You almost become sympathetic to his cause. The music is superb, and underlies the sense of suspense.
All of the supporting cast is excellent. Pietro Germi is masterful at ridiculing the upper class, outdated Italian laws and the suffocating layers of structure and tradition in Southern Italy in the 1960s.
Obviously, one of my favorites. (VHS version).
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The funniest, saddest, wisest, most perfect film ever made?
I used to think it was "Dr. Strangelove." Sometimes I still think it's "Lolita." Or "The Rite of Spring," "Guernica, "Sweeney Todd," "The Great Gatsby," "The Book of Mormon,"... Read more
Published 5 months ago by trastevere
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delightfully Wicked Comedy
The film parodies the divorce laws of Italy during the 1960s, when a man could kill his wife with little to no punishment if she had been unfaithful to him. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Jay
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sixties-dipity
This marvellous film was an instant hit in the sixties, even without subtitles. You don't have to know Italian to get the story, as the characters and action are self-explanatory. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Vanploy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant!
This is one of my favorite movies, dark and funny. This is better than most modern movies. Great story and acting.
Published 21 months ago by P. Walters
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mastroianni's Performance Highlight of Famous Comedy
Directed by Pietro Germi and starring Marcello Mastroianni, DIVORCE ITALIAN STYLE is a pitch-black and highly influential comedy--but comedy is a delicate thing, it seldom exports... Read more
Published on December 9, 2010 by Gary F. Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite Mastroianni
This is one of Mastroianni's best performances, right alongside Una Giornata Particolare(Un Dia Muy Especial) aka (One FIne Day) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America].
Published on June 17, 2010 by Juls
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loved it!
I bought several Italian films from the 1950s and 1960s before a trip to Italy/Sicily, and this one was my favorite. Marcello Mastroianni is so funny in it.
Published on February 12, 2010 by K. Hudson
5.0 out of 5 stars
you'd do the same thing!
Marcello Mastoianni is a rumpled unemployed minor, very minor nobility, in Italy. He is married to Daniela Rocca. She has eyebrows that continue from one end to the other. Read more
Published on December 18, 2009 by E. M Oreta
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing Marcello
Loved this movie. Although, the disk quality could be better, movie is funny, enchanting, full of true details and unpredictable. Gorgeous Marcello and beautiful Sandrelli!
Published on September 26, 2009 by LenaD
5.0 out of 5 stars
A film out of place in its time, but one for the ages
This brilliantly-observed dark comedy by director Pietro Germi outstrips anything Fellini ever made and ranks with L'Avventura and Il Gattopardo as one of my favourite Italian... Read more
Published on July 1, 2009 by Matthew Watters
