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Un sacco bello (1980) represents Carlo Verdone's film debut as an actor, writer and director following his television years. It featured a screenplay by Carlo Verdone, Leo Benvenuti, and Piero De Bernardi, photography by Ennio Guarnieri, editing by Eugenio Alabiso, music by Ennio Morricone,
production by Sergio Leone, distribution by Medusa-Pentavideo, and a cast starring Carlo Verdone, Isabella De Bernardi, Mario Brega, Renato Scarpa, Veronica Miriel, Luciano Bonanni, Filippo Trincia, Filippo Ciro, Sandro Ghiani, Fausto Di Bella, Pietro Zardini, and Maria Mizar Ferrara.
The plot
In a semi-deserted Rome during a hot August, the story of the three main characters is told. Enzo, a bold young man who likes to boast of his gallant adventures with women, plans to travel to Krakow in his sports car, so he seeks out a travelling companion. After a long search, he manages to convince his friend Sergio, who contracts an illness as soon as he leaves the capital city, so Enzo needs to find a replacement as soon as possible.
Leo is an awkward young man who lives in Trastevere with his mother, who is waiting for him by the sea to spend mid-August together. However, the young man is delayed by Marisol, a beautiful Spanish tourist who asks him for help. Shy and naive, Leo finds himself forced to host the exuberant foreigner at home, but just when something tender seems to be blossoming between the two, her boyfriend arrives…
Ruggero and his girlfriend Fiorenza arrive in Rome after a long stay in a hippie community. There, the boy meets his father, who invites them home. With the help of Father Alfio and Professor Anselmo, the man hopes to convince his son to get back on the right track.
The music
Un sacco bello marks the first collaboration between Ennio Morricone and Carlo Verdone, resulting in a very pleasant score that accompanies the situations of each episode. A rhythmic funky piece opens both the film and our LP, but the bulk of the soundtrack is based on variations of theme for Marisol, the Spanish girl that Ennio Morricone describes with different styles and arrangements: rhythmic and vivacious, slow and nostalgic for flute and guitar, romantic and dreamy performed by the orchestra, and a slow, rhythmic passage with moog. A samba for trumpet with mute, percussion and moog describes the atmosphere of a bourgeois living room. The finale of the film features the unmistakable whistle of Alessandro Alessandroni and the flugelhorn of Oscar Valdambrini accompanied by the orchestra. At the time, Cinevox Records released a 45 rpm single (MDF 127) with the themes "Un Sacco Bello (Titoli di coda)" and "Un salotto borghese." Then, we had to wait until 2002, when Cinevox Records released a CD (MDF 352) entitled BIANCO ROSSO E MORRICONE, featuring selections from "Un Sacco Bello" and "Bianco Rosso e Verdone". For this new LP edition with a duration of 40:14, we were able to access the first generation stereo master tapes of the recording sessions, which allowed us to discover three unreleased tracks: an alternate version of "Un salotto borghese" and two beautiful versions of the love theme vocalized by Nora Orlandi, who carries the motif through the end credits. A fitting homage to the art of Ennio Morricone and Carlo Verdone.
- Claudio Fuiano
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