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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 5, 2019 5:06:31 GMT
Visiting Cinecittà was not part of the original plan except for the fact that there was no plan. The heat wave did not really incite us to plan major sightseeing projects and in any case, we had made a point of seeing the majority of the iconic piazze, fountains and ruins the previous day. What activity could be better than taking the air conditioned metro line from one end to the other to get a glimpse of Cinecittà, at least from the outside? This was easier said than done. As it turned out, the Cinecittà metro station was closed due to track renovations. It was actually marked on the information screens, but who looks at those? It reminded me how exasperated I get in Paris at the tourists who never know what is going on with the metro network because they don't look at the screen.  But there was a shuttle bus to replace the two stations that were not served. As soon as it filled up, we took off. It was nice to see where we were actually going instead of being underground. And we sped right past Cinecittà without stopping, because it was the weekend with nobody working there, and the tourist visits would not start until more than an hour later, not that we were planning on doing that. Once again attempting to apply my Parisian experience to Rome, I just assumed that the bus would automatically stop wherever a metro station was -- but no. Nobody had indicated that they wanted to go there and nobody was waiting at the bus stop to get on. Lesson learned.
We soon arrived at the metro terminus, i.e. the middle of nowhere. Actually, it was a quite busy middle of nowhere because it was a big bus depot for people continuing their journey, and there was a utilitarian outdoor market underway, the sort of market where you buy indispensable plastic buckets or cheap toilet paper for your hovel in the outer suburbs. We located the bus in the other direction and arrived at Cinecittà with no further incident.
i.postimg.cc/ncKgxKmC/Roma_174.jpg
We weren't even the first tourists there as there were already people at the ticket office. Having nothing better to do, the decision to buy a ticket was automatic, even though the first English language tour wouldn't be for more than an hour. We were free to walk around the grounds and even enter a couple of buildings before following a guide into the actual studios.
The front gardens were quite pleasant, and of course there was a snack bar and gift shop awaiting. In any case, it was also the rendezvous point for the tours.
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i.postimg.cc/MGdGSN0M/Cinecitta_1_(10).jpg
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After a bit of wandering, it was time to sit and relax.
i.postimg.cc/4xvd8mm1/Cinecitta_1_(12).jpg |
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Post by bjd on Aug 5, 2019 6:28:42 GMT
Those umbrella pines always make me think of Rome.
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Post by lagatta on Aug 5, 2019 10:37:52 GMT
Presume the coffee was decent?
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 5, 2019 11:47:43 GMT
I think everybody was drinking cold drinks. Anyway, we were taken through the backlot gate and settled into soundstage 5 for a few minutes while the guide gave us the usual background. The studio opened in 1937, inaugurated by Mussolini. One of the first movies made there, Scipio Africanus, about someone who defeated Hannibal in 202 AD, used 7000 extras in the battle scenes. In this age of CGI imagery where you can create an army of 100,000 by pushing a button on the computer, such things are hard to imagine (food services, toilets...). During WW2, it was occupied by the Germans, who were then bombed by the Allies, and part of the studio destroyed. Then it was a dual refugee camp until 1947. One part was for local Italians but also repatriated Italians from Libya and Dalmatia. The other part was for Yugoslaves, Poles, Egyptians, Iranians and Chinese. WW2 certainly mixed people around! Back to movies aften then with a major golden area in the 1950's and 60's when tons of Hollywood movies were made there, from Roman Holiday to Ben-Hur to Cleopatra... Or course there were also the Fellini movies, but then the place went nearly bankrupt. The studio was privatised in 1997. Just like any studio to which I have ever been, there was absolutely no access to any of the soundstages currently in use, although we were told that at the moment the main production is a popular Italian series. |
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Post by lagatta on Aug 5, 2019 14:45:07 GMT
There is "caffè freddo"... Cinecittà is in Quartiere Don Bosco, which can give an idea of the surroundings. I did find a recent photo and it did look greener and more pleasant than most such neigbourhoods, but of course (googling local papers) there are the attendant problems of an area named after a priest who worked with street kids.
I don't imagine that you made it out the the Castelli and Frascati (pleasantly cool compared to Rome).
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 5, 2019 15:20:22 GMT
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Post by bjd on Aug 5, 2019 17:00:01 GMT
The sign on that house in the second picture just above looks like it's written in Hungarian!
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Post by lugg on Aug 5, 2019 19:49:01 GMT
Well despite the trauma of getting there this report suggests you enjoyed your visit. I am certainly enjoying it vicariously.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 6, 2019 2:31:44 GMT
The trauma was more funny than traumatic, Lugg.  Kerouac, you are doing such a masterful job of describing what was a totally fun day. I knew a visit to the studios would be interesting, but I never imagined it would be so entertaining. Besides that, it was a total thrill to see the artifacts of various movies, not to mention movie clips and pictures of idols such as Anna Magnani. Your pictures are also telling a great story. |
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 6, 2019 5:41:58 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 6, 2019 14:30:29 GMT
Anyway, we finished our tour of the back lot. The guide pointed out a few things from Scorcese's Gangs of New York, which was also filmed here. One of the outside walls of a soundstage still said "New York Gas Company" in faded letters, and there was also an old wooden warehouse that was featured in the movie. We were left off at a new building which had obviously been built by the owners of the studio when it was decided to do studio tours. It showcases dozens of movies that were made at Cinecittà with clips on both small and large screens, famous costumes, a green screen room for people to insert themselves in special effects and dubbing booths for putting one's own voice in famous movies. i.postimg.cc/D0W056XW/Cinecitta_1_(4).jpgi.postimg.cc/HxkV8dW9/Cinecitta_1_(5).jpg |
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 6, 2019 18:13:55 GMT
The historical displays were quite thorough.
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The reflections on the glass cases made it impossible to get good pictures of the famous costumes.
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The fantastic epoch of spaghetti westerns was not forgotten. I hope that Clint Eastwood is not embarrassed.
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Here is a model of the studio. I felt that I had missed out on some of the things on display, but it gives me a reason to go back some day.
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Since we knew exactly how far it was to walk back to the metro station that was open (not far at all), we walked back rather than waiting for the shuttle bus. This part of Rome is "modern."
i.postimg.cc/VL85XqNN/Cinecitta_2_(9).jpg
I was quite happy with this little trip just to see a less crowded, less historical part of Rome. We even made a brief visit to the local shopping mall Cinecittà 2, which was in severe decline,. as are many shopping malls from the 70's and 80's around the world. (I don't know who invented the "2" name for European shopping malls -- there is even one in Paris -- Italie 2 -- but they all sprang up in those decades and many of them are reaching the end of their life span. Just around Paris, I have been to Rosny 2, Parly 2, Vélizy 2, Ulis 2. Anyway, the concept spread to both Italy and Spain.)
People were flooding into the area as we left. At first I thought that a football match was imminent, but it soon became clear that it was a trade union demonstration. It was a perfect Italian touch to this part of the day.
FINE (as one used to see at the end of Italian films)
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Post by lagatta on Aug 6, 2019 19:06:07 GMT
If you go back, do get to the Castelli and Frascati. Not much farther; easy by public transport. Usually refreshingly cooler than Rome. That is why Popes live there in the summer, though I think Francisco/Francesco tends to stay in Rome. I'm wondering if the elaborate 19th century women's gowns and the bespoke officer's uniform were from Il Gattopardo...
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Post by bjd on Aug 6, 2019 19:25:27 GMT
We went to the Castelli Romani and I agree that it's a nice outing to get away from the city. We went to Castelgandolfo (where the Pope's summer residence is) and Nemi.
I wondered whether those costumes were from The Leopard too. Weren't the spaghetti westerns shot in Spain?
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 6, 2019 20:23:09 GMT
The exteriors yes, the interiors Cinecittà.
In 1971 I went to Tivoli, at Villa d'Este. That was already pretty impressive.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 6, 2019 23:16:04 GMT
Speaking of pretty impressive, this was a thoroughly enjoyable report, Kerouac, and really captured what a fun outing this was. Since we're dazzled by movies, it feels really special to be allowed on the grounds of such a great, historic place in movie making.
Something Kerouac didn't mention -- maybe because it seems too obvious to him -- but which I had to ask about: what is the purpose of all the scaffolding behind the fiberglass buildings? When filming, the scaffolding is draped with black plastic sheets so the sun won't shine through the fiberglass and ruin the illusion of a Roman temple or whatever.
Looking up stuff, I realized I had seen a movie that I think was entirely filmed in Cinecittà -- in fact in parts, Cinecittà is playing itself. I saw this back in the '70s on one of those uhf stations, but it always stuck with me because of its particular kind of (Italian?) cruel humor and because of the brilliant presence of Anna Magnani. The movie is Bellissima, and the whole thing is available (w/out subtitles) on youtube. If you drag the time counter, you can zero in on scenes of Cinecittà.
Thanks for the great report, Kerouac, and a million thanks again for suggesting such a perfect, non-obvious thing to do in Rome.
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Post by lagatta on Aug 6, 2019 23:52:10 GMT
This brings back so many memories, most of them pleasant, but not all. Predatory intellectuals. But those are not confined to Rome, or Latin-language cultures.
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Post by lugg on Aug 7, 2019 10:26:47 GMT
Thank you for showing us Cinecitta ,very interesting. Are most of the props post war or did they manage to save some before it became a refuge ?
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 7, 2019 12:30:09 GMT
I don't think I saw anything for the period 1937-1945 except some photographs.
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Post by lagatta on Aug 7, 2019 14:14:01 GMT
One of Rome's major universities, Tor Vergata, is in the same general area, a bit farther east.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 8, 2019 4:53:20 GMT
I found some of the footage which you can see in one of the photos in #11 above.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 15, 2019 15:18:27 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 15, 2019 21:12:10 GMT
And thanks for telling me about Bubù! I just watched a clip of it and it seems, in the words of one IMBd reviewer, "dark but exquisite". I will definitely watch it.
Reading the obituaries, I thought it was interesting how many places Tosi's costumes wound up. One thing I noticed about all the costumes on display at Cinecittà was how beautifully made they were. These were things not just thrown together to suggest a film's era, but real elaborately tailored garments.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 1, 2022 16:19:44 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on May 12, 2023 20:44:38 GMT
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