Arabesque (1966)
LIMITED SERIES SOPHIA LOREN: LA DIVA DI NAPOLI NOV 7–30, 2024
Born Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone on September 20, 1934, Sophia Loren has an unrivaled career both in her native Italy and in Hollywood, appearing in nearly one hundred films over seven decades. She started as an extra for the film studio Cinecittà, before catching the attention of future husband Carlo Ponti, who cast her in her breakout role in The Gold of Naples (1954) . Collaborating with Ponti on 34 films together, frequently starring opposite the charismatic Marcello Mastroianni, and often featured in works with and by Vittorio De Sica, Loren has tackled subject matter both intense and lighthearted with a grounded earthiness and head-turning magnetism. Winner of an Academy Award for Best Actress for her devastating turn in Two Women (1960), the first time an acting award went to a performance not in the English language, Loren also received an Honorary Oscar in 1990 for “a career rich with memorable performances [that] has added permanent luster to our art form.” In celebration of her 90th birthday, the Academy Museum presents this overview of some of Loren’s most enduring performances. Programmed and notes by K.J. Relth-Miller, except where noted. This film series is presented by the Academy Museum in partnership with Cinecittà.
Two Women ( La ciociara ) in 4K with Sophia Loren and Edoardo Ponti Thu, Nov 7 | 7:30pm | DGT In person: Sophia Loren and Edoardo Ponti. This harrowing tale finds Cesira (Sophia Loren), a grocer in Rome and mother of 13-year-old Rosetta (Eleonora Brown), fleeing the 1943 German invasion of the Italian capital city for her childhood village of Ciociaria, facing danger unflinchingly as her will to survive is challenged amidst the devastation of World War II. Marking her homecoming after a four-year contract with Paramount, Loren reteams with director Vittorio De Sica and producer Carlo Ponti to deliver a tour-de-force performance that garnered the Best Actress prize at the 14th Cannes Film Festival and made her the first non-English- language performer to win an Oscar. DIRECTED BY: Vittorio De Sica. WRITTEN BY: Cesare Zavattini. WITH: Sophia Loren, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Eleonora Brown,
Carlo Ninchi. 1960. 101 min. Italy/France. B&W. Italian, German, English. 4K DCP. Courtesy of Cinecittà. Digital restoration by Titanus.
The Life Ahead ( La vita davanti a sé ) with Sophia Loren and Edoardo Ponti Fri, Nov 8 | 7:30pm | DGT In person: Sophia Loren and Edoardo Ponti. “Sophia Loren delivers a towering performance in her son Edoardo Ponti’s 2020 adaptation of the novel Madame Rosa , which embodies the range, intelligence, and innate charisma of the legendary actress. Previously adapted in 1977 by Moshé Mizrahi, with Simone Signoret in the lead role, Ponti moves Romain Gary’s novel to Bari, Italy, where a Holocaust survivor turned children’s caretaker (Loren) forms an unlikely friendship with a bitter street kid (a spectacular Ibrahim Gueye) after he robs her. By turns tender and haunted, the storied
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