I bought this because I love to watch Mariangela Melato. At her peak, she was certainly, hands down, one of the most gorgeous woman to grace any film screen. Gifted with incredibly beautiful green eyes and a body like a sleek yacht, she was just so....well, you know: watchable.
It is probably not unfair to say that she has done her very best work with the equally talented and very funny Giancarlo Giannini. This particular film "Summer Nights" (never mind the long title, it's just a Wertmuller quirk) suffers from the obvious comparisons that her fans will do with the much better "Swept Away". SA came out in 1974 and by the time SN came out in 1986, Lina had already said what she wanted to about the sexes and politics. So, you have to wonder what more she wanted to say with this film? I mean, she wrote and directed it, so? With SA we have a much more interesting film, superior dialog and screen heat between two actors that has rarely been achieved and in my view not exceeded in any language. SA was shocking on several levels when it came out. By 1986 the world had grown a whole lot more corrupt and even though no where near the nadir of human woes of 2007, there was little to spark the imagination of the audience when it came out (at least I cannot think of any). SN big attraction is Ms. Melato. At that age she could still steam up the screen and make a lot of men melt in their seats. She was very sexy, sensual and as usual capable of putting everyone in their place with her inimitable rapid fire speaking manner. Other than her sexual persona, there really is little else to save this film from appearing like hundreds of other Italian films. With Italian films there is a fine line between stereotypes and original characters and most of the cast are not very imaginative in their depiction.
All in all, its a funny but ultimately silly film. Stick around for the very last second of the film: it is quite hilarious. For my money Swept Away did just that to this film. Much better on any account.
It is probably not unfair to say that she has done her very best work with the equally talented and very funny Giancarlo Giannini. This particular film "Summer Nights" (never mind the long title, it's just a Wertmuller quirk) suffers from the obvious comparisons that her fans will do with the much better "Swept Away". SA came out in 1974 and by the time SN came out in 1986, Lina had already said what she wanted to about the sexes and politics. So, you have to wonder what more she wanted to say with this film? I mean, she wrote and directed it, so? With SA we have a much more interesting film, superior dialog and screen heat between two actors that has rarely been achieved and in my view not exceeded in any language. SA was shocking on several levels when it came out. By 1986 the world had grown a whole lot more corrupt and even though no where near the nadir of human woes of 2007, there was little to spark the imagination of the audience when it came out (at least I cannot think of any). SN big attraction is Ms. Melato. At that age she could still steam up the screen and make a lot of men melt in their seats. She was very sexy, sensual and as usual capable of putting everyone in their place with her inimitable rapid fire speaking manner. Other than her sexual persona, there really is little else to save this film from appearing like hundreds of other Italian films. With Italian films there is a fine line between stereotypes and original characters and most of the cast are not very imaginative in their depiction.
All in all, its a funny but ultimately silly film. Stick around for the very last second of the film: it is quite hilarious. For my money Swept Away did just that to this film. Much better on any account.