Past Events

A Celebration of Italian Film: The Conformist

A Celebrtion of Italian Film: The Conformist (1970)
by Bernardo Bertolucci

...........................

Opening Remarks

• Dr. Gianluca Alberinni, Consul of Italy
• Andrea di Tommaso, Professor of Italian Studies, Wayne State University
• Dr. Robert Burgoyne, Professor and Chair, Department of English, Wayne State University

...........................

The Conformist

Marcello, a man who desperately wants to be 'normal', joins the Italian Fascist party and is assigned the task of assassinating his former philosophy professor, a leftist activist. In a series of flashbacks and dream sequences that unfold as Marcello pursues the professor and his wife, the film explores the events and impulses of Marcello\'s past and present in order to provide a kind of psychological portrait of the Fascist personality.

A visually dazzling film, The Conformist represents a stylistic breakthrough for Bertolucci. The virtuoso camera work, sumptuous color, and extraordinary visual inventiveness of the film are striking departures from the more cerebral style of Bertolucci\'s early work. Bertolucci discovers the lush, operatic style that will be so beautifully displayed in later films like Last Tango in Paris (1973) and the Last Emperor (1987). Bernardo Bertolucci is one of the most important and celebrated filmmakers of the contemporary period. He is perhaps best known in the U.S. for the The Last Emperor, which won nine Academy Awards. His recent films include Little Buddha (1993), Stealing Beauty (1997), and Besieged (1999).

...........................

Benefactors

• Mr. and Mrs. Harold Arnoldi
• Mr. John A. Conti
• Conti Electric
• Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Cracchiolo
• Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Cracchiolo
• Dr. and Mrs. Anthony De Luca
• Miss Annette M. De Lorenzo
• Honorable and Mrs. William J. Giovan
• Honorable and Mrs. Joseph N. Impastato
• Dr. Linda Moore
• Mr. Fabrizio Pesce
• Engineering Specialty Group
• Dr. Lawrence Skaff

Patrons

• Carolyn Sinelli Burns
• Mr. and Mrs. Gaetano Chirco
• Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Clark
• Dr. and Mrs. Piero P. Foa
• St. Joseph worker of Cinisi
• Mr. Frank D. Stella
• Dr. Charles J. Stivale
• Rosemary Vitale
• Primo Avanti
• Col. John von Batchelder

A Special Thank You to:

• Dr. Gianluca Alberini, Consul of Italy
• Dr. Robert Burgoyne, Chair, Department of English
• Dr. Andrea di Tommaso, Professor of Italian Studies
• Mr. Frank D. Stella, Honorary Chair, Italian Heritage Society
• Miss Annette De Lorenzo
• Hon. Joseph N. Impastato
• Carolyn Sinelli Burns
• Maria and Gaetano Chirco
• Antonio\'s Dearborn Heights
• Edibles Rex Detroit
• Gourmet House St. Clair Shores
• Tim McCarthy, Cost Plus Wine Shop, Detroit Historic Eastern Market
• Rocky Peanut Co.

The Italian Heritage Society wishes to express its gratitude to all of you in support of this project and to those who recognize the importance of establishing a 35mm projection facility on campus. This facility will enable the Italian Heritage Society and the campus community to invite major filmmakers to Wayne State University for screenings, premiers, and other special events.

Marian A. Impastato, Chair

Sponsors

• Italian Heritage Society
• Wayne State University
  • Development Office
  • Department of English
  • Film Studies Program
  • Division of Governmental and Community Affairs
  • Department of Romance Languages and Literatures
  • College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts
  • College of Liberal Arts
• Michigan Council For Arts And Cultural Afairs