Download (12MB) - University of Salford Institutional Repository

sensuousness (a trait that characterizes Bertolucci's work from the mid-1980s onwards), was
more visibly based on the viewer's cognitive and intellectual interest towards his refined
mode of film-making.
Notes
1. Godard's influence on Bertolucci's work will be discussed in the chapters related to Before the
Revolution and Partner.
2. Inspired by Luigi Pirandello's concept of the impossibility of having definitive truths, Kurosawa
elaborates a plot of rape and murder recounted in flashback by the protagonists and witnesses, who
give different versions of the events. The narrative link is constituted by two witnesses who tell the
story to a third character as they shelter under the roof of a ruined temple and wait for rain to stop. In
visual terms the narrative sends viewers back to this set of images every time a different character starts
recollecting events. The narrative is complemented by overexposed lighting that casts a dreamlike
atmosphere over the story.
3. The legacy of Hollywood noir style in Bertolucci's work is explored in the chapter covering The
Conformist.
4. In the context of the film's music, the fact that the homosexual park visitor whistles the Fascist tune
Faccetta Nera is intriguing, especially since he bears a physical resemblance to Pasolini and uses
Pasolini's renowned pick-up techniques in public parks. The choice of music doubtless constitutes an
in-joke whose significance is difficult to ascertain.
References
Adams Sitney, P. (1994) 'Accattone and Mamma Roma', in Rumble, P. and Testa, B. Pier
Paolo Pasolini: Contemporary Perspectives, Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Branigan, E. (1992) Narrative Comprehension and Film, London and New York: Routledge
Casetti, F. (1978) Bemardo Bertolucci, Firenze: 'LaNuova Italia' Editrice.
Gili, J.A. (1978) 'Bernardo Bertolucci', in Gerard, F.S., Kline, T.J. and Sklarew, B. (ed.)
(2000) Bernardo Bertolucci Inteniews, Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
Gorbman, C. (1987) Unheard Melodies, London: BFI Publishing
Rothman, W. (1988) Tlie "I" of the Camera, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Shiel, M. (2006) Italian Neorealism: Rebuilding the Cinematic City, London: Wallflower
Press.
70