Not much positivity to report on the movie scene. What else is old? To wit:
The Conclave opens in late October, a drama about the intrigues which swirl around the death of a pope. I won’t reveal the “surprise” ending but suffice it to say that it’s really not much of a surprise. The Conclave is yet one more Hollywood film which uses the dignity of Italic culture–the Vatican and its visual splendors—as a form of bait-and-switch: the filmmakers’ reverence is simply a smokescreen for the usual Italian and Catholic bashing. Sigh!
The “much-anticipated” (since 2001?) sequel to Ridley Scott’s Gladiator arrives in November. Though set in classical Rome, the lead actors speak not in Latin (the classical tongue of our ancestors) but with British accents (which includes Irish actor Paul Mescal in the lead). The true glory and legacy of the Roman Empire? As per usual in Hollywood, very little. It is violence and decadence. An ex-slave (Denzel Washington) is the only dignified character.
The release date of Robert De Niro’s gangster flick Alto Nights (strange title) keeps bouncing around like a bocce ball tossed too roughly. Instead of 2025, it’s now set for December 2024. How about not releasing it all? In the film, De Niro plays not one but two Italian American gangsters (Frank Costello and Vito Genovese). In The Irishman, a special effects process allowed De Niro to look decades younger. How about making this fool disappear altogether?
So let’s give our eyes a rest and open our ears. Specifically, click on the link below to “Between the Ears,” a 32-minute BBC radio program honoring Henry Mancini on the 100th anniversary of his birth.
No relation to the IIA’s John Mancini, the surname is among the most common 20 in Italy. Henry grew up the son of an Italian immigrant steel-mill worker from Abruzzo.
Ironically, although he gave his son a flute and piccolo as a youngster—as a way of encouraging Henry to become a music teacher—Pappa Mancini never really acknowledged his son’s eventual success as a popular conductor.
Indeed, as Mancini says (unfairly), “there’s no such thing as an un-stern Italian father.” The elder Mancini would often hit Henry with a stick if he missed a musical note while practicing. One wonders if such mistreatment steered Mancini away from a deeper appreciation of the Italic musical heritage.
(By contrast, another great Italian American popular composer, Harry Warren, born Salvatore Guaragna, grew up in a very musical Italian family; he first learned to play on his father’s accordion. Alas, the only homage to his Italic heritage is That’s Amore, written for the 1956 Lewis-and-Martin comedy, The Caddy, a mediocre tune at best.)
Still, those who share Mancini’s heritage can’t help but be proud of a musician who, as stated in the radio documentary, bridged the gap between old-school Hollywood composers, with their reliance on huge impersonal orchestras, to a fresh, modern approach to film music, incorporating individual musicians and new styles like jazz.
One quick example: the theme song to the 1958 Blake Edwards TV show, Peter Gunn. It is one of those pieces of music, like “Linus and Lucy” from A Charlie Brown Christmas (which was written by yet another great Italian American composer, jazz master Vince Guaraldi), that literally makes your feet tap as soon as it begins playing.
Doubt me? Pull it up on YouTube. You can see numerous clips of both the song itself (with accompanying visuals) as well as of Mancini himself conducting it live at various concerts. If your toes don’t start moving, you’re dead.
Final fun fact: In 1958, at the first-ever Grammy Awards ceremony, Mancini won Best Musical Album for Peter Gunn. And which song won the top prize that year? A little diddy called Volare by Domenico Modugno.
A double Italic victory! Mancini and Modugno, building a bridge of musical genius across the Atlantic. -BDC
Henry Mancini was an idol for this Italian American youth in the 60’s. His sound lent a new level of sophistication to movie orchestration. I was so enamored by him being a part of my tribe and the piquant harmonies and orchestrations of his memorable movie songs that it’s not hyperbole he was a major influence for me to pursue a life in music. My uncle who was a guitarist for the ABC orchestra in the Joe Franklin Show days was asked by Mancini to go on tour with his band. Some very important highlights of Italic pride for me as a youth. Nota Bene: My uncle , as a child of immigrants, was also in the forefront with famed jazz guitarist Bucky Pizarelli in the development of the 7 string guitar.
A great example of how Italians Americans–just like everyone else in our society, regardless of ethnicity race, and religion–feel inspired by seeing one of their own.
What’s remarkable is how remarkably Italian Americans have succeeded in every field of endeavor DESPITE the relentless negativity in the American media!
Can you imagine how much further we could soar (the presidency? a national recognition and respect for the classical Italian influence in America?) if our media stopped saturating the minds of our fellow Americans with buffoon/mafia images?
Incidentally, this just doesn’t apply to Italian Americans. I must share that in the current film Conclave–also mentioned in my current blog–the main villain is Cardinal Tedesco, a Venetian prelate. He is portrayed as a passionate racist. Nice.
As I ask in my piece: So what else is old?
Do you know what ISN’T old? Henry Mancini’s music. It lives forever. Keep listening.
Predictably, a colleague of mine (Italian American, to boot) said he didn’t view the portrayal of Cardinal Tedesco in Conclave–a loud, cigar-chomping bigot–as “gratuitous.” He contrasted this with Stanley Tucci’s portrayal of Cardinal Bellini, also Italian and/or Italian American (also predictably, this isn’t clarified, though he speaks American English).
I responded with two counter-points: 1) Tucci’s character could pass as a WASP; there is nothing in his speech behavior patters which screams “Italic”; and 2) Tedesco is identified as “Italian” via his use of the Italian language, Italian gestures, and his defense of Italians.
I also made the point that the author of the book upon which the film is based, Robert Harris, is an Englishman. Can you guess the ethnicity of the hero of Conclave, both book and film? You guessed correctly: Cardinal Lawrence, an ENGLISH cardinal, full of integrity.
Tedesco? He calls Muslims “animals.” Has anyone ever heard the current pope, Jorge BERGOGLIO (the Argentinian son of Italian immigrants) ever call Muslims “animals?” What about Pope John Paul I, nicknamed the “smiling pope” because of his kind-hearted nature? He lasted on the job for a month (September 1978). John Paul II took his name.
Italian bashing is so firmly entrenched in Hollywood that even intelligent people miss it.