01 May 2024
Every month we offer an offer on three titles from our editorial catalogue.
Mario Verdone: futurism, film culture, radio, archive, institutions, media literacy
«Black and White: quarterly magazine of the Experimental Cinematography Center»,
to. 78, no. 588-589, May-Dec 2017
author: Andrea Mariani and Simone Venturini (edited by)
year: 2017
pages: 167
publisher: Experimental Center of Cinematography; Sabinae Editions
ISBN: 9788898623662
ordinary selling price: €20.00
discounted price (20%): € 4.00pm
2017 marks the centenary of the birth of Mario Verdone, historian of cinema, futurism and the arts of the twentieth century and the eightieth year of life of «Black and White». The double monographic issue celebrates the two anniversaries together, the destinies of both having been inextricably intertwined. The Verdone family, with the collaboration of the Luigi Chiarini Library and «Bianco e Nero», makes Mario Verdone’s personal archive available, offering the possibility of investigating his activity as a scholar and intellectual without borders. Contains essays and interventions by Carlo Verdone, Luca Verdone, Mariapia Comand, Daniele Luchetti, Alfredo Baldi, Fernando Birri, Eusebio Ciccotti, Laura Pompei, Wanda Strauven, Simone Dotto, Giovanni Grasso, Massimo Locatelli, Tomaso Subini, Ivelise Perniola. The reader will also find a series of unpublished photographs and precious documents, such as a letter from Federico Fellini and an autograph message from Cesare Zavattini: all materials coming from the Verdone Fund and made available by the heirs. Bilingual edition in Italian and English.
Authors’ notes:
Andrea Mariani teaches media and new media theory at the University of Udine. At the same university he conducted research on experimental cinematographic practices in Italy in the years between the two wars. He has published essays and articles in national and international volumes and magazines. He is the editor of the magazines «Bianco e nero. Quarterly magazine of the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia», «L’avventura. International Journal of Italian Film and Media Landscapes” and “Cinergie. Cinema and the other arts”. He edited the volumes The Archive/The Archive (2012), Can cinema be learned? (2013) e At the Borders of (Film) History (2015).
Simone Venturini he is Associate Professor at the University of Udine. He deals with the history and theory of film archives, media archaeology, technological, economic and cultural history of cinema. He is on the scientific committee of «L’Avventura» and on the steering committee of «Immagine». He is the scientific director of the Plexus Series. He publishes in magazines such as «Journal of Film Preservation», «Bianco e Nero», «Cinéma & Cie», «Cinergie», «Immagine».
The American Fan Magazines of the “Luigi Chiarini” Library
author: Luigi Chiarini Library
year: 2013
pages: 143
publisher: Experimental Center of Cinematography
necklace: Notebooks from the Luigi Chiarini Library
ordinary selling price: €6.00
discounted price (20%): €4.80
The volume of the “Quaderni della Biblioteca Luigi Chiarini” series is dedicated to the world of American magazines known as Fan Magazines. The extensive collection owned by the Library represents a unique case in Italy and rare abroad, it is in fact made up of over seven hundred files that cover the entire time span of publication of this type of magazine, from the 1910s to the 1960s. Fan Magazines can be generally defined as periodicals linked to cinema and entertainment, designed for an audience of passionate cinema-goers, mostly female. These magazines played a fundamental role in building an integrated promotion system: readers requested details on the lives and tastes of the stars and the stars were created and studied by production companies to achieve guaranteed box office success. The Fan Magazines had the ability to create an imaginary so powerful as to contribute to keeping the entire industry of desire afloat. Thanks to the Fan Magazines, the Hollywood Star System strengthens and reaches its golden moment, American cinema becomes a mass phenomenon, a founding social element, a protagonist of the country’s cultural panorama. Two speeches at the opening of the volume, an overview of the Periodicals section and the projects of the “Chiarini” Library, by Laura Pompei and Stefania Tuveri, and a guide to searching for digitized magazines, by Debora Demontis, are offered as tools for the Library’s readers . More specifically, a substantial essay by Alessandra Ofelia Catanea and a large gallery of covers are dedicated to the Fan Magazines which shows their evolution over the various decades. The book is accompanied by the cataloging of a selection of representative newspapers and the synthetic reconstruction of their history.
Under the stars of ’44. A futile diary
author: Steno; edited by Tullio Kezich
year: 2017
pages: 191
publisher: Experimental Center of Cinematography; Rubbettino
ISBN: 9788849851144
ordinary selling price: €12.00
discounted price (20%): €9.60
The new edition of Sotto le stelle of ’44, edited by the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, coincides with the anniversary of one hundred years since Steno’s birth and almost thirty years since his death. After his death, unanimous criticism re-evaluated, also in cultural terms, the work of Steno, a craftsman of humour.
Where humor means not only the pleasure in eliciting smiles, but also the intelligence and masterful ability to photograph reality. By lining up his writings and his films, his Italy comes to light, a country full of problems, contradictions, characters, narrated by him with the innate lightness of the great author.
Today his films are judged as founding and precious stones of Italian comedy.
This diary is an example of a clear vision of what was happening in our country on the eve of a new era: that of freedom and the end of the fascist dictatorship. Steno already sees the weak points, intercepts the probable ideological shortcuts and writes with disenchanted humor a comedy plot that prefigures the years to come. On the other hand, the strength of the true humorist consists precisely in imagining, five minutes before others, the ridiculousness that is always lurking.
Author’s notes: Steno alias Stefano Vanzina (1917-1988): humorist, screenwriter, director. While still very young he attended the Academy of Scenography and the Experimental Center of Cinematography, at the same time becoming part of the editorial staff of the bi-weekly humorous «Marc’Aurelio» where he wrote and drew cartoons. He entered the cinema with other editors of the newspaper, co-writing Macario’s films You see it as you are… Do you see how you look?! (’39), I’m the pirate! (’40), Do not tell me! (’40). Entered the environment, often alongside Mario Mattoli of which he was also assistant director, he collaborated with Cesare Zavattini for the script of The school of the shy (’41) and signed other screenplays. In Just a kiss (’42) by Giorgio C. Simonelli, with Valentina Cortese and Otello Toso, he appeared as an actor. After the war he wrote many films for Camerini, Freda, Matarazzo, Borghesio and others. He made his directorial debut paired with Mario Monicelli and together, in four years they made eight films, including four by Totò, including the classic Cops and robbers (’51) with Fabrizi. He started working alone with Totò in color (’52) and continued at a tireless pace. About 70 titles are attributed to him. Married in ’48 to Maria Teresa Nati, who worked in the newspaper of the Action Party, he had two children: Enrico (1949, producer and screenwriter) and Carlo (1951, director). Mrs. Nati, who disappeared in 1993, was responsible for finding the diary.
