Deceased--Suso Cecchi D'Amice

Franco Cristaldi (with cigarette) with Suso Cecchi D'Amice and Marcello Mastrioanni (left).

Suso Cecchi D'Amice
July 21st, 1914 to July 31st, 2010

Bicycle Thieves

Vittorio De Sica

1948

Trailer



"Suso Cecchi D'Amico dies at 96; screenwriter worked with some of Italy's leading directors"

She emerged from the male-dominated postwar Italian cinema to contribute to such milestone films as 'Bicycle Thieves' and 'The Leopard.'

August 7th, 2010

latimes.com

Screenwriter Suso Cecchi D'Amico, who emerged from the male-dominated postwar Italian cinema to become a celebrated artist and contribute to such milestone films as "Bicycle Thieves" and "The Leopard," has died. She was 96.

Cecchi D'Amico died July 31 in her hometown of Rome, the ANSA news agency said, citing her family. No cause of death was given.

Cecchi D'Amico worked with some of the most renowned Italian directors, including Franco Zeffirelli, Michelangelo Antonioni and Mario Monicelli, whose movie "Casanova 70" earned her an Oscar nomination.

She was equally successful writing scripts for neo-realistic movies, art-house films and comedies such as "Big Deal on Madonna Street." Her work helped make Italy's postwar movie scene vibrant and innovative.

"It was an extraordinary generation, not just for cinema," said longtime friend Monicelli, himself in his 90s.

"That generation grew out of dramatic events such as fascism and war," he said, but "those minds put Italy back on its feet, finding a new way to do things, to produce."

A long partnership with Luchino Visconti became a defining element in Cecchi D'Amico's career, which spanned more than two decades and several movies. Among other titles, she contributed to "The Leopard," the sumptuous depiction of the decline of an aristocratic Sicilian family based on Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's book and starring Burt Lancaster and Alain Delon.

Born Giovanna Cecchi on July 21, 1914, to a family of writers and intellectuals, she began working in cinema soon after World War II. She quickly landed a high-profile job helping write the script for Vittorio De Sica's "Bicycle Thieves," which was released in 1948 and became a manifesto for neo-realism.

During her long career she often adapted literary works, including "The Stranger," "The Taming of the Shrew" and books by Dostoevsky and Pirandello.

In 1994 the Venice Film Festival awarded Cecchi D'Amico a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement.

Survivors include three children.

Screenwriter for...

* 1946 : Mio figlio professore
* 1946 : Roma città libera
* 1947 : Il Delitto di Giovanni Episcopo
* 1947 : Vivere in pace
* 1947 : L'onorevole Angelina
* 1948 : È primavera...
* 1948 : Ladri di biciclette
* 1949 : Cielo sulla palude
* 1949 : Fabiola
* 1949 : Au-delà des grilles
* 1950 : È più facile che un cammello...
* 1950 : Prima comunione
* 1950 : Romanzo d'amore
* 1951 : Bellissima
* 1951 : Miracolo a Milano
* 1952 : Processo alla città
* 1952 : Il Mondo le condanna
* 1952 : Buongiorno, elefante!
* 1952 : Redshirts (Camicie rosse)
* 1953 : Il Sole negli occhi
* 1953 : Febbre di vivere
* 1953 : La Signora senza camelie
* 1953 : I Vinti
* 1953 : Siamo donne
* 1954 : Senso
* 1954 : Graziella
* 1954 : Cento anni d'amore
* 1954 : Tempi nostri
* 1954 : L'Allegro squadrone
* 1954 : Peccato che sia una canaglia
* 1954 : Proibito
* 1955 : Le amiche
* 1956 : Kean
* 1956 : La Finestra sul Luna Park
* 1956 : La Fortuna di essere donna
* 1957 : Mariti in città
* 1957 : Difendo il mio amore
* 1957 : Le notti bianche
* 1958 : Big Deal on Madonna Street
* 1958 : La sfida
* 1959 : Nella città l'inferno
* 1959 : Violent Summer
* 1960 : Risate di gioia
* 1960 : La Contessa azzurra
* 1960 : It Started in Naples
* 1961 : Il Relitto
* 1962 : Salvatore Giuliano
* 1962 : The Best of Enemies
* 1962 : Les Quatre vérités
* 1964 : Gli Indifferenti
* 1965 : Io, io, io... e gli altri
* 1965 : Casanova 70
* 1965 : Vaghe stelle dell'Orsa
* 1966 : Le Fate
* 1966 : Spara forte, più forte, non capisco
* 1967 : The Taming of the Shrew
* 1967 : The Stranger
* 1968 : L'Uomo, l'orgoglio, la vendetta
* 1969 : Senza sapere niente di lei
* 1969 : Infanzia, vocazione e prime esperienze di Giacomo Casanova, veneziano
* 1970 : Metello
* 1971 : La Mortadella
* 1972 : Perché?
* 1972 : Il Diavolo nel cervello
* 1972 : Brother Sun, Sister Moon
* 1972 : Le Avventure di Pinocchio (Film and TV cuts)
* 1972 : Ludwig
* 1973 : Amore e ginnastica
* 1974 : Amore amaro
* 1974 : Conversation piece
* 1975 : Prete, fai un miracolo
* 1976 : Dimmi che fai tutto per me
* 1976 : L'Innocente
* 1976 : Caro Michele
* 1977 : Jesus of Nazareth (miniserie TV)
* 1983 : Les Mots pour le dire
* 1984 : Bertoldo, Bertoldino e... Cacasenno
* 1985 : Le Due vite di Mattia Pascal
* 1985 : Cuore (miniserie TV)
* 1986 : Caravaggio (UK)
* 1986 : Speriamo che sia femmina
* 1987 : I Soliti ignoti vent'anni dopo
* 1987 : La storia (TV)
* 1987 : Dark Eyes
* 1987 : Ti presento un'amica
* 1988 : I Picari
* 1989 : Stradivari
* 1989 : La Moglie ingenua e il marito malato (TV)
* 1990 : Il Male oscuro
* 1991 : Rossini! Rossini!
* 1992 : Parenti serpenti
* 1993 : La Fine è nota
* 1994 : Cari fottutissimi amici
* 1995 : Facciamo paradiso
* 1998 : La Stanza dello scirocco
* 1998 : Der Letzte Sommer – Wenn Du nicht willst
* 1999 : Panni sporchi
* 1999 : Un Amico magico: il maestro Nino Rota
* 1999 : My Voyage to Italy
* 2000 : Come quando fuori piove (TV)
* 2000 : Il Cielo cade
* 2005 : Raul – Diritto di uccidere
* 2005 : Tre fratelli
* 2006 : Le rose del deserto

Bicycle Thieves [Wikipedia]