Fantaghirò (film)
| Fantaghirò 1 | |
|---|---|
 German DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Lamberto Bava |
| Produced by |
Lamberto Bava Andrea Piazzesi Roberto Bessi |
| Written by |
Francesca Melandri Gianni Romoli |
| Starring |
Alessandra Martines Kim Rossi Stuart Mario Adorf |
| Music by | Amedeo Minghi |
| Cinematography | Romano Albani |
| Edited by | Piero Bozza |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 200 minutes (two parts) |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
Fantaghirò (aka The Cave of the Golden Rose) is a fantasy television film produced by Reteitalia, directed by Lamberto Bava and starring Alessandra Martines. It originally aired in 1991 as a two-parter, and hence has been known in certain video releases and airings as double-set of Fantaghirò 1 and Fantaghirò 2 (not to be confused with the sequel, Fantaghirò 2). It is the first installment in the Fantaghirò seris and is loosely based on the Italian folktale Fanta-Ghiro the Beautiful.
Plot
The story is about Fantaghirò, the rebellious youngest daughter of a warrior king. Although the women in the kingdom are expected to be submissive and servile, Fantaghirò wants to fight in battle. She constantly argues with her father and two sisters Catherine and Caroline who disapprove of her behaviour.
Fantaghirò secretly learns to fight when she befriends the White Knight, a mysterious warrior whom she meets in the forest. As they are training, she briefly crosses paths with King Romualdo, the ruler of a neighbouring enemy kingdom. Romualdo is enchanted by Fantaghirò's eyes, but is unaware that they belong to the daughter of his sworn enemy.
Romualdo, who is tired of the centuries-old war between the two kingdoms, sends an offer of a single duel to determine the outcome of the war. Fantaghirò's father, the King, is told by the magical White Witch that only one of his daughters can win the duel. Seeing no other option, the King commands Fantaghirò and her two sisters Catherine and Caroline to dress up as knights so that one may fight Romualdo. They agree to keep the identity of the three "knights" secret, in case Romualdo would refuse to fight a woman. While Caterina and Carolina complain about the hot and heavy armour, Fantaghirò relishes the opportunity and cuts her hair to make her look like a boy.
As they are travelling to Romualdo's kingdom, the three sisters get into another argument. Fantaghirò eventually apologises, but Catherine and Caroline decide that their youngest sister is the most qualified to win the duel. Catherine and Caroline return to their father and Fantaghirò continues on her journey.
Fantaghirò eventually meets with Romualdo, who is confused when he recognises her eyes. After various attempts by Romualdo to discover her true gender by trickery, they eventually battle and Fantaghirò emerges victorious. However, she cannot kill him and returns home in shame. Fantaghirò's father, who is proud of what his daughter has achieved, forgives her. The King also allows Romualdo to continue to rule his people, on the condition that he marry one of the three princesses. Although at first Romualdo is hesitant to agree, when he sees Fantaghirò dressed up as a woman, the two kiss happily.
Cast
- Alessandra Martines as Fantaghirò
- Mario Adorf as King
- Kim Rossi Stuart as Romualdo
- Ángela Molina as the White Witch (White Knight/White Goose)
- Jean-Pierre Cassel as The General
- Stefano Davanzati as Cataldo
- Tomás Valík as Ivaldo
- Ornella Marcucci as Catherine
- Kateřina Brožová as Caroline
- Stanislava Bartosova as Governess
Production and release
.JPG)
Fantaghirò was inspired by Italian fairy tales collected by Italo Calvino[2] and was shot in locations at Bouzov Castle,[3] Pernštejn Castle,[4] and Lednice in Czechoslovakia. [5] Initially Fantaghirò was to be a single film but the production costs were excessive and so it was decided to make it into a miniseries. The first film has been finished in 1990, but it was then shelved for a whole year; the sequels were approved when it turned out to be a success.[5]
The film was originally aired on Canale 5 on 22 December 1991. Upon its Italian premiere, it was the most watched program of that evening, with over six and a half million viewers (27.50% market share).[1][2] Kim Rossi Stuart's role as Romualdo gained him a national popularity.[1]
Sequel
In the 1992 sequel, the love of Fantaghirò and Romualdo is opposed by the evil Black Witch (Brigitte Nielsen), who steals the prince for herself and plots to eliminate the princess.[2] Both films and the third sequel were later recut (reduced and intersected with each other) into a 200-minute compilation film titled La meravigliosa storia di Fantaghirò ("The Wonderful Story of Fantaghirò") in 1995.[6]
References
- 1 2 3 http://www.vanityfair.it/show/tv/15/12/21/fantaghiro-mediaset-extra-curiosita-alessandra-martines
- 1 2 3 "FANTAGHIRO' CONTRO LA STREGA - la Repubblica.it" (in Italian). Ricerca.repubblica.it. 1992-08-28. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
- ↑ "Hrad Bouzov". Strednimorava-tourism.cz. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
- ↑ "Filmotéka". Hrad-pernstejn.eu. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
- 1 2 http://www.gossipetv.com/fantaghiro-le-20-curiosita-sulla-serie-tv-che-non-sapevi-207859
- ↑ "La meravigliosa storia di Fantaghirò". FilmTV. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
External links
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