Misplaced Pages

#687312

22-454: Written by Wertmüller, the film is about an Italian everyman who deserts the army during World War II, is captured by the Germans and sent to a prison camp, where he does anything he can to survive. Through flashbacks, we learn about his seven unattractive sisters, his accidental murder of one sister's lover, his imprisonment in an insane asylum—where he rapes a patient—and his volunteering to be

44-625: A "dog". He exits, leaving his men to dispose of Phelps. The two men overcome their captors, relieve Shevket of Mirza, and ride away. The movie was filmed in the United States . Roughly four months after the film's premiere, it was reported that director Lewis Milestone had been hired primarily on the basis of his work on Harold Lloyd 's The Kid Brother (1927). The film was long thought lost before being located in Howard Hughes ' film collection after his death. Two Arabian Knights

66-545: A dandy and small-time hood in Naples in Fascist and World War II-era Italy. To defend his family's honor, Pasqualino kills a pimp who had turned his sister into a prostitute. To dispose of the victim's body, he dismembers it and places the parts in suitcases. Caught by the police, he confesses to the murder, but successfully pleads insanity and is sentenced to 12 years in a psychiatric ward. Desperate to get out, he volunteers for

88-545: A soldier to escape confinement. For her work on the film, Wertmüller became the first woman nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director . The film received three other Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Foreign Language Film. It also received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Foreign Film. The production design and costume design are by Wertmüller's husband, Enrico Job. The picaresque story follows its protagonist, Pasqualino (Giannini),

110-402: Is an American silent comedy film , directed by Lewis Milestone and starring William Boyd , Mary Astor , and Louis Wolheim . The film was produced by Howard Hughes and was distributed by United Artists . The screenwriters were James T. O'Donohue, Wallace Smith , and George Marion Jr . The film won the only Academy Award for Best Comedy Direction in 1929. The next year, AMPAS merged

132-498: Is responsible for the death of another fellow prisoner, a Spanish anarchist . At the war's end, upon his return to Naples , Pasqualino discovers that his seven sisters, his fiancée, and even his mother have all survived by becoming prostitutes. Unfazed, he insists on marrying his fiancée as soon as possible. Giannini starred in three other films Wertmüller made during this period: The Seduction of Mimi (1972), Love and Anarchy (1973), and Swept Away (1974). Seven Beauties

154-485: The 2019 Cannes Film Festival . Academy Award for Best Director The Academy Award for Best Director (officially known as the Academy Award of Merit for Directing ) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibited outstanding directing while working in the film industry . The 1st Academy Awards ceremony

176-557: The Italian Army . With an Italian comrade, he eventually deserts the army, but they are captured and sent to a German concentration camp . Pasqualino attempts to survive the camp by providing sexual favors to the female commandant (Stoler). His plan succeeds, but the commandant puts Pasqualino in charge of his barracks as a kapo . He is told he must select six men from his barracks to be killed to prevent all from being killed. Pasqualino ends up executing his former Army comrade, and

198-440: The Germans sneak up and capture them. In a German prison camp, the two become friends when Phelps takes responsibility for an unflattering caricature he drew of a guard, rather than let O'Gaffney take the blame. The two escape, stealing the white robes of Arab prisoners to blend in with the snow. However, they encounter (and are forced to join) a group of similarly garbed Arab prisoners being sent by train to Constantinople. Near

220-490: The award has been given to 75 directors or directing teams. As of the 96th Academy Awards ceremony, British-American filmmaker Christopher Nolan is the most recent winner in this category for his work on Oppenheimer . In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of film release in Los Angeles County , California ; the ceremonies are always held

242-499: The categories Best Director of a Comedy Picture and Best Director of a Dramatic Picture to form the category Academy Award for Best Director . During the First World War , two American soldiers become trapped in no man's land . Expecting to die, W. Dangerfield Phelps III (William Boyd) decides to fulfill his fondest desire: to beat up his sergeant since training camp, Peter O'Gaffney (Louis Wolheim). While they are brawling,

SECTION 10

#1732791714688

264-406: The end of their journey, Phelps creates a distraction, and the two men jump off, landing in a hay wagon. When the hay is loaded onto a ship bound for Arabia , so are they. The stowaways are discovered, but the skipper ( Michael Visaroff ) is satisfied when Phelps pays him their fare. When a small boat founders nearby, Phelps jumps in to try to rescue an Arabian woman, Mirza (Mary Astor). Both he and

286-536: The entire eligible voting members of the academy. For the first eleven years of the Academy Awards, directors were allowed to be nominated for multiple films in the same year. However, after the nomination of Michael Curtiz for two films, Angels with Dirty Faces and Four Daughters , at the 11th Academy Awards , the rules were revised so that an individual could only be nominated for one film at each ceremony. That rule has since been amended, although

308-479: The film's artistry, severely criticized its depiction of the experience of concentration camp survivors. Bettelheim's own views about concentration camps have likewise been critiqued. On Rotten Tomatoes , the film has an approval rating of 67% based reviews from 21 critics, and an average rating of 8/10. In April 2019, a restored version of the film was selected to be shown in the Cannes Classics section at

330-441: The following year. For the first five ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned twelve months from August 1 to July 31. For the 6th ceremony held in 1934, the eligibility period lasted from August 1, 1932, to December 31, 1933. Since the 7th ceremony held in 1935, the period of eligibility became the full previous calendar year from January 1 to December 31. Two Arabian Knights Two Arabian Knights (1927)

352-474: The only director who has received multiple nominations in the same year was Steven Soderbergh for Erin Brockovich and Traffic in 2000, winning the award for the latter. The Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture have been very closely linked throughout their history. Of the 89 films that won Best Picture and were also nominated for Best Director, 68 won the award. Since its inception,

374-547: The skipper already there lodging a complaint. They decide to seek the assistance of Mirza's father the Emir, who turns out to be the governor of the region. However, Mirza's escort has told him and Shevket that Phelps has seen her without her veil. Outraged, the Emir sends his men to bring the Americans back to be executed. Unaware of this, the two soldiers saunter into the Emir's palace. Phelps reads Mirza's warning note in time, and

396-498: The skipper refuses to let Mirza debark without paying, so O'Gaffney robs the purser ( Boris Karloff ) to get the money. Mirza is met by Shevket Ben Ali ( Ian Keith ); Mirza informs Phelps that her father has arranged for her to marry Shevket. They depart. The Americans jump overboard when the skipper discovers what happened to his purser. The two men head for the American consul, but leave hastily without speaking to him when they find

418-452: The two escape. When Phelps sets out to rescue Mirza, O'Gaffney shows true friendship and accompanies him. They are trapped by Shevket and his men, but when Mirza threatens to kill herself, Shevket proposes they settle this with a duel in which only one of the pistols is loaded. Phelps agrees and fires first; his gun is unloaded. Mirza is made to leave the room. Then Shevket reveals that both guns are empty; he did not wish to wager his life with

440-439: The woman have to be saved by O'Gaffney. The two soldiers and the skipper vie for the veiled woman's affections. Phelps eventually coaxes her into removing her veil, and is entranced by her beauty. Meanwhile, the woman's escort observes this development with disapproval. The skipper insists on being paid for Mirza's fare, but none of the three have any money left. They hold him off as best they can. When they reach their destination,

462-534: Was filmed on location in Naples , Campania, Italy. In the opening sequence of Seven Beauties , spoken over World War II archival footage showing the destruction of cities and men, Wertmüller defines the object of her critique—a "particular petty bourgeois social type". The film's subject is survival. At the time of its release, it was controversial for its graphic depiction of Nazi concentration camps . In his 1976 essay "Surviving", Bruno Bettelheim , while admiring

SECTION 20

#1732791714688

484-399: Was held in 1929 with the award being split into "Dramatic" and "Comedy" categories; Frank Borzage and Lewis Milestone won for 7th Heaven and Two Arabian Knights , respectively. However, these categories were merged for all subsequent ceremonies. Nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the directors branch of AMPAS; winners are selected by a plurality vote from

#687312