Stealing Beauty (1996)

Director:

Bernardo Bertolucci

Writers:

Bernardo Bertolucci (story)
Susan Minot (writer)

Release Date:

14 June 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The most beautiful place to be is in love.

Plot:

After her mother commits suicide, nineteen year old Lucy Harmon travels to Italy to have her picture painted...

Plot Keywords:

Artist | Italy | Virginity | Travel | Villa

Awards:

6 nominations

Cast

Carlo Cecchi	...	Carlo Lisca
Sinéad Cusack	...	Diana (as Sinead Cusack)
Joseph Fiennes	...	Christopher
Jason Flemyng	...	Gregory
Anna-Maria Gherardi	...	Chiarella Donati (as Anna Maria Gherardi)
Jeremy Irons	...	Alex
Jean Marais	...	M. Guillaume
Donal McCann	...	Ian
D.W. Moffett	...	Richard
Ignazio Oliva	...	Osvaldo Donati
Stefania Sandrelli	...	Noemi
Francesco Siciliano	...	Michele Lisca
Mary Jo Sorgani	...	Maria
Leonardo Treviglio	...	Lieutenant
Liv Tyler	...	Lucy Harmon

Also Known As:

Beauté volée (France)
Dancing by Myself (USA) (alternative title)
Io ballo da sola (Italy)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, nudity, some drug use and language.

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

Italy | France | UK

Language:

English | French | German | Spanish | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:16 | Singapore:R21 | Peru:18 | Iceland:12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-14 | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:III | Italy:T | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Brolio, Castiglion Fiorentino, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy

Company:

Fiction

Trivia:

The three poems we see Lucy (Liv Tyler) compose while in Italy are: - 1. I have her secret deep within for years I've had to hide I've bought the clues And now I'm hope To bring the truth outside - 2. I wait I wait so patiently I'm as quiet as a cup I hope you'll come and rattle me Quick! Come wake me up. - 3. The dye is cast The dice are rolled I feel like shit you look like gold.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Lucy enters the Tuscan Villa for the first time you see a swallow (Hirundo rustica) flying combined with the screeching call of the swift (Apus apus).

Quotes:

Lucy: Why are you crying?
Osvaldo Donati: Because I want to kiss you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in One Step Beyond: The Making of 'Alien: Resurrection' (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

2 Wicky

Watch again and again to understand Bertolucci

This is my favorite film. I first saw it in 1996 at the age of 16, and have been relentlessly teased ever since for enjoying it as much as I do. True film buffs, I am told, walked out on this one. I insist though that I don't have bad taste; the film simply struck a chord in me early on, and yes, it was probably because its was such a pretty film. Beauty can be quite a hook. Since then I have watched Stealing Beauty no less than a hundred times, studied Bertolucci's other films, and - of course - listened to the soundtrack, and the Mozart Concerti, so much that I have been known to hum them in my sleep. Now, I know why I love it so much. Every time I watch Stealing Beauty, there is more to discover. The premise - looking for her father/true love - and the apparent conclusion seem no more than a frame work for a hundred different leitmotifs that Bertolucci seems strangely familiar with, fascinated by, and adept at expressing in all of his films.