Alberto Lattuada Biography
Alberto Lattuada (1914 - 2005) was a director, screenwriter and critic. Son of the musician Felice, since he was a child he attended the musical performances held at La Scala in Milan and was especially fascinated by the reactions of the spectators. He graduated in architecture but during his university years his interests turned towards the visual arts. He collaborated on various magazines writing about literature and poetry and during the 1930s he organized film festivals and was committed to the conservation of old films, otherwise destined for waste, founding the Italian Film Library in Milan. His first contact with the world of cinema occurred in 1933 when he created the set design for the short film "Tell-tale Heart" by Alberto Mondadori. Indulging his passion for cinema, he began reviewing films for "Libro e Moschetto", founded the periodical "Camminare" and, together with Luigi Comencini, became part of the anti-fascist group that gravitated around the magazine "Corrente". In 1943 he made his debut behind the camera with "Giacomo the Idealist" for which he also wrote the screenplay. His figure as a cultured intellectual open to foreign suggestions crossed the season of neorealism and in 1946 he signed the reinterpretation of the American gangster movie, "The Bandit". In 1950, together with Federico Fellini, he directed "Luci del varie", of which they were both associate producers and screenwriters. In 1951 his "Anna" with Silvana Mangano left the Italian borders and was also widely applauded in America. Throughout his career, he has directed or written more than forty films, he is able to range across all genres, from adaptations of literary works, to melodramas and films tinged with mild eroticism. In 1994 he made his last appearance as an actor in the film "Il toro" by Carlo Mazzacurati, playing a gruff businessman. Always assisted by his wife, after a long illness he died in his country house on the outskirts of Rome.
