With more than 50 films to his name so far, Italian poet and filmmaker Tinto Brass is a staple in the world of cinema. However, if you haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing some of his work, here are my Top 5 Tinto Brass Movies.
5 Best Tinto Brass Movies
Tinto Brass is a legendary Italian director who revolutionized the Yakuza genre. His movies are defined by their controversial and explicit nature.
A Clockwork Orange is his most famous movie, which was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. However, this article isn’t about him. This article is looking at five of his lesser-known works. I have no doubt you will enjoy them after reading this article…
#5. Capriccio (1987)Â
Many of Brass’s films are set during World War II, particularly in the aftermath of the fighting.
Capriccio, Brass’s provocative drama about a married couple yearning for the memories of their bygone loves was released in 1987.
Jennifer and Fred are two American soldiers who met on the Italian island of Capri during World War II. They decide to return to Capri in 1947. With the aim of rekindling their romance
What they do instead is meet their former lovers that they left behind on the island but soon find that time changes people in mysterious ways.
Not only was the film directed by Tinto Brass, but it was also his own adaptation of the 1956 Italian novel The Capri Letters.
Even though the film is about a failing marriage, Brass definitely didn’t draw any inspiration from his life for this film.
The Italian filmmaker might be known for his more risque films, but he was married to the same woman, Carla Cipriani, from 1957 until she died in 2006.
#4. The Howl (1970)
The Howl is a surrealist comedy that represents the morals and basic characteristics of the hazy world of 60s pop culture. It was released in the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution prompted by the Summer of Love.
The Howl, which was shot in 1968, was memorably described by Brass as “not a film about 1968, but of 1968.” The film is, without a doubt, a product of its time, a glimpse into a moment that defined the 1960s and the hippy youth’s entire counterculture movement.
The film’s premise revolves around Anita, a student activist who becomes radicalized after being abused by police officers following a demonstration.
This pivotal moment in her life makes her rethink everything about who she is, including canceling her marriage with her fiancee, Berto.
What follows next is a colorful parade of bizarre characters and political commentary that only Brass could have dreamed of. Being a member of the Italian radicals political party, Brass is no stranger to left-wing politics.
In The Howl, the filmmaker tried to capture the counterculture movement of the 60s in all its outlandishness, and the result is a mixed bag of cultural references and off-color sequences that definitely are not for the faint of heart.
#3. Yankee (1966)
The spaghetti Western is an important part of Italian cinema’s history. Following in the footsteps of Sergio Leone’s Fistful of Dollars trilogy, a slew of Italian directors opted to incorporate Leone’s approach into their own tales of American cowboys and robbers.
Tinto Brass contributed to the genre with Yankee, a 1966 film that was his take on the spaghetti Western craze. Yankee, a bounty hunter in the Wild West, is the protagonist of the film.
Yankee comes in a town ruled by a crime lord known as Grande Concho. I’m hoping for a sizable reward. Yankee vows to take on the fearsome gang by himself if he can rid the town of the crime lord.
The original script for Yankee took heavy inspiration from 1964, a fifth Full of Dollars. Seeing as Leoni’s film was an international success, it would be obvious that any Western had to follow its proven formula.
Brass, however, didn’t agree, and he rewrote the entire script of the movie, giving it a more classic comic book style akin to the Old West serial comics he used to read growing up.
#2. The Flying Saucer (1964)
Tinto Bratz’s flexibility is also demonstrated in his 1964 film The Flying Saucer. Alberto Sordi, an Italian comic, plays four separate characters in this sci-fi comedy, the most important of which is that of a Police Inspector.
As he listens to eyewitness tales about a suspected UFO and its female pilot, the officer becomes irritated.
The Flying Saucer, like many of Brass’s films, is a satire on the Italian way of life. Brass is a humorous indictment of Italian culture, particularly that of Brass’s native region of Venetto, with characters such as a military police officer, an alcoholic priest, and a corrupt count.
While many SciFi movies of this period were the usual B movie types, The Flying Saucer sets itself apart by being shot in a mockumentary style.
#1. Chi lavora è perduto (In capo al mondo)(1963)
Chi lavora è perduto, commonly known as In capo al mondo, means “who works is lost.” Tinto Brass makes his directorial debut with this film. Brass, his debut feature film, follows Bonifacio, a young antisocial designer, through a day in his life.
In order to get by. Bonifacio has applied for a job, but his psychological evaluation is the next day, allowing him plenty of time to wander the streets of Venice and reflect on his past.
We see Gabriella, Bonifacio’s former fiancée, in flashbacks, and learn about how tumultuous their relationship was.
Just as tumultuous was Bonifacio’s relationship with his two friends, Claudio and Kim. Claudio acts like a voice of reason in many aspects of Bonifacio’s life and his Communist philosophy seems to tell Bonifacio that he should accept his job, even if he’s not that sure about working.
This underground classic defies society at its core and is an excellent piece of Avantgarde coming-of-age cinema. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t divisive, evidenced by its user score of 6.2 out of ten on the IMDb website.
Conclusion
This was our top 5 list of the best Tinto Brass movies ever made. the 5 Greatest Forgotten Tinto Brass films. You can also see Top 5 Nina Hartley Movies.
Do you agree with our list? If you have any suggestions or comments please shoot them down in the comments below. Â
