Devil in the Flesh (1986 film)

Last updated
Devil in the Flesh
Devil in the flesh poster.jpg
English-language theatrical poster
Directed by Marco Bellocchio
Screenplay by
Based on Le Diable au corps
by Raymond Radiguet
Produced by Leo Pescarolo
Starring Maruschka Detmers
Federico Pitzalis
Cinematography Giuseppe Lanci
Edited byMirco Garrone
Music by Carlo Crivelli
Distributed by BAC Films
Release date
  • 22 April 1986 (1986-04-22)
Running time
114 min
Country Italy
LanguageItalian

Devil in the Flesh (original title: Il diavolo in corpo) is an Italian film released in 1986 and directed by Marco Bellocchio.

Contents

An adaptation of Raymond Radiguet’s novel Le Diable au corps , the film stars Federico Pitzalis as a high school student who falls in love with an older woman (played by Maruschka Detmers).

Storyline

An Italian high school student named Andrea becomes infatuated with Giulia, an older woman he sees outside his classroom window. Giulia's fiancé, a leftist radical, has been jailed and is currently on trial for political crimes. Andrea and Giulia meet and begin a sexual relationship, rendezvousing in her apartment. The situation becomes complicated when her fiancé's mother finds out about this and confronts Andrea's father, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who has treated Giulia in the past. The psychiatrist finds himself the target of Giulia's sexual advances, which he attributes to madness. As a passionate affair unfolds between Giulia and Andrea, the viewer is left wondering exactly how mentally unbalanced Giulia really is, and whether she had an affair with the boy's father as well. Intensity of passion between Giulia and Andrea builds towards a climax. Andrea's father confronts him about the affair, but Andrea does not back down. Giulia's husband is released from jail. The final ten minutes present a fitting conclusion to all the confusion and passion built up craftily in the film.

Production

One of the more notable aspects of the film is an extended (though darkly lit) scene in which the character played by Maruschka Detmers performs unsimulated (i.e., actual) fellatio on the character played by Federico Pitzalis. [1]

The oral sex scene between Maruschka Detmers and Federico Pitzalis wasn't part of the script. It was Massimo Fagioli, a Marco Bellocchio's collaborator, who suggested it." [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond Radiguet</span> French novelist and poet

Raymond Radiguet was a French novelist and poet whose two novels were noted for their explicit themes, and unique style and tone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michele Placido</span> Italian actor and film director

Michele Placido is an Italian actor, director and screenwriter. He began his career on stage, and first gained mainstream attention through a series of roles in films directed by the likes of Mario Monicelli and Marco Bellocchio, winning the Berlinale's Silver Bear for Best Actor for his performance in the 1979 film Ernesto. He is known internationally for portraying police inspector Corrado Cattani on the crime drama television series La piovra (1984–2001). Placido's directorial debut, Pummarò, was screened Un Certain Regard at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. Three of his films have competed for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. He is a five-time Nastro d'Argento and four-time David di Donatello winner. In 2021, Placido was appointed President of the Teatro Comunale in Ferrara.

Le Diable au corps may refer to:

<i>Fists in the Pocket</i> 1965 Italian film

Fists in the Pocket is a 1965 Italian satirical drama film written and directed by Marco Bellocchio and starring Lou Castel. It was Bellocchio's first feature film and became one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year. The film centers on a young man suffering from epilepsy, who plots the murders of the members of his dysfunctional family.

<i>The Devils Brother</i> 1933 American film

The Devil's Brother or Fra Diavolo outside the U.S. is a 1933 American Pre-Code comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy. It is based on Daniel Auber's operetta Fra Diavolo about the Italian bandit Fra Diavolo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sergio Rubini</span> Italian actor and film director

Sergio Rubini is an Italian actor, film director and screenwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marco Bellocchio</span> Italian film director, screenwriter and actor

Marco Bellocchio is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massimo Girotti</span> Italian actor

Massimo Girotti was an Italian film actor whose career spanned seven decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maruschka Detmers</span> Dutch actress

Maruschka Detmers is a Dutch actress. She moved to France as a teenager after finishing school, where she captured the attention of director Jean-Luc Godard. In 1983, she made her dramatic debut under Godard's direction in Prénom Carmen. Other noteworthy films include Hanna's War (1988) and The Mambo Kings (1992), but she is best known for her role in Devil in the Flesh (1986).

The Nastro d'Argento for Best Director is a film award bestowed annually as part of the Nastro d'Argento awards since 1946, organized by the Italian National Association of Film Journalists, the national association of Italian film critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paola Pitagora</span> Italian actress

Paola Pitagora is an Italian film actress. She has appeared in 50 films since 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1986 Cannes Film Festival</span> 39th Cannes Film Festival

The 39th Cannes Film Festival was held from 8 to 19 May 1986. The Palme d'Or went to The Mission by Roland Joffé.

<i>The Conviction</i> 1991 film

The Conviction is a 1991 Italian drama film directed by Marco Bellocchio. It was entered into the 41st Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Silver Bear Special Jury Prize. Bellocchio wrote the script with his psychotherapist Massimo Fagioli; the two had previously collaborated on the 1986 film Devil in the Flesh.

<i>The Fifth Cord</i> 1971 Italian film

The Fifth Cord is a 1971 Italian giallo film directed by Luigi Bazzoni. The film's Italian title reprises Dario Argento's practice of using animals in the titles of his thriller films. The film is based on a novel with the same name by D.M. Devine.

<i>Commedia sexy allitaliana</i> Italian film genre

The commedia sexy all'italiana, also known as commedia scollacciata or commedia erotica all'italiana, is a subgenre of the Italian commedia all'italiana film genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aldo Tonti</span> Italian cinematographer

Aldo Tonti was an Italian cinematographer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ennio Girolami</span> Italian actor

Enio Girolami, sometimes credited as Thomas Moore, was an Italian film and television actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">100 film italiani da salvare</span> List of the best 100 Italian films

The list of the 100 Italian films to be saved was created with the aim to report "100 films that have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978". Film preservation, or film restoration, describes a series of ongoing efforts among film historians, archivists, museums, cinematheques, and non-profit organizations to rescue decaying film stock and preserve the images they contain. In the widest sense, preservation assures that a movie will continue to exist in as close to its original form as possible.

The Nastro d'Argento is a film award assigned each year, since 1948, by Sindacato Nazionale dei Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani, the association of Italian film critics.

Enrico Palandri is an Italian academic, writer and translator.

References

  1. Canby, Vincent (1987-05-29). "Movie Review – Devil in the Flesh – NYTimes.com". Movies.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  2. "Il diavolo in corpo" (PDF). associazioneamorepsiche.org. Retrieved 2022-01-30.