The Sensual Man

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The Sensual Man
The Sensual Man.jpg
Directed by Marco Vicario
Written byMarco Vicario
Story by Vitaliano Brancati
Starring Giancarlo Giannini
Rossana Podestà
Lionel Stander
Ornella Muti
Gastone Moschin
Cinematography Tonino Delli Colli
Edited by Nino Baragli
Music by Armando Trovajoli
Release date
  • 1974 (1974)
CountryItaly
LanguageItalian
Box office$4.5 million (Italy) [1]

The Sensual Man (Italian : Paolo il caldo, also known as The Sensuous Sicilian) is a 1974 Italian comedy film written and directed by Marco Vicario.

Contents

It is loosely based on the novel of the same name written by Vitaliano Brancati. [2] It was shot in Catania, Sicily and in Rome. [3]

Plot

A Sicilian baron, Paolo Castorini has spent his life (beginning before puberty) dealing with girls, and later, women, usually in matters of the flesh. But later in life he begins to search for a deeper meaning to life. When his father is brought to his deathbed, Paolo (after making a pass at the dying man's nurse) is surprised to learn that the apparently staid, upright father had been unfaithful as a young man, as also Paolo's grandfather, and that such unfaithfulness had brought consequences both moral and medical.

Cast

Release and reception

The movie, of 1:48 hr running time, was released and circulated in Italy, and also played in US arthouses under the title Paolo il Caldo. Then in 1977 it was re-released for the English-speaking public under the title The Sensual Man, with English subtitles. It received a US MPAA film rating of "R". [4]

Film Critic John Simon described The Sensual Man as an "atrocious movie". [5]

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References

  1. Rizzo, Eugene (7 May 1975). "Spencer, Hill Pace Talent Race At Italian Box Office". Variety . p. 137. Retrieved 13 April 2024 via Internet Archive.
  2. Cristina Bragaglia. Il piacere del racconto: narrativa italiana e cinema, 1895-1990. Nuova Italia, 1993. ISBN   88-221-1249-0.
  3. The Sensual Man. New York Magazine. 1977. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  4. Daniel C. Blum. John Willis' Screen world, Volume 29. Crown Publishers, 1978. ISBN   0-517-53451-7.
  5. Simon, John (1983). John Simon: Something to Declare Twelve Years Of Films From Abroad. Clarkson N. Potter Inc. p. 355.