Il segno di Venere
Dino Risi
Two cousins living under the safe roof dream of emancipation and love. Agnese, a real headturning beauty, has suitors queuing up for her favours. Whereas Cesira, who is less outgoing, works and cannot find the rare pearl among the men she encounters. She decides to go and see a clairvoyant who tells her that she is under the sign of Venus, a period which is favourable for encounters. This triggers a series of amorous events.
With : Sophia Loren, Franca Valeri, Vottorio De Sica, Alberto Sordi
Screenplay : Edoardo Anton, Franca Valeri, Dino Risi et Luigi Comencini
Image : Carlo Montuori
Editing : Mario Serandrei
Music : Renzo Rossellini
Screenplay : Edoardo Anton, Franca Valeri, Dino Risi et Luigi Comencini
Image : Carlo Montuori
Editing : Mario Serandrei
Music : Renzo Rossellini
Production : Marcello Girosi
Distribution: Tamasa Distribution
Distribution: Tamasa Distribution
When this film was made, Risi was such a promising director that he had a 4-star cast enabling him to dip his toe into the flourishing Italian cinema of the time. Neorealism was still predominant, but the cinematography still needed some new inspiration. Although Il segno di Venere (The Sign of Venus) is not considered as commedie all'Itaiana it is nevertheless the first example of a "neorealist comedy". Dino Risi's unique cynicism is not yet present, but there is the taste for the confusion between good and evil that he would go on to develop in the rest of his work.