When cinema draws its inspiration from literature: Marcello Mastroianni and his literary characters’ embodiment

It is since the dawn of cinema that the relationship between literature and cinema exists. Despite the profound transformations taking place in production and consumption, cinema continues to draw inspiration from literature. The increasingly important role that new technologies have in the production of spectacular effects has not eliminated the need to have subjects of proven effectiveness: the recourse to works of both classical and contemporary literature. One of the film careers that has crossed paths on many occasions with the major Italian and foreign fiction, contemporary and classic, through the interpretation of some of the most famous characters of those books is Marcello Mastroianni’s, great actor on the Italian theatrical and cinema scene


Introduction
From a historical point of view it should be noted that cinema at its birth was part of an already consolidated system of expression of the story, i.e. that of literature and, apart from a few exceptions that referred to the theatre, most of the cinema of that period tried to narrate through schemes inspired from literature; the literary system, so different from the cinematographic one, imposed on the latter a greater articulation and the creation of a completely new code, a fact that the theater probably would not have induced, creating a flattening between the two types of show.The cinematographic narrative at its beginnings also suffers from the influence of the crisis of the novel and of the entire notion of literary narrative.
With the appearance of Neorealism, the relationship between cinema and literature was once again hindered: it was in fact the neorealist Cesare Zavattini, and he was not the only one, who put forward the "proposal of a specific that rejects narrativity" obsessed as he was "by the idea of the passage from the narrative film to the film of self-criticism which is by its nature anti-subject" 1 .Then there have been works such as Paisà (1946) by Roberto Rossellini and La terra trema (1948) which gave new form to the notions of character and environment and proposed a new «cinematographic imagery».
From the post-war period onwards there exists a sort of trend reversal characterized by a confrontation between literature and cinema more on equal terms, up to the phenomenon of the film "based on" a book.
The relationship between cinema and literature remains controversial because it compares two very complex and different types of communication; this difference is underlined by the different literary and cinematographic «imaginary»."The profound affinity, and full of consequences, between everyday life and cinema" 2 , the fact that cinematographic art is the only art in which visibility and the real passage of time are categorically connected so that the multiplicity of everyday life appears to be reproduced almost mirror-like, but at the same time "cinema can give reality and sensible evidence to the wildest fantasy" so that "even in it the representation of the fantastic has no limits". 3

Marcello Mastroianni and his literary characters' embodiment
In his early career, Marcello Mastroianni commences from the theater 4 ; and Visconti will declare about it: "The most interesting case of all, perhaps, is that of Marcello Mastroianni, a young boy who could not tell a line and whom I cast in Shakespeare's Rosalind, in 1948, after which he accompanied me for at least ten performances, up to Uncle Vanja and the second edition of Death of a Salesman, in '56" 5 .During that time, he performed in As You Like It (1948) andTroilus andCressida (1949) (1952) andUncle Vanja (1955) by Anton Chekhov 6 .The mark, the impression of the theater always remained preponderant in Mastroianni's acting.He had such a mastery of body and voice that he was able to enter the character instantly, and then abandon it, when necessary, and return to being himself with extraordinary ease 7 .
Mastroianni is not only the best Fellini, but he is also the face of Italian cinema in its richest season: Vittorio De Sica (De Sica was his true master, his first point of reference and the key name for Mastroianni's career), Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Ettore Scola, and of some key screenwriters: Cesare Zavattini and Ennio Flaiano. 8 Nominated for an Oscar for best actor three times: for Divorzio all 'italiana (1963), for Una giornata particolare (1977), and for Oci ciornie (1988)

Short excursus through his literary character' interpretation/roles
After the Second World War, the representation of masculinity in Italian literature and cinema is dominated by the figure of the "inept", "the incapable", a man in conflict with an unstable and, at times, destabilizing environment.He is a passive, cowardly, and helpless male who can no longer embody the model of masculinity prescribed by Italian culture. 14He will splendidly embody some of the most important ones in Italian literature, in our opinion, such as Mattia Pascal and Adriano Meis.
We will begin a short excursus through his literary character's interpretation by having the research presented chronologically.
The film I miserabili, directed by Riccardo Freda (1948) was among the first ones in which Mastroianni interpreted a role.Based on the homonymous novel (Les misérables) by Victor Hugo, the film was presented divided into two episodes due to its length when it was released.A young Marcello Mastroianni plays the role of an insurgent.
In Vertigine d'amore, directed by Luigi Capuano (1949), the subject is inspired by the novel Le pain des pauvres by Thyde Monnier.In this film, Mastroianni does not have an important role.
In Cronache di poveri amanti, directed by Carlo Lizzani (1954, based (1973).The film reconstructs through the book Massacre in Rome by Robert Katz, who contributed to the screenplay, the events concerning the historical episode of the Italian resistance known as the "Via Rasella attack" and the subsequent retaliation, known as the "Fosse Ardeatine massacre".Marcello Mastroianni embodies the character of Father Antonelli.
In Gun Moll/La pupa del gangster, directed by Giorgio Capitani (1975) The plot of the film Divina creatura/ The Divine Nymph, directed by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi (1975), was based on the novel La divina fanciulla, Milano,  Fratelli Treves, 1920, written by Luciano Zuccoli 18 .In this film Marcello Mastroianni is Marquis Michele Barra.
La donna della domenica (Luigi Comencini, 1975) was inspired by Fruttero e Lucentini's book (1972) and is a film that opens with a bloody murder on whose trail proceeds a sagacious and sly inspector, Inspector Santamaria, interpreted by Marcello Mastroianni.
Culastrisce nobile veneziano, directed by Flavio Mogherini (1976) was willingly inspired by Maurizio In 1964, Vittorio De Sica, father of Neorealism, brought this umpteenth jewel of his filmography to theaters in Rome: Matrimonio all'italiana.The subject is based on the theatrical comedy Filumena Marturano by Eduardo De Filippo.Marcello Mastroianni embodies the character of Domenico Soriano.Mastroianni and Loren have represented two opposing ways of seeing a sentimental relationship, with the actor who was called upon to play the unrepentant and immature womanizer Domenico.Everything is played on the mutability of feelings, on the love roller coaster between Filumena, moved by authentic passions, and the selfish Domenico: a film that describes a vision of the family and the couple that unfortunately still is a very actual occurrence nowadays 17 .The next year, the film has been awarded David di Donatello Prize for Best Actor to Marcello Mastroianni and a Nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical Film to Marcello Mastroianni at the Golden Globe.
La decima vittima, directed by Elio Petri (1965), was drawn from the science fiction short story The Seventh Victim by Robert Sheckley.Marcello Mastroianni plays the role of Marcello Poletti.
Costanzo's theatrical comedy Un coperto in più (1972) Oci ciornie, directed by Nikita Sergeevici Michalkov (1987), was inspired by some short stories written by Anton Chekhov.This film was presented in competition at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival and it earned Marcello Mastroianni the award for best male performance, a nomination for the 1988 Academy Awards for best actor, and the prestigious Italian Prize "Nastro d'argento" for best actor; Mastroianni embodies Romano, a middle-aged man lost inside the dark eyes (Oci Ciornie in Russian) of a woman, met on the board of a ship. 21 A che punto è la notte, the last film directed by Nanni Loy (1994) is a crime story, based on the homonymous novel by Fruttero & Lucentini, broadcast in two episodes in 1994 on Rai 2 and then repeated in the 2000s; Mastroianni performs again his role as Inspector Santamaria, likewise in La donna della domenica (1975).
Sostiene Pereira/Pereira Maintains, directed by Roberto Faenza (1995) is based on Antonio Tabucchi's novel.It was the last Italian film of Marcello Mastroianni/ Marcello Mastroianni's last Italian film; it evokes the adventures of a journalist that wrote biographies of famous writers and translated French novels during the Salazar time in Lisbon.In 1938, Pereira, interpreted by Mastroianni, meets a revolutionary who, together with his partner, opposes the regime, and who will be barbarously killed.The journalist will also disobey, in his own way, by publishing an obituary full of praise and against the dictatorship of this revolutionary.The work aims to be a reflection on the ability that everyone has to rebel against a dictatorial society.Here we see Mastroianni in one of his best performances.

Conclusions
Mastroianni was among the greatest Italian performers of all time as well as one of the best-known and appreciated abroad from the Sixties onwards, above all for the leading roles in Federico Fellini's films 22 .His popularity is mainly due to cinema interpretations: more than one hundred snapshots that have him as the protagonist in roles that cover a wide range of artistic interpretations, from sentimental comedy to drama, from costume satire to historical film up to the grotesque testify it. 23Perhaps the most iconic and beloved face of Italian cinema, one of the most international ones, an undisputed talent of all cinema in all its forms, however, never tried to pose as a star or as a Latin lover.
Shortly before his death, during the making of his last film, Journey to the Beginning of the World by Manoel de Oliveira, he made a long self-confession (Marcello Mastroianni, Mi ricordo, sì, io mi ricordo/I remember, yes, I remember, edited by Anna Maria Tatò, his last companion, which is considered by many to be his spiritual testament).
Mastroianni impersonated so many literary characters and greatly contributed to the divulgation of great literature, so he almost became an iconic image of the relationship between literature and cinema.
, Marcello Mastroianni is a true cinematographic icon, who has been able to model his talent in soft and elegant nuances, thanks also to the contribution of some of the most important Italian directors and screenwriters.He has won numerous important awards: two Golden Globes, two BAFTA Awards, eight David di Donatello 9 , eight Nastro d'argento 10 , five Golden Globes, and a Ciak d'oro11.He won the Prix d'interprétation masculine at the Cannes Film Festival on two separate occasions -like Jack Lemmon and Dean Stockwell -in 1970 for Dramma della gelosia and in 1987 for Oci ciornie.In 1990 he was awarded Leone d'oro 12 for Lifetime Achievement 13 .Sostiene Pereira, one of his last roles on the screen in a film directed by Roberto Faenza.Also worth mentioning are the roles in foreign cinema and literature, such as Oci ciornie, inspired by some stories of Anton Čechov and Albert Camus' Stranger.
on the homonymous novel of the Italian writer Vasco Pratolini, we find Marcello Mastroianni in the role of Ugo.The film Tempi nostri -Zibaldone n.2, directed  by Alessandro Blasetti (1954)was inspired by the short story Il pupo (The puppet) written by the great Neorealist Italian writer Alberto Moravia.Marcello Mastroianni is Maria's husband.Peccato che sia una canaglia, directed by AlessandroBlasetti (1954): adaptation of the story The Fanatic/Il Fanatico (from the collection Racconti romani) by Alberto Moravia.Marcello Mastroianni interprets Paolo and it is the first time that Sofia Loren appeared opposite Marcello Mastroianni, who was then in what he later called his first years of cinema; from this film on, this amazing screen collaboration between the two actors began.La bella mugnaia, directed by Mario Camerini (1955) was inspired by the novel Il cappello a tre punte/ The Three-cornered Hat by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón, Spanish poet, writer and journalist, exponent of the realist movement.Marcello Mastroianni plays the role of Luca, the husband.Le notti bianche, directed by Luchino Visconti (1957) is based on the homonymous story by Fyodor Dostoevsky.Although the environment, perspectives and characters have changed in the film adaptation, the characters remain three: a woman named Natalia, a young employee named Mario (Marcello Mastroianni), and a foreigner whose name is never mentioned.In Racconti d'estate, a series of perfectly crafted episodes, directed by Gianni Franciolini(1958), Marcello Mastroianni embodies Marcello Mazzoni; «[...] Franciolini, has a fine literary taste for the episodic film, as he already demonstrated with Racconti romani.This time, too, the roots are traced from Moravia; but in a less textual and yet more intense way.[...]» 15 La legge (La loi), directed by Jules Dassin (1958) is based on the homonymous novel La loi by Roger Vailland.Marcello Mastroianni is Enrico, the agronomist.Il bell'Antonio, directed by Mauro Bolognini (1960), deliberately based on the homonymous novel by Vitaliano Brancati, is a satirical drama co-written by Pier Paolo Pasolini.The story is shifted by about thirty years distance from Brancati's novel, in the early 60s Catania, and the facts narrated in the book are summarized; moreover, the anti-fascist criticism, which played a predominant role in Brancati's work, is obviously overlooked.The film, with Mastroianni in the role of Antonio Magnano and Claudia Cardinale in the role of his wife, deals with the taboo theme of impotence; it won the top prize in Locarno 16 .The story of Il bell'Antonio is reshaped in the homonymous TV film directed by Maurizio Zaccaro and starring Daniele Liotti.Cronaca familiare, directed by Valerio Zurlini (1962) is based on the autobiographical homonymous novel by Vasco Pratolini, winner of the Golden Lion.Described as one of the most emotional "male" films in the history of cinema, Cronaca familiare /Family Chronicle recovers many of the facts and motifs of Pratolini's original novel.Marcello Mastroianni is Enrico.The film Ieri, oggi, domani, directed by Vittorio De Sica (1963) is divided into three episodes set in three large Italian cities, all interpreted by the couple formed by Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni and directed by Vittorio De Sica, on subjects written by as many great authors of Italian literature: a) Episode 01 (Adelina), written by Eduardo De Filippo in collaboration with Isabella Quarantotti is set in Naples.The inspiration comes from the true story of the Neapolitan smuggler Concetta Muccardi, who -in order not to go to prison -had nineteen pregnancies, seven of which ended with the birth of children.The woman continued her job as a smuggled cigarette seller until her death, at the age of seventy-eight.b) Episode 02 (Anna), written by Billa Zanuso and Cesare Zavattini and inspired by the short story Troppo ricca/Too rich by Alberto Moravia, is set in Milan.Anna is a rich Milanese lady who has an affair with a man of modest means as if to seek an escape from her arid world.The episode is pervaded by ruthless criticism of the Italian bourgeois society.c) Episode 03: Mara, is set in Rome.Written by Eduardo De Filippo, Cesare Zavattini, Billa Zanusso and Isabella Quarantotti.Mara, a prostitute, lives in Rome in Piazza Navona.Her neighbour is Giovanna, an elderly woman, who is temporarily hosting Umberto, her nephew who studies at the Theological Seminary and who falls in love with Mara, without being aware of her profession.The film Il papavero è anche un fiore/The Poppy Is Also a Flower, directed by Terence Young (1966) is based on a story by Ian Fleming, the writer of the James Bond novels, and screenplay by Jo Eisinger.Marcello Mastroianni is Inspector Mosca.The story of the film Spara forte, più forte... non capisco!, directed by Eduardo De Filippo (1966) is based on the comedy Le voci di dentro/The Voices Inside written by Eduardo himself.Marcello Mastroianni embodies the character of Alberto Saporito.Leo the last, directed by John Boorman (1970) is based on a play by George Tabori, winner of the Best Director award at the 23 rd Festival de Cannes.Marcello Mastroianni is Principe Leone.Liza (La Cagna), directed by Marco Ferreri (1972), is based on the short story Melampus by Ennio Flaiano.Marcello Mastroianni interprets the role of Giorgio.
, the plot of the film is acquiescently based on a story by Cornell Woolrich.Marcello Mastroianni is Charlie Colletto.The film Per le antiche scale, directed by Mauro Bolognini (1975) is deliberately inspired by the story Dentro la cerchia delle mura/Inside the circle of walls from the collection Per le antiche scale/Down the Ancient Staircase by Mario Tobino.Marcello Mastroianni plays the role of Professor Bonaccorsi.
. Marcello Mastroianni is Marchese Luca Maria Sbrizon.Todo modo, directed by Elio Petri (1976) was based on the homonymous novel by Leonardo Sciascia.Marcello Mastroianni plays the role of Don Gaetano.In 1976 both the protagonists -Mariangela Melato and Marcello Mastroianni (also for La donna della domenica and for Per le antiche scale) -were awarded the Golden Globe for best actor/actress.Doppio delitto/Double Murder, directed by Steno (1977), is a film inspired by Ugo Moretti's novel Doppia morte al Governo Vecchio.Marcello Mastroianni is Bruno Baldassarre.Le mani sporche, directed by Elio Petri (1978) is a television drama with three episodes, broadcast for the first time by RAI in 1978, based on the homonymous play by Jean-Paul Sartre (Les mains sales).In addition to directing, Elio Petri edited the translation from French and the television adaptation.Marcello Mastroianni embodies the character of Hoederer.The film Fantasma d'amore, directed by Dino Risi (1981) is set in Pavia and is based on the homonymous novel by Mino Milani 19 .Marcello Mastroianni is Giovanni Monti and, in this film, Romy Schneider is another important figure in the cinematographic world.The subject of the film La pelle, directed by Liliana Cavani (1981) traced its roots from the homonymous novel by Curzio Malaparte.Marcello Mastroianni plays the role of the writer Malaparte.As for Il mondo nuovo (La Nuit de Varennes), directed by Ettore Scola (1982), the plot is inspired by La Nuit de Varennes ou l'Impossibile n'est pas français (1982).Marcello Mastroianni is Giacomo Casanova, Knight of Seingalt.Storia di Piera/ The Story of Piera, directed by Marco Ferreri (1983), is based on the homonymous book interview by the Italian writer Dacia Maraini with the actress Piera Degli Esposti.Marcello Mastroianni is Lorenzo, Piera's father.Literature and cinema lead us to cross-cultural and linguistic borders, this time to the Albanian Ismail Kadaré -one of the greatest living writers, nominated several times for the Nobel Prize -and to the film Il generale dell'armata morta/The General of the Dead Army, directed by Luciano Tovoli (1983).It is also known by the title The Return of the Dead Army.The film has an exceptional cast: Marcello Mastroianni (General Ariosto), Anouk Aimée, Sergio Castellitto and we consider that it is undeservedly little known outside the Italian and French borders 20 .Enrico IV, directed by Marco Bellocchio (1984) is a deliberate transposition of the homonymous tragedy by Luigi Pirandello.Marcello Mastroianni is Enrico IV and his screen partner this time is Claudia Cardinale.Le due vite di Mattia Pascal, directed by Mario Monicelli (1985) is based on Luigi Pirandello's novel Il fu Mattia Pascal.Marcello Mastroianni embodies the two lost identities: Mattia Pascal and Adriano Meis.The film was presented in the competition at the 38th Cannes Film Festival; there is also a 150-minute television version of this film.