Country: Italy
Year: 1972
Duration: 82'
Three animals sitting on thrones: a lion, a tiger, and a leopard representing military, economic, and agricultural power, respectively. They comment on scenes from the past and present depicting the socio-economic dynamics that led to the distinctions between the humble and the powerful throughout the ages. A series of scenes of defeats and abuses set in the Stone Age, in Ancient Rome, in the Wild West and the conquest of the American Frontier, leading up to Italy during the fascist regime and the post-war wave of consumerism. It’s always the dominant class that wins, often disguising its interests under a cloak of noble ideals and religious beliefs, preserving their power at the expense of everyone below them.
Biography
film director
Augusto Tretti
Augusto Tretti (Verona, Italy, 1924-2013) started off studying law but then, frustrated by the academic environment, he started making short anti-religion films, which were unfortunately lost. He moved to Rome in the 1950s to pursue his passion for cinema and became friends with Fellini, with whom he collaborated on Il bidone (1955). He directed his first feature La legge della tromba in 1958-1959, overcoming incredible hurdles in its production and distribution: the critics didn’t appreciate it, but the film was noticed by Moravia and was distributed by Goffredo Lombardo’s company Titanus. Thanks to the interested expressed by filmmakers the likes of Fellini, Flaiano, Antonioni, and Tonino Guerra, he started working on his second feature Power while still under contract with Titanus. The film, however, came out ten years later after a series of ordeals, including the production company’s failure. The feature was presented in Venice in 1972 and was very well received. Tretti directed just two more films before abandoning his career in cinema: Alcohol (1980), done on commission, and the short Mediatori e carrozze (1984) for RAI.
FILMOGRAFIA
Legge della tromba (1960), Il potere (1972), Alcool (1980), Mediatori e carrozze (cm, 1984).
Declaration
film director
“Unfortunately I saw Power butchered by private televisions. Even though it was modest and full of defects, I still think it was a great movie because it bothered certain powerful people.”
Cast
& Credits
regia, soggetto, sceneggiatura/director, story, screenplay
Augusto Tretti
fotografia/cinematography
Ubaldo Marelli
montaggio/film editing
Giancarlo Rainieri
musica/music
Eugenia Tretti Manzoni
suono/sound
Giuseppe Donato
interpreti/cast
Paola Tosi, Massimo Campostrini, Ferruccio Maliga, Giovanni Moretto, Diego Peres, Augusto Tretti
produttori/producers
Federico Pantanella, Mario Fattori
produzione/production
Aquarius Audiovisual
contatti/contacts
Cineteca Nazionale
Laura Argento
laura.argento@fondazionecsc.it
www.fondazionecsc.it
Augusto Tretti
fotografia/cinematography
Ubaldo Marelli
montaggio/film editing
Giancarlo Rainieri
musica/music
Eugenia Tretti Manzoni
suono/sound
Giuseppe Donato
interpreti/cast
Paola Tosi, Massimo Campostrini, Ferruccio Maliga, Giovanni Moretto, Diego Peres, Augusto Tretti
produttori/producers
Federico Pantanella, Mario Fattori
produzione/production
Aquarius Audiovisual
contatti/contacts
Cineteca Nazionale
Laura Argento
laura.argento@fondazionecsc.it
www.fondazionecsc.it
