LA LEGGE DELLA TROMBA

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).