2012 LA FILM FEST – To Rome With Love Red Carpet
Below is a picture from Woody Allen’s latest movie and then below are some Italian films that influenced him over the years.

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- By Philippe Antonello, Sony Pictures Classics
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Appearing in one of his own movies for the first time since 2006, Allen plays an unhappily retired and somewhat neurotic opera director who pins a comeback attempt on his discovery of an Italian mortician who can sing like Pavarotti — but only in the shower.

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- The Kobal Collection
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The White Sheik (1952). An early romantic comedy by Federico Fellini about a bride honeymooning in Rome who leaves her husband behind to find the hero of her romantic novels. A direct influence on To Rome with Love’s similar story of a young couple who are split apart in the bustling city.
Allen’s observation: “It’s a film I love very much.”
Allen’s observation: “It’s a film I love very much.”

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- The Kobal Collection
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Amarcord (1973). Fellini’s autobiographical coming-of-age tale set in a small seaside town in 1930s Italy is overrun with colorful characters, from a blind accordion player to the village beauty.
Allen’s observation: “Great fun.”
Allen’s observation: “Great fun.”

<The Kobal Collection
Blow-Up (1966). Michelangelo Antonioni created waves with his first English-language film when he turned his camera on swinging London as personified by a cocky fashion photographer (David Hemmings) who believes his lens has accidentally captured a murder.
Allen’s observation: “Not in the same class as the other films, but interesting to see.”
Allen’s observation: “Not in the same class as the other films, but interesting to see.”