This article aims to examine some of the peculiarities of Anna Magnani as an icon and to situate it in a trans-national dimension, mainly focusing on its reception in France and Argentina. In particular, I will highlight the traits connecting the figure of Magnani with those of Édith Piaf and Tita Merello, who in the post-war period display traits similar to those of the Italian actress. Through the comparative analysis of film frames, songs, articles and photographs taken from the press, I will identify some features common to these three icons who dominated the star system immediately after the war. I will show how these figures invented a new form of female diva and an anti-spectacular stardom which moved within an autonomous and eccentric environment when compared to contemporary film production.
According to an established historiography, post World War II Italian cinema owes much of its international success to the French intellectual milieu. In this process of reception, the work carried out by exiled Italian intellectuals, who were responsible for promoting neo-realism on the other side of the Alps for diplomatic purposes but without neglecting questions of an aesthetic nature, deserves attention. By relating certain aspects of the socio- historical context with the analysis of some critical texts, this article aims to reconstruct some trajectories of reception of neorealist cinema in the Italian-French press between 1945 and 1950.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.