''Le Notti Bianchi'', 1957 - art by Georges Allard
by Movie World Posters
Title
''Le Notti Bianchi'', 1957 - art by Georges Allard
Artist
Movie World Posters
Medium
Mixed Media - Vintage Movie Poster
Description
A vintage French movie poster of ''Le Notti Bianchi'', a 1957 Italian film directed by Luchino Visconti. It is based on the short story of the same name by Fyodor Dostoevsky and is one of Visconti's earlier works. The film stars Maria Schell in one of the lead roles, alongside Marcello Mastroianni and Jean Marais.
The story is set in the enchanting city of Livorno, Italy, and revolves around a lonely and introverted young man named Mario (played by Marcello Mastroianni). Mario is a dreamer who spends his evenings wandering the streets of the city, lost in his thoughts. One night, he encounters a mysterious and melancholic woman named Natalia (played by Maria Schell) on a deserted bridge. Natalia is waiting for a man who promised to meet her on that bridge, but he never arrives.
Mario becomes infatuated with Natalia, and they strike up a conversation. He learns that Natalia has been waiting for her former lover for several years, believing that he will return to her. Despite his feelings for Natalia, Mario agrees to help her in her lonely vigil, offering her companionship during the long, sleepless nights.
As Mario and Natalia spend more time together, they form a deep bond, and Mario falls in love with her. However, complications arise when Natalia's former lover, a dashing and enigmatic man named Gabriele (played by Jean Marais), suddenly reappears in her life. This unexpected development sets off a series of emotional and dramatic events as Mario and Gabriele both vie for Natalia's affection.
"Le Notti Bianchi" explores themes of love, loneliness, and the passage of time. The film is known for its evocative cinematography, capturing the beauty of the city at night, and the excellent performances of its cast, particularly Maria Schell, who delivers a compelling portrayal of a woman torn between her past and a potential future.
Luchino Visconti's adaptation of Dostoevsky's story is often regarded as a poignant and visually striking exploration of human emotions and relationships. It is a classic of Italian cinema and remains a significant work in the careers of both Visconti and Maria Schell.
About the poster artist:
Gilbert ("Georges") Allard (Oct. 15, 1916, Rouvray-Saint-Croix, France—Dec. 7, 2002, Saint-Evertin, France) was a leading French postwar and contemporary poster artist, active from the end of the 1940s through the 1960s.
He painted and signed more than eighty posters for films distributed in France. The French advertising agency Jacques Fourastié produced the majority of his posters.
He often differed from other French poster artists who used graphic elements since he preferred traditional painting techniques. As a result, he used fine brushwork to paint intricate, unexaggerated facial details while adding more dynamic features to the background images, which blended expertly with the key image. In combination, his poster art produced images of the film's essential theme.
An example of those style qualities can be seen in his poster for "Contempt" (aka "Le Mepris," (1963) with Brigitte Bardot, along with other posters, as in "Red River" (1948), "Baby Doll" (1956), and "Doctor Zhivago" (1965).
Search for "Allard" to see some of his other art.
Uploaded
February 5th, 2022
Embed
Share
Comments
There are no comments for ''Le Notti Bianchi'', 1957 - art by Georges Allard. Click here to post the first comment.