Wild Is the Wind

1976:I've just bought the new Bowie album "Station to station" and there's a track I find quite intriguing;it 's called "Wild is the wind" .Bowie gives a grandiose overblown rendition which I love from the first listening.The authors are Tiomkin/Washington;at the time I did not know them at all,and I must confess I barely knew Cukor (I'd seen "gaslight" and that was all).For thirty years ,I've been hoping to have the opportunity to see the movie whose song I've been playing for years (still am)

2005:After watching most of Cukor's filmography ,I finally saw "Wild is the wind" today.I was eagerly waiting for the song and there's more suspense cause the movie does not begin with the cast and credits.After the five-minute prologue that's it!Well it's terribly different.It's sung by Johnny Mathis (not Nina Simone)and I must admit...it's not what I expected.It's typically fifties melodrama song .

Now the movie.A movie which features Anna Magnani cannot be bad but I must say she's better in her native Italy (with Rossellini,Visconti,Pasolini et al).The Anthonys - Quinn the Eskimo and Anthony the Method - are good thespians and the story is interesting.An aging Italian whose wife passed away has her sister fly from Italy to marry her.And he begins to shape her personality, to break her as he does for the wild horse,in a nutshell,to make her a brand new Rosetta her first beloved wife.Symbolism is a bit overdone,ponderous (the horse,the ewe)but the actors can get away with it with gusto.Anna Magnani's metamorphosis during the movie is stunning,from a rather ugly gauche little woman with bags under her eyes to a bright Mediterranean beauty.Clint Eastwood might have remembered the lesson when he filmed Meryl Streep in his celebrated "bridges of Madison County" ,a return to the glorious fifties melodrama.

Not a great Cukor,but a must for fans of melodramas and/or Magnani.

An elemental film, starting with the title. Anna Magnani was a force of nature, so the setting in the rugged Nevada mountains is apt, for this highly melodramatic tale. The passions of the characters are paralleled by images of raging rivers, rearing wild horses, and sheep giving birth, to the thunderous chords of Tiomkin's score. Several years earlier Magnani won an Oscar for her performance in The Rose Tattoo, and in this film she again dominates the screen. One of the most touching scenes is a quiet one at the beginning of the film, when she makes a connection with her niece, sensitively played by Dolores Hart. Anthony Quinn is enjoyable in this, although tending toward overacting. Franciosa holds his own with the two powerhouses.

Cukor's "Wild is the Wind" seems to be a kind of tribute to Fellini's classic "La Strada." He made his film just a couple years later, and sets it up along very similar lines. He selects Antony Quinn, Zampano for Fellini, to be his male lead, Gino. And chooses the forceful Anna Magnani (Gioia) to equal Guiletta Masina's rather astonishing performance in the central role of Gelsomina in "La Strada."

Gino, the Nevada ranch owner, is the same kind of brutish, brooding hunk as is the strong man performer in "La Strada." They act in the masculine mode, determined, gusty, sometimes cruel, and in different senses, heroically alone. It is perhaps the poverty of the former and Gino's outsider status (Italian in Nevada) that open each up to change, and redemption. Each, however, is hardened against the actual woman--whoseservice he demands, and whose body he exploits--who offers that change.

Gioia, like her parallel, Gelsomina, is a replacement for a dead sister. Zampano purchases Gelsomina after his Rosa dies. Gino orders Gioia as a mail order bride to replace his wife who died after several desperate attempts to give him a child. Both women find themselves trapped in a feelingless, cold, abusive relationship, removed from human response and the natural world. They are owned--body and soul, and are, of course, interchangeable with their sisters.

But Gioia's resistance, like that of her predecessor, is central. Each woman is engaged, through a compelling range of small acts and facial expressions--they are FACES above all else--in a form of survival which doubles as opposition. What the man denies, they affirm, what he kills, they save. Each is strongly in touch with the needless suffering endured by humans and animals, and are sickened by the acts that cause it . And each is more bold than pleasing, more spirited than spiritual, and more troubling than tamed.

Both women have one or two male allies who bear some similarity. Bene (Tony Francioso) seems related to "La Strada"s tightrope walker (Richard Basehart): both men serving as alternative male's who have understanding and sympathy for these held women, and for the natural world they defend. They create space an breathing room--Bene's lust seems out of character. And then too each, in the end, leaves these women to the mercy of their oppressive situation. (Alberto, Gino's older brother, is perhaps a more practical ally than these two, however: it is his unusually direct and touching challenge to his brother that forces him to perceive Gioia as a person.)

All the major roles of La Strada are more convincing and consistent, and thus the ending is more powerful. Gino's redemption is also secured at a much lower cost than Zampano's, which has to do with the weaker script/plot than and not his less rigid nature. However "Wild is the Wind," given Cukor's Hollywood models and restraints, measures up quite well to Fellini's classic.

Anthony Quinn, (Gino) plays the role as a Italian/American sheep rancher who loses his wife and he decides to send for his dead wife's sister, Giola, (Anna Magnani) from Italy. When Giola arrives Gino gives her all kinds of presents, but is not close to her and always calls her by his dead wife's name. As the months go by, Giola becomes unhappy and feels neglected and still remains unmarried even though Gino calls her his wife. Bene, (Anthony Franciosa) is Gino's son and he becomes romantically involved with Giola and they have some very torrid love scenes. In one scene you see a sheep giving birth which adds a great deal to the reality of this very down to earth film which was directed by the famous director, George Cukor. Anna Magnani gave an outstanding performance and was nominated for an Acamedy Award for her great role. Enjoy.

A fantastic film, that I have tried to see again for years. Unfortunately, it has been impossible to find. If any one can assist, I would appreciate it. This film Wild is the Wind, has a great script, filled with forceful characters, clearly defined, but developed with such precision that I would think of it as a model of what a dramatic characterization should be. The choice of cast was perfect with each actor having a talent that matched the dimension necessary to make this movie a mixture of drama and powerful social content. The movie has many layers of reasoning that should be enjoyable for any movie buff. Anthony Quinn is at his best, always in character. He delivered one of the best performances of his career. It is sad that it is a performance so rarely mentioned, not even in his biography. But such a find for those who appreciate his strong and insightful performances. Anna Magdalena did only a couple of American films. Most remembered for the Rose Tattoo. I would love to see some of her Italian films, she is a very dynamic actress. Her talent as a dramatic leading lady is worth watching the movie. If you appreciated the strong character and wonderful performance of Meryl Streep in Madison County, you will enjoy this character. Anna Magdalena was incredible. The film was unfortunately, ahead of its time by American norms in the film industry, at the time of its presentation. If released today, imagine the reception. Films such as this were definitely an influence on the American film industry, the success and need to expand a film past a current film formula script, was then only in its infancy. So, if you want to see it for history, social moral content, dramatic performances, its fantastic artful presentation or the sheer enjoyment of a great story, well done, by the most talented artists of our time, see it.