"Projections of Rome" at the Clark

A free film series on Saturdays at 2:00 pm in the Clark Auditorium

The “Projections of Rome” film series extends the Clark’s fall focus on representations of Rome from still photography to motion pictures. The Eternal City is a mirror onto which we tend to project ourselves, and especially so in the movies. We look first at two takes on Ancient Rome -- Shakespearian and “sword & sandal” -- then at two romantic fantasies of Rome in the Fifties, and finally two excursions by the cinematic bard of Rome, Federico Fellini.

October 17: Julius Caesar. (1953, 122 min.) Marlon Brando, John Gielgud, and James Mason lead an all-star cast in Joseph Mankiewicz’s bracing and intelligent adaptation of the classic Shakespeare play.

October 24: The Fall of the Roman Empire. (1964, 187 min.) Anthony Mann’s sweeping widescreen epic marshals a notable cast led by Alec Guinness and Sophia Loren, with a feel for historical accuracy in the dynastic conflict around Marcus Aurelius, a story later retold in Gladiator.

November 7: Roman Holiday. (1953, 118 min.) Audrey Hepburn bursts to stardom as the princess who goes AWOL in Rome, with American reporter Gregory Peck showing her around and photographer Eddie Alpert dogging their heels, under the direction of William Wyler.

November 14: Three Coins in the Fountain. (1954, 102 min.) The star here is the Oscar-winning CinemaScope photography on location in Rome -- a silly Fifties romance about three American secretaries finding the continental men of their dreams is redeemed by the scenery and a fine cast.

November 21: The White Sheik. (1951, 88 min., in Italian with subtitles.) Fellini’s first film, one of his best, follows a newly-wed couple from the provinces as they make a pilgrimage to Rome, the groom eager to visit the Pope while the bride only wants to see the third-rate Valentino of the title, played by Alberto Sordi.

November 28: La Dolce Vita. (1960, 174 min., in Italian with subtitles.) Fellini moves from outsiders to the in-crowd in this tour of the “sweet life” of show-biz Rome, in what became an international sensation, with journalist Marcello Mastrioanni covering the decadent scene as our guide to these infernal circles.