Il Sorpasso
Synopsis
Bruno Cortona and Roberto Mariani meet by chance as Roberto helps Bruno one day while everything is closed in Rome for the holiday weekend. The two men could not be more different. Thirty-six year old Bruno is extroverted, a man who seizes opportunities as they arise, is an excitement seeker, has never really grown up, but is a person to whom many are drawn because of his exuberance and masculine good looks. Law student Roberto is introverted, controlled and so unsure of himself that he doesn't really know why he chose law as a career and is afraid not only to let the girl who lives across the way from him, Valeria, know that he likes her, but even to speak to her. He even has a photograph of her in his wallet that he took clandestinely. Roberto reluctantly gets caught up in the whirlwind of Bruno's last minute change in plans for the holidays as the two head off together in Bruno's Lancia Aurelia sports car, their joy ride which will be largely at Bruno's whim. That reluctance is because Roberto would rather stay at home to study for an exam a few weeks away. Roberto tries to ditch Bruno at every stop, he however afraid to tell Bruno the truth that he'd rather not be with him. But as their time together progresses, they each learn a little more about the other, with Roberto in particular beginning to understand how stultified his life has been. The question becomes whether Roberto and Bruno can find that good balance in their lives because of their time with the other.
Production Budget Analysis
The production budget for Il Sorpasso (1962) has not been publicly disclosed.
CAST: Vittorio Gassman, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Catherine Spaak, Claudio Gora, Luciana Angiolillo, Linda Sini DIRECTOR: Dino Risi CINEMATOGRAPHY: Alfio Contini MUSIC: Riz Ortolani PRODUCTION: Fair Film, Incei Film, Sancro Film
Box Office Performance
Theatrical box office data is not publicly available for Il Sorpasso (1962). This may indicate a limited release, direct-to-streaming, or a release predating modern box office tracking.
Profitability Assessment
Insufficient publicly available data to assess profitability.
INDUSTRY IMPACT
PRODUCTION NOTES
▸ Music & Score
The soundtrack includes original themes by Riz Ortolani, and Italian 1960s hits such as "Saint Tropez Twist" by Peppino di Capri, "Quando, quando, quando" performed by Emilio Pericoli, "Guarda come dondolo" and "Pinne fucile ed occhiali" by Edoardo Vianello and "Vecchio frac" by Domenico Modugno.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
Summary: 4 wins & 2 nominations total
CRITICAL RECEPTION
According to Antonio Monda, the film was initially ignored by audiences and critics but became a word-of-mouth hit, as the film's road-trip structure appealed to "an emerging middle class craving travel ... in [a] period of economic boom". Critical appraisal took longer to improve, but Monda writes that today, the film is generally considered an "undisputed classic of Italian cinema; nobody would be ashamed to mention it in the same breath as an Antonioni or Visconti film, although at the time that would have been inconceivable." highlighting its "relationship of the 'mentor' and the untutored youth, corrupted along the way". Alexander Payne added that he borrowed elements of the film for his Academy Award-winning film Sideways.
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