1. Introduction

Luigi Magni (21 March 1928 – 27 October 2013) was an Italian screenwriter and film director.

2. Life and Career

Born in Rome, Magni started his career as a screenwriter, in 1956, with Tempo di villeggiatura.^[1] In 1968 he collaborated with Mario Monicelli to a real "event" of the Italian cinema as the transformation of Monica Vitti in a comedic actress with The Girl with the Pistol, and the critical and commercial success of the film pushed him into directing.^[1] After the directorial debut with Faustina (which was also the debut film of Vonetta McGee), in 1969 Magni achieved an extraordinary success with Nell'anno del Signore, which was the highest-grossing Italian film of the year, so as to require for the first time in Italy nighttime screenings to meet the demands of the audience.^[1][2] The film marked the encounter with Nino Manfredi, with whom Magni had a long-standing association on the set (including the screenplay of Manfredi's award-winning film Per Grazia Ricevuta) and a close friendship off the set. The film also defined Magni's style, namely a commedia all'italiana mainly centred on Rome and its history, particularly the epoch between the Papal States and the Risorgimento.^[2]

In 1977 Magni achieved critical recognition with In nome del Papa Re, which also gave him his first David di Donatello Award.^[1][3] He received a second David di Donatello in 1995, for the screenplay of Nemici d'infanzia, and a special David di Donatello Lifetime Career Award in 2008.^[1][3]

In 1991 he was a member of the jury at the 17th Moscow International Film Festival.^[4] After the 2003 TV movie La notte di Pasquino, a sort of sequel of Nell'anno del Signore still with Nino Manfredi as the main actor, and with the death of Manfredi in 2004, Magni retired from cinema.^[1] He died in Rome, on 27 October 2013.^[5]

3. Filmography

3.1. Screenwriter

• La cambiale (1959)
• Il corazziere (1960)
• Gli attendenti (1961)
• Il mio amico Benito (1962)
• In Italia si chiama amore (1963)
• Un tentativo sentimentale (1964)
• Le voci bianche (1964)
• Extraconiugale (1964)
• La Celestina P... R... (1964)
• Le bambole (1965)
• La Mandragola (1965)
• Madamigella Di Maupin (1965)
• Le fate (1966)
• Non faccio la guerra, faccio l'amore (1966)
• El Greco (1966)
• La cintura di castità (1967)
• Le streghe (1967)
• Il marito è mio e l'ammazzo quando mi pare (1967)
• La ragazza con la pistola (1968)
• Faustina (1968)
• Nell'anno del Signore (1969)
• Scipione detto anche l'Africano (1971)
• Per grazia ricevuta (1973)
• La Tosca (1973)
• La via dei babbuini (1974)
• Basta che non si sappia in giro (1976)
• In nome del Papa Re (1977)
• Arrivano i bersaglieri (1980)
• State buoni se potete (1983)
• Secondo Ponzio Pilato (1987)
• 'o Re (1989)
• In nome del popolo sovrano (1990)
• Nemici d'infanzia (1995)
• La Carbonara (2000)

3.2. Director

• Faustina (1968)
• Nell'anno del Signore (1969)
• Scipione detto anche l'Africano (1971)
• La Tosca (1973)
• La via dei babbuini (1974)
• Basta che non si sappia in giro (1976)
• Quelle strane occasioni (1976)
• In nome del Papa Re (1977)
• Signore e signori, buonanotte (1977)
• Arrivano i bersaglieri (1980)
• State buoni se potete (1983)
• L'addio a Enrico Berlinguer (1984)
• Secondo Ponzio Pilato (1987)
• Imago Urbis (1987)
• 'o Re (1989)
• In nome del popolo sovrano (1990)
• Nemici d'infanzia (1995)
• Esercizi di stile (1996)
• La Carbonara (2000)