This "women's director" was also no slouch with men, and he helps Anthony Quinn to perhaps his best performance. Quinn often overacted, and here, as a hearty, swaggering, brutish sheep rancher who brings his dead wife's sister (Anna Magnani) over from Italy to marry, he easily could have resorted to his usual bluster. But it's a very shaded portrayal, with seemingly conflicting elements of roughness and tenderness that make sense in the end. Magnani is predictably great, even singing well, and Tony Franciosa, as Quinn's adopted son who forms an O'Neill-like triangle (it does feel like "Desire Under the Elms," as another commenter noted), is excellent. The outdoorsiness and earthiness (you even see a lamb born, before your boggled eyes) are un-Cukorlike, but he handles them confidently; and while the symbolism gets a little heavy and Dmitri Tiomkin's music is a bit intrusive, it's an effective family melodrama with a beautifully underplayed fadeout.
24 Reviews
Titanic meeting
charles-pope24 April 2005
Its not enough to say that Johnny Mathis sings the title song over the opening credits.With Cukor directing this grand meeting of Anthony Quinn and Anna Magnani thats says enough.
The plot has its melodramatic moments for sure and its another film with the wonderful Dolores Hart who only a few years alter would become a nun.This also has the merits of Anthony Franciosca really playing his best role for many years in films.
Franciosca, falls for Magnani in a lustful way while Quinn is away from the ranch.Its really the sweeping scenes and the acting of Quinn and Magnani that moves the film.
Looking back , it would have been a treasure to see Magnani act in more US Films ( The Rose Tattoo) but that didn't happen. Finally , in her eyes we see how she made " Open City" ( Rosselini) a memorable film. Produced by the best...Hal Wallis CP
The plot has its melodramatic moments for sure and its another film with the wonderful Dolores Hart who only a few years alter would become a nun.This also has the merits of Anthony Franciosca really playing his best role for many years in films.
Franciosca, falls for Magnani in a lustful way while Quinn is away from the ranch.Its really the sweeping scenes and the acting of Quinn and Magnani that moves the film.
Looking back , it would have been a treasure to see Magnani act in more US Films ( The Rose Tattoo) but that didn't happen. Finally , in her eyes we see how she made " Open City" ( Rosselini) a memorable film. Produced by the best...Hal Wallis CP
Wild Is the Wind
johnaquino16 January 2007
I finally saw it too in a copy that appears to have been made from American Music Classics on cable at the time they were running movies uncut.
It's a well-acted film. The plot recalls O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms (filmed in 1958) and Sidney Howard's They Knew What They Wanted (filmed in 1940 with Charles Laughton and musicalized by Frank Loesser in The Most Happy fellow in 1956)--older man, mail order bride, affair between wife and younger man.
Very slow in the 1950s style but powerfully acted. Not the sort of film you'd expect from Cukor. Interesting facet to his career.
Also interesting to compare this film and Secret of San Vittorio which re-united Magnani and Quinn after 12 years--older and maybe toned down just a notch, with the Irish/Mexican Quinn again playing an Italian.
It's a well-acted film. The plot recalls O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms (filmed in 1958) and Sidney Howard's They Knew What They Wanted (filmed in 1940 with Charles Laughton and musicalized by Frank Loesser in The Most Happy fellow in 1956)--older man, mail order bride, affair between wife and younger man.
Very slow in the 1950s style but powerfully acted. Not the sort of film you'd expect from Cukor. Interesting facet to his career.
Also interesting to compare this film and Secret of San Vittorio which re-united Magnani and Quinn after 12 years--older and maybe toned down just a notch, with the Irish/Mexican Quinn again playing an Italian.
Parallels With "La Strada"
jcappy24 December 2007
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.
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.
Wild horses cannot drag me away....!
dbdumonteil19 October 2005
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.
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.
Quinn Gave an Outstanding Performance
whpratt110 March 2008
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.
Tiresome melodrama
cinders637 February 2001
A sheep rancher (Anthony Quinn) marries his sister-in-law (Anna Magnani)from Italy, but she falls in love with his son instead. A slow-moving, over-acted melodrama with no surprises. It earned an Oscar nomination for the title song.
Clandestine passions well-presented but not altogether convincing...
moonspinner5523 June 2008
Anthony Quinn is solid playing a sheep-farmer near Reno--still grieving after the death of his beloved wife--who marries his sister-in-law and brings her over from Italy. Vittorio Nino Novarese's story, which turns into a love-triangle after the new wife falls for the farmer's unofficially-adopted son, may have had some literary freshness...but on-screen the drama which slowly plays out looks like scraps from other pictures. The sheep-farm milieu is interesting if uncompelling, and certainly the brawling Italian family has been seen (and heard) before. The secretive lovers thread recalls Eugene O'Neill's "Desire Under the Elms" (a 1930s play filmed one year after this picture), and although Anna Magnani and Anthony Franciosa give their all to their roles, the relationship between the new Mrs. and the ranch-hand doesn't quite convince. Franciosa has seldom been so rugged and handsome, but what exactly does this strapping young man see in this Old World, somewhat-forlorn lady who is trying to learn English and fit in with this family? It's the missing piece to this puzzle which is never solved, and director George Cukor (doing uncharacteristically unsubtle work) bulldozes straight ahead without looking back. Good-looking melodrama with luscious scoring, some amusing family dynamics, but no intriguing ideas. **1/2 from ****
Excellent exposition of complicated adult relationships with realistic, intelligent resolutions
bfisher2426 November 2004
Setting is a sheep ranch in the United States. After losing his wife, an Italian-born rancher sends for his dead wife's sister in Italy who reminds him of his wife. He relates to the sister, played by Anna Magnani, as though she was his wife. The sister senses this and is alienated by his treatment. Out of her loneliness and in desperation she has a brief love affair with his son who does relate to her in a personal manner. Magnani's character is multifaceted and exciting. All of the characters are well cast and believable. The movie is an excellent exposition of the complicated emotions involved in adult relationships, and the writer presents an intelligent resolution. Wonderfully acted! I would very much like to have a copy of this movie if available anywhere.
They don't make movies like this anymore
CoastalCruiser28 July 2012
Warning: Spoilers
It was interesting to read through the two pages of reviews already in place as I put in my 2 cents worth. Quite a mixed review.
There's a pace to this movie, a speed at which the story unfolds that is rarely seen in contemporary films. Seems we just don't have the patience anymore for such a natural unfolding.
Make that a 1 cent contribution though. I don't have enough of a context to intelligently comment on this film beyond a thought or two. In a way, I see the points made by both the positive and detracting reviews. (The one thing I can say though, unequivocally, I love any movie or TV show shot on location! This one is. They didn't try to pull off a sheep ranch on a Hollywood back lot. Thus we get some nice spring vistas of the Eastern Sierras.)
So anyway, just a couple of thoughts....
1) I had never heard of Anna Magnani. She is a fine actress. She emotes so well through her face and body language she would have made a wonderful silent film era actress. She sure generates a lot of power in this movie. As a man, I would NOT want her character on my case! But I loved watching her torture someone else. (And of course she too was tortured. Women kind of don't like it when the husband calls them by the name of his first wife).
2) There is a moment when she comes to Tony Franciosa's room... the first time she approaches him, as opposed to him approaching her. What was played very well here is the inevitability of the two of them connecting. Neither of them want this! But they are drawn to each other, and sooner or later... and it took a while here, in keeping with the pacing of the film... sooner or later, as long as the two of them lived on the same ranch, they were going to end up in bed. There was just no fighting it. It was as though they were marionettes, and the puppet masters had decided they would join together. And even though they each knew the consequences, they had no choice. You see it her face. That moment of surrender, when she accepted the inevitable fate.
Oh man. I've been there. Have you been there? When you literally cannot stop yourself? This is the kind of love that Plato termed "a serious mental disease". aahhhhh.
There's a pace to this movie, a speed at which the story unfolds that is rarely seen in contemporary films. Seems we just don't have the patience anymore for such a natural unfolding.
Make that a 1 cent contribution though. I don't have enough of a context to intelligently comment on this film beyond a thought or two. In a way, I see the points made by both the positive and detracting reviews. (The one thing I can say though, unequivocally, I love any movie or TV show shot on location! This one is. They didn't try to pull off a sheep ranch on a Hollywood back lot. Thus we get some nice spring vistas of the Eastern Sierras.)
So anyway, just a couple of thoughts....
1) I had never heard of Anna Magnani. She is a fine actress. She emotes so well through her face and body language she would have made a wonderful silent film era actress. She sure generates a lot of power in this movie. As a man, I would NOT want her character on my case! But I loved watching her torture someone else. (And of course she too was tortured. Women kind of don't like it when the husband calls them by the name of his first wife).
2) There is a moment when she comes to Tony Franciosa's room... the first time she approaches him, as opposed to him approaching her. What was played very well here is the inevitability of the two of them connecting. Neither of them want this! But they are drawn to each other, and sooner or later... and it took a while here, in keeping with the pacing of the film... sooner or later, as long as the two of them lived on the same ranch, they were going to end up in bed. There was just no fighting it. It was as though they were marionettes, and the puppet masters had decided they would join together. And even though they each knew the consequences, they had no choice. You see it her face. That moment of surrender, when she accepted the inevitable fate.
Oh man. I've been there. Have you been there? When you literally cannot stop yourself? This is the kind of love that Plato termed "a serious mental disease". aahhhhh.
Wind is full of hot air.
st-shot9 March 2008
Wild is the Wind is a torpid melodrama directed by George Cukor attempting to keep Anna Maganni and Anthony Quinn off the furniture. Quinn looks the role of an aging Italian sheepherder that made good in North America but his character is all my way or the highway stubbornness that Quinn over emotes every other sentence. Maganni plays Goia his wife and sister of his widow with an exhausted look but is also prone to temper tantrums. Cukor is more a less a referee allowing both free range in his interpretation of the Mediterranean personality. It's strictly tourismo neorealismo.
Goia is treated callously and feeling like a stand in for her dead sister takes up with Bene (Tony Franciosa) whose been like a son to Gino. With implications of necrophilia and incest one would think Cukor along with his hot blooded cast would be able to get the story up to a passionate boiling point. Instead we are given shrill rage and tepid desire culminating in a cop out ending. Wild is the Wind calls for high heat but is mostly lukewarm and fails to pull the wool over any one's eyes in its attempt to be more than it is.
Goia is treated callously and feeling like a stand in for her dead sister takes up with Bene (Tony Franciosa) whose been like a son to Gino. With implications of necrophilia and incest one would think Cukor along with his hot blooded cast would be able to get the story up to a passionate boiling point. Instead we are given shrill rage and tepid desire culminating in a cop out ending. Wild is the Wind calls for high heat but is mostly lukewarm and fails to pull the wool over any one's eyes in its attempt to be more than it is.
Magnificent Magnani
hildacrane23 November 2005
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.
As difficult to tame as a stallion.
mark.waltz9 August 2013
Warning: Spoilers
What's a sheep herder to do when his beloved Italian wife dies? Marry her extra earthy sister of course! Anthony Quinn is the lusty rancher who almost instantaneously looses her not yet full love by referring to her with her sister's name. The luscious. Anna Magnani, fresh from The Rose Tattoo, adds another unforgettable performance to her few English language films, a characterization so rich that you can't see her as anything other as gorgeous even though she lacks typical Hollywood sex appeal.
Magnani's appeal comes from deep inside where true beauty exists. Watch her almost girl-like joy erupt when she speaks her first words of English. Then when she finds the wild horse she wants only to tame so much, wait for her sudden disappointment when Quinn makes the now tame stallion pull a buggy for her, a metaphor for her own refusal to be tamed. The wild, yet love-starved Magnani falls for Quinn's trusted ward, Anthony Franciosa, who struggles with guilt over his feelings towards her. In a very emotional scene between the two. Anthony's, Quinn takes male to male affection to a level never seen on screen before which is based on love, unique because there is no macho image desperate to hide it. The result is real and refreshing.
Franciosa is not as showy as his earthier co-stars which helps level the intensity. A shocking scene involves the spontaneous birth of a sheep and another where Quinn tries to fool a sheep into thinking that an orphaned baby is hers so she will nurse it. Little details like this help this rise above its familiar story. The frothy opening theme song sets this American version of European new wave into first gear and never switches into neutral.
Magnani's appeal comes from deep inside where true beauty exists. Watch her almost girl-like joy erupt when she speaks her first words of English. Then when she finds the wild horse she wants only to tame so much, wait for her sudden disappointment when Quinn makes the now tame stallion pull a buggy for her, a metaphor for her own refusal to be tamed. The wild, yet love-starved Magnani falls for Quinn's trusted ward, Anthony Franciosa, who struggles with guilt over his feelings towards her. In a very emotional scene between the two. Anthony's, Quinn takes male to male affection to a level never seen on screen before which is based on love, unique because there is no macho image desperate to hide it. The result is real and refreshing.
Franciosa is not as showy as his earthier co-stars which helps level the intensity. A shocking scene involves the spontaneous birth of a sheep and another where Quinn tries to fool a sheep into thinking that an orphaned baby is hers so she will nurse it. Little details like this help this rise above its familiar story. The frothy opening theme song sets this American version of European new wave into first gear and never switches into neutral.
Not the best of Quinn!
RodrigAndrisan19 May 2018
Anthony Quinn (an actor I'm very fond of) and Anna Magnani have both been nominated for an Oscar for this film which, for me, means nothing. Quinn and Magnani are both giant actors, but here they are not at their best. In fact, both are playing themselves. I've seen both of them in almost all their movies and I can figure it out. Watch them in "The Secret of Santa Vittoria" and you will understand. The actors in the secondary roles, Dolores Hart, Lili Valenty, Joseph Calleia, are much more convincing. Anthony Franciosa, as usual, is not convincing at all. A movie for the faithful fans of the two protagonists,
Magnani and Quinn, who will be disappointed.
about the song
zzoik12 August 2003
The most mesmerizing thing about the film is really the song, sung by Nina Simone. I say this because I've recently discovered a few people have done cover versions of it, but none have really hit the spot. The song is extremely intimate. David Bowie did a cover in the 70s which was way too theatrical and hysterical. Galle also did a cover, which apparently is part of a proposal to do a new version of the movie, This retains some of the intimacy of the original, and has a very rich, deep voice to complement a latin-jazz based rythm. But Nina Simone just totally hits the hairs on my back every time I hear it.
Furia!
JasparLamarCrabb25 December 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Operatic drama with Anthony Quinn as a Nevada land baron who travels to Italy & marries the sister of his dead wife. The new wife is Anna Magnani and she proves to be an opinionated pistol. Refusing to acquiesce to self appointed king Quinn, Magnani embarks on a passionate affair with ranch hand Anthony Franciosa. The fact that Franciosa is Quinn's adopted son heightens the melodrama. Magnani, in her second American film (after her Oscar-winning performance in THE ROSE TATTOO), gives a great performance. She exudes sexuality and has a lot of chemistry with both of her leading men. Directed by George Cukor (who replaced John Sturges after Sturges realized the film was shaping into a romance). The now classic music score, including the much recorded title song, is by Dimitri Tiomkin. Charles Lang did the cinematography. The supporting cast includes Joseph Calleia, Lili Valenty (excellent as Quinn's loyal sister-in-law), and Dolores Hart.
Fantastic film, one of my favorites
burkowski-117 February 2006
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.
Tony's great; Anna's not
HotToastyRag27 December 2020
I've given her plenty of chances, but I just can't stand Anna Magnani. I've tried to make allowances because she couldn't speak English, but there are other foreign actresses who had more talent. Any role of Anna Magnani's could have been better played by Katina Paxinou, including Wild is the Wind.
In this drama, Anthony Quinn is a lonely widower. He travels to the old country and brings home his wife's sister, Anna, as his new bride. Here's the problem: if Tony had brought home some eighteen-year-old innocent girl with no knowledge of Italian culture, the movie would have made sense. But Anna is no spring chicken. She's old enough to understand relationships and basic manners. She's also Italian! She would never become overwhelmed by the Italian culture, and she certainly wouldn't be unprepared to handle Anthony Quinn. He's emotional, he's loud, he's forceful; she would know this! She wouldn't practically faint when his in-laws, Joseph Calleia and Lili Valenty, welcome her into the family and make her dinner.
There's another Tony in this movie: Mr. Franciosa. 1957 was his first year of making movies, and Hollywood sure pushed a certain image. In all four movies that year, he coveted someone else's woman. And no, I don't think that part of the story is believable either, since Anna is old enough to be young Tony's mother.
All in all, I really didn't enjoy this movie. I love Anthony Quinn, and I love seeing him give a great performance. He was nominated for both an Oscar and a Rag for this movie, but I'll probably never watch it again.
In this drama, Anthony Quinn is a lonely widower. He travels to the old country and brings home his wife's sister, Anna, as his new bride. Here's the problem: if Tony had brought home some eighteen-year-old innocent girl with no knowledge of Italian culture, the movie would have made sense. But Anna is no spring chicken. She's old enough to understand relationships and basic manners. She's also Italian! She would never become overwhelmed by the Italian culture, and she certainly wouldn't be unprepared to handle Anthony Quinn. He's emotional, he's loud, he's forceful; she would know this! She wouldn't practically faint when his in-laws, Joseph Calleia and Lili Valenty, welcome her into the family and make her dinner.
There's another Tony in this movie: Mr. Franciosa. 1957 was his first year of making movies, and Hollywood sure pushed a certain image. In all four movies that year, he coveted someone else's woman. And no, I don't think that part of the story is believable either, since Anna is old enough to be young Tony's mother.
All in all, I really didn't enjoy this movie. I love Anthony Quinn, and I love seeing him give a great performance. He was nominated for both an Oscar and a Rag for this movie, but I'll probably never watch it again.
Brava Anna!
sicilian194925 November 2005
Along with her Oscar winning role in "The Rose Tattoo", this is another great acting job by Anna Magnanni. The story involves a love triangle and a very adult theme. Produced in 1957, I saw this movie on the AMC movie channel several years ago and quickly fell in love with it. Being Italian myself, I really enjoyed hearing it spoke often during the movie. Anna Magnanni actually sings at one point, and I might add very well! I have constantly been checking the Internet for news of it's release, but to no luck. Does anyone know where can one find a copy of this movie to purchase? It deserves to be on DVD, but I'll settle for a VHS copy at this point. Thank you very much.
Wild Is The Wind
eliene502 September 2007
This is one of my favorite movies with Anna Magnani, Tony Franciosa and Tony Quinn. If you find this movie anywhere, PLEASE, let me know and I will do the same for you! I have requested it at Turner Classic Movies and on AMC where I saw it for the first time! I will keep scanning those websites and if they put it on DVD, I will let you know! Thanks! Glad to see that somebody else appreciates this movie for the value that is in it! To me it is priceless!
This movie, in my opinion, is one of Anna Magnani's greatest works, along with a cast of the great Anthony Quinn and also great actor, Anthony Franciosa! I cannot wait until they put this movie on DVD! Thank You!
This movie, in my opinion, is one of Anna Magnani's greatest works, along with a cast of the great Anthony Quinn and also great actor, Anthony Franciosa! I cannot wait until they put this movie on DVD! Thank You!
Wild is the Wonderful Wind ***1/2
edwagreen9 January 2006
When Johnny Mathis sings the opening theme to this film, you know you're in for a treat. Mathis does not let you down.
Anna Magnani is brought to America by her new husband, played memorably by Anthony Quinn. It seems that Quinn was married to Magnani's sister Rosa. Rosa wrote Magnani of the wonderful life she had with him.
Unfortunately, Rosa dies.This is a tragedy for Magnani because she falls into a marriage from hell with Quinn. Things go from bad to worse. Magnani, in a fine performance, screams that Rosa is dead!
Naturally, Anthony Franciosa, as a cowhand on the ranch, really makes things interesting. Franciosa merited a supporting nomination here. Ironically, he was vying with Quinn for the best actor Oscar that year.Franciosa was up for "A Hatful of Rain."
Quinn and Magnani were Oscar nominated for their strong powerful performances. It was wonderful seeing Magnani sing in her native Italian. Subtitles should have been in the film at the beginning since only Italian was spoken. Magnani delivers the same type of energy that she displayed in "Rose Tattoo." Quinn appears in the same gripping way as he did in his powerhouse performance in "La Strada" 3 years before. The woman who played Magnani's sister-in-law looked similar to Ida Kaminska. I wasn't surprised to see that she was also born in Poland. The earthy Magnani does not disappoint here.
A must see film to see how this situation can be resolved and a marriage salvaged.
Anna Magnani is brought to America by her new husband, played memorably by Anthony Quinn. It seems that Quinn was married to Magnani's sister Rosa. Rosa wrote Magnani of the wonderful life she had with him.
Unfortunately, Rosa dies.This is a tragedy for Magnani because she falls into a marriage from hell with Quinn. Things go from bad to worse. Magnani, in a fine performance, screams that Rosa is dead!
Naturally, Anthony Franciosa, as a cowhand on the ranch, really makes things interesting. Franciosa merited a supporting nomination here. Ironically, he was vying with Quinn for the best actor Oscar that year.Franciosa was up for "A Hatful of Rain."
Quinn and Magnani were Oscar nominated for their strong powerful performances. It was wonderful seeing Magnani sing in her native Italian. Subtitles should have been in the film at the beginning since only Italian was spoken. Magnani delivers the same type of energy that she displayed in "Rose Tattoo." Quinn appears in the same gripping way as he did in his powerhouse performance in "La Strada" 3 years before. The woman who played Magnani's sister-in-law looked similar to Ida Kaminska. I wasn't surprised to see that she was also born in Poland. The earthy Magnani does not disappoint here.
A must see film to see how this situation can be resolved and a marriage salvaged.
Passionate Casting
jromanbaker6 August 2020
Another fine film for the year of 1957, one of the very best years in American cinema, and certainly my favourite year when Hollywood was perhaps at its peak. George Cukor directs with emotional intensity and the film is cast to perfection. Anthony Franciosa ( a vastly underrated actor ) almost steals the film from Anna Magnani, whose performance here is quite extraordinary. She is the force of life itself, ferocious, tender and ultimately heartbreakingly moving. But Franciosa equals her and together they had a chemistry that sets the screen on fire, and their passionate love is one of the greatest in American cinema. Anthony Quinn is good, but in my opinion he is eclipsed by their fiery eroticism and the way Magnani and Franciosa seize their roles with a very un- American passion. Watch out for the kiss that draws blood, and wonder at the audacity of it. Only the ending disappointed and the irritating way American cinema has of avoiding more subversive possibilities. But this does not stop me from giving it a well deserved 10 and even the banal and useless song by Johnny Mathis I can just about forgive. Once again Cukor proved what an incredible director he was. Is this film almost completely forgotten ? If so Hollywood should remember the best it had to offer.
Best Performances by Ana Magnani and Anthony Quinn
NYLux6 August 2009
This movie demonstrates the wide range in the genius of George Cukor. It is a country, rustic story where all the action is inside the characters and the outside is illustrating what goes on inside their minds and hearts.
Ana Magnani is Gioia, superb as the second wife to Anthony Quinn's Gino, a farmer that was widowed form her sister Rosana and is seeking consolation for her death in her physical resemblance to her sister. This obviously starts the marriage on the wrong foot and it is only a matter of time before Gino's foreman, Anthony Franciosa's Bene gravitates to the volcanic personality, of Gioia that is as much a force of nature as the beautiful wild black horse that Gino captures for her as a present, but that when is tamed she sadly remarks "he was a horse, but is now a sheep" understanding that what made him most beautiful was his freedom. Nature itself is one of the important characters in the film, introducing the action, as in the appearance of the wild horses, or illustrating feelings in the characters as for example when Gioia witnesses the birth of a lamb.
Anthony Quinn and Ana Magnani give perhaps the best performance of both their careers in very nuanced, expressive characterizations down to the smallest detail or facial expression.
The supporting characters are all superb, Joseph Calleia as Gino's patient, understanding brother Alberto, Dolores Hart is outstanding as Gino's daughter Angela "Angie" who wants to welcome Gioia and makes her be part of the family form the first encounter though they can hardly communicate in English and Lili Valenty is appropriately resigned, home-obsessed and judgmental as Teresa, Alberto's wife.
Ana Magnani is Gioia, superb as the second wife to Anthony Quinn's Gino, a farmer that was widowed form her sister Rosana and is seeking consolation for her death in her physical resemblance to her sister. This obviously starts the marriage on the wrong foot and it is only a matter of time before Gino's foreman, Anthony Franciosa's Bene gravitates to the volcanic personality, of Gioia that is as much a force of nature as the beautiful wild black horse that Gino captures for her as a present, but that when is tamed she sadly remarks "he was a horse, but is now a sheep" understanding that what made him most beautiful was his freedom. Nature itself is one of the important characters in the film, introducing the action, as in the appearance of the wild horses, or illustrating feelings in the characters as for example when Gioia witnesses the birth of a lamb.
Anthony Quinn and Ana Magnani give perhaps the best performance of both their careers in very nuanced, expressive characterizations down to the smallest detail or facial expression.
The supporting characters are all superb, Joseph Calleia as Gino's patient, understanding brother Alberto, Dolores Hart is outstanding as Gino's daughter Angela "Angie" who wants to welcome Gioia and makes her be part of the family form the first encounter though they can hardly communicate in English and Lili Valenty is appropriately resigned, home-obsessed and judgmental as Teresa, Alberto's wife.
Passion play in the mountains with sheep and wild horses
clanciai2 September 2021
There are many surprising moments in this film, although the story actually Is quite simple - one could almost say the plot is simplistic. It's a ranch somewhere by the mountains where they breed sheep, and there are some wild horses around. Anthony Quinn has lost his Italian wife and can never stop crying for her and missing her, and he needs her so badly that he goes to Italy to take her sister for a new wife. That one is Anna Magnani, and she is dynamite - apparently his previous wife was not. We never learn the circumstances that caused her death, Anna Magnani makes questions about it, but Anthony Quinn least of all wants to talk about it. Apparently she died of one childbirth too much after too many miscarriages. Anthony Quinn makes a terrific performance, full of uncontrollable Italian passions, while he has tremendous difficulties with himself. Anna Magnani only wants to be loved but as an Italian in America with practically no knowledge of English, she is totally alien from the start, and she grows more so by the circumstances. The best scene is the party which Anthony Quinn gives her for her birthday, where she even performs by singing a song in her native dialect - this is the jewel in the crown, of magnificent performances, great cinematography especially out in the wild, the most exciting scene is her first meeting with a horse in the wild and stopping hunters from killing him, but there are many loaded scenes like this, like the authentic childbirth of a sheep. It's a loaded drama that increases to an almost unbearable maximum in the end, which even the actors feel too strongly - they all want to go away. And to all this comes the fantastic music by Dimitri Tiomkin with the title song sung by Johnny Mathis, and George Cukor's expert direction - especially of women. The psychologically most interesting scene is perhaps the one with Anna Magnani together with Dolores Hart, Anthony Quinn's one daughter, showing how well Cukor understood women and how well women can understand each other.
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