Sunday 31 July 2011

Britain is a country which says "Goodbye" to Silvio Narizzano and old men remember his 'Georgy Girl'


The film director, Silvio Narizzano, who has died at the age of 84 will be forever remembered for his film, 'Georgy Girl' which he made in 1966 with the late Lynn Redgrave, James Mason and Alan Bates. He stands to the right of Lynn in the photo.





The film trailer :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXxnYdsYiiQ

Lynn singing 'A Whole Lotta Woman' :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYpjTyq90XE

What you probably didn't know about Silvio was that he :

* was the son of an Italian-American family, born in Montreal in Canada, gaduated from unviversity and joined the Mountain Playhouse in Montreal and then the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, working as an assistant to Norman Jewison before he came to Britain to work in tv.

* diected his first feature, the Hammer horror film 'Fanatic' in 1965 which was notable for being Tallulah Bankhead's last movie and first in 20 years and after being seen in harsh unflattering closeups said : "Darlings, I must apologise for looking older than God's wet nurse."

* made 'Die! Die! My Darling!' with a young Donald Sutherland in 1965 :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM9cQ7pemSI

* made 'Georgy Girl' in 1966 and followed its triumph with a western called 'Blue', starring Terence Stamp in 1968, which opened to withering reviews but remained his favourite film :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q
77Tad6q3K0


* after directing a 'Miss Marple Mystery', 'The Body in the Library' for the BBC in 1984, found that his work began to tail off.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmVqgRjyAtE

* suffered from bouts of depression and found some comfort at a Buddhist retreat in Chislehurst in Kent and later a Bible study group in Greenwich, where he lived a semi-reclusive life.

P.S.
Message to 'English Rider' in California : "Yes, I do read and appreciate your comments"


Spot on 'English Rider'. Yes, the 'New Seekers' provided the song for Georgy Girl.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSVfLNCW4Fs

1 comment:

  1. Alrighty then! I remember a song called "Georgie Girl" by The New Seekers, possibly. Are the two connected?

    ReplyDelete