Retrospective: Claudia Cardinale – The Untamed

The fairy tale of actresses discovered by chance who rise to become major stars is as old as cinema itself. In Claudia Cardinale’s case, it is true: born in Tunis in 1938 to Sicilian emigrants, she found her way into film via a circuitous route. In her early twenties, just as the Italian film industry began courting her, all she actually wanted was a quiet life away from the limelight. That things turned out differently was due to an unplanned pregnancy, the independence of her native country, and a smitten producer who enabled her to make a fresh start.

These experiences shaped her early roles: while other actresses were often cast as objects of male desire, she brought an inner strength and independent spirit to the screen—qualities that defined her characters even when they were subject to societal constraints. Within a short time, she was working with the most significant directors of her new home. The fact that she was dubbed during those early years—due to her husky timbre and strong accent—had consequences: she was forced to return the Silver Ribbon award she had received for her first leading role in Zurlini’s *La ragazza con la valigia*. It was not until Federico Fellini’s *8½* that Italian audiences heard her own voice for the first time. That same year, she also appeared in Luchino Visconti’s *Il Gattopardo* (The Leopard), embodying a pivotal moment of social change.

By this point, the time had come to conquer American cinema as well. Her performance in the comedy *The Pink Panther* marked a successful start to this endeavor. It is also striking how Cardinale held her own in films dominated by larger-than-life male figures—most notably in Sergio Leone’s *C’era una volta il West* (Once Upon a Time in the West), where she portrayed one of the strongest female characters in the history of the Western genre. Her characters are rarely clear-cut; instead, they navigate the space between conformity and rebellion, social roles and the yearning for freedom. This renders them enduringly modern.

“You can’t stop time, but you can stay active and keep working; then you don’t need plastic surgery,” the actress remarked in 2012. Marking the first anniversary of her death this September, we look back at the body of work of a rare artist—one in whom charisma and talent were inextricably fused, and who became a defining figure of European cinema, possessing a screen presence that has lost none of its power decades after her breakthrough.
(Florian Widegger)

With the generous support of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Vienna.