At the origin of the screenplay. Considerations on the textual genetics of Italian cinema

Abstract

This proposal – included in the framework of the Ph.D.’s research Tonino Guerra scriptwriter. The work with Antonioni and Rosi between history and investigation, in progress at the University of Florence – is proposed, first of all, to present my archival survey conducted in several Italian archives and private collections on first-hand sources such as subjects, treatments, screenplays, correspondence and notebooks. These unpublished preparatory materials, or never fully exploited, have the power to shed light on interpretative and methodological models linked to textual genetics. From a historical-philological point of view, the working method of the writer Guerra allows us to broaden the hermeneutic scope of certain cinematographic productions starting from the creative process: from the initial idea to its evolution up to the final version, passing through handwritten notes, loose sheets, corrections, underlining on newspaper articles and even pen sketches. Secondly, examples will be illustrated through case studies that will make use of the dialogue between preparatory materials and screenplays.