Musicarello

Themusicarello(pronounced[muzikaˈrɛllo];pl.:musicarelli) is a filmsubgenrewhich emerged inItalyand which is characterised by the presence in main roles of young singers, already famous among their peers, and their new record album. In the films there are almost always tender and chaste love stories accompanied by the desire to have fun and dance without thoughts.^[1]Musicarellireflect the desire and need for emancipation of youngItalians,highlighting some generational frictions.^[2]The genre began in the late 1950s, and had its peak of production in the 1960s.^[3]

Name

Highest Pressure(1965) byEnzo Trapani

According to critics, the namemusicarellois a reference to the successful TV seriesCarosello.^[2]^[4]In particular, the namemusicarellocombines the wordsmusica( "music" ) andCarosello:in fact, the singers who were the protagonists of themusicarelli,thanks to their notoriety, often appeared in many episodes of TV seriesCarosello.^[2]

Background

Mi vedrai tornare(1966) byEttore Maria Fizzarotti

The genre began in the late 1950s, and had its peak of production in the 1960s.^[3]The film which started the genre is considered to beI ragazzi del Juke-Box(1959) byLucio Fulci.^[5]Themusicarelliwere inspired by two American musicals, in particularJailhouse Rock(1957) byRichard Thorpeand earlierLove Me Tender(1956) byRobert D. Webb,both starringElvis Presley.^[2]^[6]^[7]

One of the pioneering films of themusicarelliwas the version for the Italian market of the American musical filmGo, Johnny, Go!(1959) byPaul LandresstarringJimmy Clanton,Chuck Berry,Ritchie ValensandEddie Cochran,released in Italy asVai, Johnny vai!.Some sequences were inserted from scratch in the film with the Italian singerAdriano Celentanowho introduces and concludes the story by playing some of his songs.^[8]

Characteristics

Al Bano and Romina PowerinNel sole(1967) byAldo Grimaldi

Musicarellois characterised by the presence in main roles of young singers, already famous among their peers, and their new record album. At the heart of themusicarellois a hit song, or a song that the producers hoped would become a hit, that usually shares its title with the film itself and sometimes has lyrics depicting a part of the plot.^[9]

Musicarellocan be defined as the forerunner of the music video, a way of bringing teenagers to the cinema attracted by the plot as by the singers' performances.^[10]In fact, the films are born from agreements between record companies and film companies.^[11]In the films there are almost always tender and chaste love stories accompanied by the desire to have fun and dance without thoughts.^[1]

Unlike most film musicals, this subgenre has an evident age-based focus while musical films until that time had been produced in a way generally undifferentiated for tastes and ages,musicarellois explicitly targeted to a youthful audience and usually has in its plot a vague polemic against conformism and bourgeois attitudes,^[4]^[12]even if it does not fail to reflect the desire and need for emancipation of young Italians, highlighting some generational frictions.^[2]

The genre was referred to as a curious mix betweenfotoromanzi,traditional comedy, hit songs and tentative references to tensions between generations.^[4]The key figures in this genre were directorsPiero VivarelliandEttore Maria Fizzarotti,and actor-singersGianni Morandi,Little Tony,Rita PavoneandCaterina Caselli.^[5]

Decline and end of the genre

With the arrival of the1968 student proteststhe genre started to decline, because the generational revolt became explicitly political and at the same time there was no longer a music equally directed to the whole youth audience.^[4]For some time the duoAl Bano and Romina Powercontinued to enjoy success inmusicarellofilms, but their films (like their songs) were a return to the traditional melody, and to the musical films of the previous decades.^[4]