Regia / Director: Alberto Lattuada, 1962
Sceneggiatura / Screenplay: Rafael Azcona, Bruno Caruso, Marco Ferreri, Agenore “Age” Incrocci & Furio Scarpelli
Fotografia / Cinematography: Armando Nannuzzi
Musiche / Music: Piero Piccioni
Una fabbrica automobilistica a Milano: nello spazio immenso, uomini in tuta da lavoro si occupano di macchine implacabili. All'inizio di Mafioso, i titoli di testa vengono mostrati sopra delle inquadrature che mostrano le attività della catena di montaggio. Un tema orchestrale ripetitivo imita il ritmo delle attrezzature. Pezzi di macchina vengono assemblati, ruote girano e scintille volano.
An auto plant in Milan: in the vast space, men in work uniforms tend relentless machines. As Mafioso begins, the opening titles are displayed over shots that show assembly line tasks. A repetitive orchestral theme mimics the rhythm of the equipment. Machine parts are assembled, wheels turn, and sparks fly.
In un campo lungo, vediamo una figura con una cartellina, che si muove con decisione: è un supervisore, Antonio “Nino” Badalamenti (Alberto Sordi). Indossa un camice bianco pulito e una cravatta. Dietro di lui, gli pneumatici sono ammassati in cumuli.
In a long shot, we see a figure with a clipboard, moving purposefully: it’s a supervisor, Antonio “Nino” Badalamenti. He wears a clean white lab coat and a tie. Behind him tires are stacked in heaps.
Mentre attraversa la fabbrica, senza sorridere, i suoi occhi si muovono costantemente, alla ricerca di qualsiasi irregolarità o problema.
As he strides through the plant, unsmiling, his eyes move constantly, looking for any irregularity or problem.
In un campo lungo, il suo camice bianco attira l'attenzione dello spettatore: una figura minuta che passa tra file di macchinari imponenti. Ne sentiamo il rombo e il boato mentre la musica svanisce.
In a long shot, his white coat draws the eye of the viewer: a tiny figure passing between rows of towering machinery. We hear its rumble and roar as the music falls away.
Un uomo seduto a una macchina per lo stampaggio estrae i pezzi di metallo a velocità costante. Si accorge che il supervisore è lì vicino –
A man seated at a stamping machine extracts the metal pieces at a steady speed. He notices the supervisor nearby –
– e accelera il ritmo. Ma ha attirato l'occhio di Nino.
– and he picks up his pace. But he’s caught Nino’s eye.
Nino si avvicina e cronometra l'operatore con un contaminuti collegato alla sua cartellina.
Nino walks over and times the operator with a stopwatch attached to his clipboard.
"Non ci siamo”.
"Più svelto?"
"No, più lento. Il suo ritmo non solo compromette il calibro del buco…" Prende una lastra di metallo e ci soffia sopra. "... ma supera il limite di sicurezza". Parla velocemente, ma senza malizia: un insegnante che spiega ciò che lo studente deve capire. Nino ha un accento siciliano. Usa il Lei formale, un segno di cortesia.
“That’s not right.”
“Faster?”
“No, slower. Your rhythm not only compromises the hole’s caliber –” He picks up a metal plate and blows on it. “– but it exceeds the safety limit."l.” He’s speaking quickly, but without malice: a teacher explaining what the student needs to understand. Nino has a Sicilian accent. He uses the formal Lei, a mark of courtesy.
L'uomo protesta: "Sì, ma..."
Nino lo interrompe. "Per favore, non mi interrompa. Non fa bene le pause. Così il buco se lo farà nel pollice". Dà molta importanza alla precisione e si aspetta lo stesso da coloro che supervisiona.
The man protests: “Yes, but –”
Nino cuts him off. “Please don’t interrupt me. You’re not pausing properly. This way, you’ll make the hole in your thumb.” He values precision and expects the same of those he supervises.
"Ma io..."
"Ha otto secondi: uno, uno, uno e uno di pausa; uno, uno, uno e uno di pausa. Al lavoro!"
L'uomo torna al suo compito. Con una pacca di incoraggiamento sulla spalla, Nino passa oltre.
“But I –”
“You have eight seconds: one, one, one, and a pause; one, one, one, and a pause. Now get to work!”
The man turns back to his task. With a pat of encouragement on the shoulder, Nino walks on.
Un uomo in cravatta e bretelle dice a Nino: "I laminatori della linea dodici sono fuori fase! Dobbiamo occuparcene immediatamente, subito, subito, subito! Altrimenti..."
A man in a tie and suspenders tells Nino, “The laminators in line twelve are out of synch! We have to take care of it immediately – at once, at once, at once! Otherwise –”
Ma viene interrotto dalla sirena che segnala la fine del turno. I due uomini piegano le braccia e guardano gli orologi. Poi, all'unisono, dicono: "Arrivederci!" e si affrettano in direzioni opposte, dimenticando i laminatori fuori fase.
But he’s interrupted by the siren signaling the end of the shift. The two men bend their arms and look at their watches. Then, in unison, they say “Goodbye!” and hurry off in opposite directions, the out of synch laminators forgotten.
Nino, ora in giacca e cravatta e con una valigetta in mano, passa in fretta davanti a uomini in camicia bianca seduti a una fila di scrivanie. È l'ufficio della fabbrica. Attraverso le finestre, vediamo la luce entrare nella sala macchine.
Nino si ferma a una scrivania e controlla l'orologio.
Nino, now in a suit and holding a briefcase, hurries past men in white shirts seated at a row of desks. It’s the factory office. Through the windows, we see light stream into the machine hall.
Nino stops at a desk and checks his watch.
"Badelamenti, Antonio"*, dice l’uomo seduto, pronunciando male il suo cognome. Nino lo corregge.
"Quindici giorni di vacanza", dice l’uomo.
"Quindici giorni? Allora mi pagheranno il resto del premio produzione!"
"Evidentemente! Firmi qui". Porge a Nino una penna.
*In Italia, in situazioni ufficiali, il cognome viene comunemente indicato per primo.
“Badelamenti, Antonio,”* the seated man says, mispronouncing his last name. Nino corrects him.
“Fifteen days vacation,” says the man.
“Fifteen days? Then they’ll pay me the rest of my bonus!”
“Clearly! Sign here.” He hands Nino a pen.
*In Italy, in official situations, the last name is commonly given first.
Nino firma, dice "Grazie!" e se ne va.
Nino signs, says “Thank you!” and takes off.
L'uomo si alza in piedi. "Ehi! La mia penna! Ehi!" Ma Nino non lo sente e continua a correre.
The man stands. “Hey! My pen! Hey!” But Nino doesn’t hear him and keeps running.
Nino si precipita attraverso un'uscita laterale verso il parcheggio, guardando ancora una volta l'orologio. Proprio mentre apre la portiera della macchina, un altoparlante annuncia: "Il Capo Dipartimento Badalamenti Antonio dal dottor Zanchi..."*.
*Nell'italiano quotidiano, il termine “Dottor” è spesso usato come segno di rispetto o per indicare autorità.
Nino rushes through a side exit to the parking lot, looking at his watch yet again. Just as he opens his car door, a loudspeaker announces, “Department Head Badalamenti Antonio to see Doctor Zanchi…”*
*In everyday Italian, the term “Doctor” is often used as a sign of respect or to denote authority.
Nino resta in ascolto. Mentre un altro uomo avrebbe potuto ignorare l'annuncio, Nino chiude la portiera della macchina e torna dentro di corsa.
Nino stands listening. Where another man might have disregarded the announcement, Nino closes the car door and runs back inside.
Nell'ufficio di Zanchi, la segretaria (Lilly Bistrattin) è al telefono e parla in tedesco. Alza brevemente lo sguardo per chiedere chi sia, poi torna alla sua telefonata.
In Zanchi’s office, the secretary is on the phone, speaking German. She looks up briefly to ask who he is, then goes back to her call.
La segretaria continua a parlare mentre Nino, in ritardo, controlla di nuovo l'orologio.
The secretary talks on as Nino, running late, checks his watch again.
Alla fine riaggancia, ma squilla un altro telefono, al quale risponde in francese. Fermandosi un attimo, dice a Nino: "Si sieda".
Finally she hangs up, but another phone rings, which she answers in French. Pausing for a moment, she tells Nino, “Have a seat.”
Mentre conduce la conversazione in francese, dice a Zanchi in italiano attraverso l’interfono: "Signore, il signor Badalamenti è qui".
Si rivolge a Nino e gli dice, con accento francese: "Prego!"
Lui si alza e dice: "Merci beaucoup".
While she’s having her French conversation, she tells Zanchi in Italian through the intercom, “Sir, Mr. Badalamenti is here.”
She turns to Nino and says, with a French accent, “Go ahead!”
He stands, saying, “Merci beaucoup.”
Mentre Nino si sistema la giacca e alza il mento, preparandosi a incontrare il capo, viene investito da un improvviso lampo di luce intensa. Sembra quasi soprannaturale.
As Nino straightens his jacket and lifts his chin, preparing to meet the boss, he’s bathed in a sudden flash of intense light. It seems almost supernatural.
La porta dell'ufficio del capo si apre scorrendo, lasciando uscire la luce. Non c'è nessuno in vista. "Posso?" chiede Nino ed entra timidamente. La porta si chiude alle sue spalle automaticamente.
The door to the boss’ office has slid open, letting the light out. No one is in sight. “May I?” Nino asks and walks in tentatively. The door automatically closes behind him.
FINE PARTE 1
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NOTES ABOUT THE TRANSLATION:
The Italian text of this cineracconto (photo-story) has been carefully designed as a language-learning tool. Descriptions of scenes and comments on photography are crafted with the objective of giving readers an appreciation of the film, its themes, and cultural and historical context.
We have changed most of the Sicilian syntax and vocabulary to standard Italian. For example, in Parte 6, we’ve changed “Sempre a caccia andavo.” (“I was always going hunting.”) to the more common structure “Andavo sempre a caccia.” We have noted where we retain a little of the Siclian language flavor. For example in Parte 5, we’ve kept "Cumpà, cumm’è morto?" (“Friend, how did he die?”).
We’ve made some changes in the original battute (lines) in order to make the cineracconto accessible to a wider range of language learners. This normally means using more basic grammar – for example, limiting the use of congiuntivo – and more basic vocabulary. For example, in Parte 10, Don Vincenzo asks, “Quanti giorni vi tratterrete?” (“How many days are you staying?”) We’ve changed that to use a more familiar verb: “Quanti giorni vi fermate?” We also update vocabulary to make it most useful, so for example in Parte 7, Nino says, in the original line, "Avevi mai visto ‘una camera da pranzo’ all'aperto?” (“Have you ever seen an outdoor dining room before?”) We’ve changed it to “sala da pranzo,” since nowadays the word “sala” is the standard usage for “dining room.
Then again, we sometimes do include a new word that is the best one or may be a good lesson, even though it might make the language learner stop and think. For example, in Parte 11, we’ve used the term “acquazzone” (downpour), which might be new to student readers, but which provides a little useful exercise in using their Italian to put together “acqua” and “one.” (The Italian suffix “one” adds a connotation of “big” to a noun). For good measure, a double “zz” (like the double “cc”) is often used to imply something negative.
In cases where a word imported from English is spoken by the characters, we change it to the Italian equivalent, if one is commonly used.
For those who are watching the film along with reading the cineracconto, note that for our transcriptions, we do not follow the subtitles, but rather rely on the actual spoken lines. Movie subtitles are often inaccurate, sometimes as a function of space. But frequently the subtitler, either from inattention or sometimes from an excess of creativity, completely rewrites the dialogue. Unfortunately, there are many instances of this with the various versions of Mafioso that we have seen. In some cases, the meaning is significantly changed. For example, in Parte 10, Don Vincenzo says, referring to his housekeeper, “È ancora più stupida di Giufà.” (“She’s even stupider than Giufà.”) The subtitle in English reads, “She’s even dumber than my father.” Even the Italian subtitle says, “È più tosta di mio padre.” While it would have been a tough call for the translator to explain who Giufà is, the line as subbed makes no sense. We are fortunate to have the space in our format to explain these cultural references through footnotes.
In writing our cineracconti, we aim for a fluid, standard Italian. In the English version of the dialogue, you will not see a literal – word-for-word – translation, but rather an accurate representation of how someone would actually say the line in standard American English. For example in Parte 3, when Nino says, “freschi come una rosa,” we’ve changed it to “fresh as a daisy.” Occasionally, we maintain something of the Italian syntax in the English translation to make the translation clearer to lower intermediate students.
Blog translation overview: The first cineracconti in this series (up to The Southerner, June 2021) were at a more advanced level and included pretty much every scene and nearly all the dialogue verbatim from the films. The later cineracconti (starting with Ossessione, September 2021) are at a mid-intermediate level. In addition, they are shorter – up to about 1,000 words – so as to be more manageable for language learners. To that end, some dialogue from the film may be omitted. (To see the more advanced cineracconti, please go to the blog Welcome page: the Italian movies are listed on top (and also in the right hand column mid-way down the page); below that, a chronological listing includes both Italian and international films.)
We love language and we sometimes spend a very long time debating the best way to translate a particular word or phrase. We’d be very happy to hear your thoughts about our translations. Write to us at info@liconoscevobene.net!