Gastone Moschin brings severity and irony to men accustomed to being obeyed. We rate his supporting work highly, but Coppola and Bertolucci give only a partial view of an actor whose comedy deserves attention too.
Fi1m perspective
As Don Fanucci in The Godfather Part II (1974), Gastone Moschin belongs among men accustomed to being obeyed. Authority suits him, especially when he can let a little irony into it. We value that combination because it allows a dangerous man to seem faintly ridiculous without becoming harmless. He gives us reason to pay attention beyond the leading names.
He moved into films in the mid-1950s, usually in character parts. The ensemble comedy The Birds, the Bees and the Italians (1966) came before the international recognition of Bernardo Bertolucci's The Conformist (1971). As the fascist operative Manganiello, his severity has a clear use in a film about the frightening wish to fit in. Vittorio Storaro's seductive images help make that wish persuasive. We recommend the film despite its overreliance on sexual repression to explain its central man.
Francis Ford Coppola puts him opposite Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part II, where his supporting work belongs within a much larger family history. We found that history deeply upsetting because criminal power reaches into the family itself. Moschin's authority suits this account of men whose power deserves close scrutiny, and his contribution rewards attention beyond the central performances. The film has cumbersome stretches of intrigue, but we would still give it the whole evening it asks for.
The leading role of Ugo Piazza in Fernando Di Leo's Caliber 9 (1972) prevents us from filing him away as a supporting actor alone. But the larger shift in his popular reputation came with Mario Monicelli's Amici miei (1975). As Rambaldo Melandri, a role he carried through the trilogy to 1985, he became widely popular. The comedy deserves a place beside the two dramas when deciding what sort of actor he was.
Leading roles remained comparatively rare, so there is less evidence for claims about his ability to carry a film alone. We need not promote him retrospectively to value what he did beside other actors. Start with Coppola or Bertolucci, then make time for Amici miei before deciding that his principal occupation was making people nervous.
Biography
Gastone Moschin was an Italian stage, television and film actor. Born on 8 June 1929 in San Giovanni Lupatoto, Veneto, he trained at the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico and began his career in the 1950s with theatre companies including the Teatro Stabile in Genoa and the Piccolo Teatro di Milano.
Moschin appeared in numerous films from the mid-1950s onwards, including The Conformist (1970) as Manganiello, Caliber 9 (1972) as Ugo Piazza, and the My Friends trilogy (1975–1985) as Rambaldo Melandri. He is also known for playing Don Fanucci in The Godfather Part II (1974). He received two Nastro d'Argento Awards for Best Supporting Actor. Moschin was married to actress Marzia Ubaldi. He died on 4 September 2017 in Terni, Umbria.
