CELEBRATING 70 YEARS! : LO STATO D'ASSEDIO / STATE OF SIEGE .. CINEGAI .. ITALY 1969 ..

 CINEGAI

Presents

LO STATO D'ASSEDIO

Starring
JOAN COLLINS as Roberta
MATHIEU CARRIERE as Lorenzo
FAITH DOMERGUE as Anita
ANTONIO CENTA as Console
FRANK WOLFF as Vallauri

MASSIMO SERATO as Crusich

ANTONIO CANTAFORO as Umberto

LANFRANCO COBIANCHI as Trevisan

GIOVANNI DI BENEDETTO as Commissioner

CARLO RIALI as Driver

GAETANO IMBRO as Prisoner

GIANNI PULONE as Policeman

     Cinematography - Mario Carbone  Edited by Romeo Ciatti  Music by Robby Poitevin 

                     Screenplay by Gianfranco Galligarich  Produced by Felice Testa Gay
                                               Directed by Romano Scavolini

AKA :  " BESIEGED (USA) ... STATE OF SIEGE ( EUROPE) .. L'AMORE BREVE (EUROPE)

    (c)  1969   CINEGAI      82 MINS   COLOUR ....

Hard time fall on a wealthy shipbuilding family as the recession hits and labour unrest escalates. When Lorenzo returns home from college, he forms an unhealthy interest in his mother, while resenting his father and seducing an older family friend, Roberta! After he is rejected by the student protest movement, he is seduced by a gay man, Crusich. On the picket line at the shipbuilding docks, one of the workers in despair commits suicide by diving into an empty holding tank! As the strike continues, the family break under the strain and their wealth is diminished. A family in turmoil..Caught up in a State of Siege!

Joan with Mathieu Carriere

Joan & Faith on this version of poster

This art house style film was shot on location in Trieste and in Gorizia in a house where Ernest Hemingway wrote "A Farewell To Arms" and it was directed by Romano Scavolini, a dedicated communist! Scavolini despised Hollywood films and ordered his cast to remain straight faced on camera, with no smiling! Ironically today he is only remembered for his 1980 gory slasher, the notorious "Nightmare". This once banned shocker bears all the trademarks of Hollywood schlock, albeit on a low budget, although to be fair there is definately no laughs in this contoversial film.
Joan had to do her first nude scene in this film and it did not help that they had to do it in artic conditions! She had to do the scene with a much younger actor Mathieu Carriere. To get them through it they were given a bottle of brandy by the director to somehow warm them both up! But all it did was make them drunk and unable to shoot the scene. There was nothing sexy about it as Joan had to put on layers of tights, socks and leg warmers. She also decided to put camera tape on her chest to try and protect her modesty! This was fine until it was time to take it off and the tape had stuck to her like glue, needless to say she was sore for days after!

 The film also starred fifties star Faith Domergue, who incidentally was employed as an interpreter on Joan's earlier film "Decameron Nights", this was her first Italian film. Faith recalled a few years ago..

" The film had a very interesting script, where I play a Trieste socialite, a beautiful and desirable woman of good family. Joan Collins plays my best friend and Mathieu Carriere plays my son, who is eighteen and in love with his mother! The director was communist and the film was built around the social collapse of Trieste. It was shot in half Italian and half English. Joan and I had some semi-nude scenes in the film and we both agonised over how we were going to shoot them! I thought Joan was sensational in the film and I had some scenes with her and she helped me a great deal, a very generous person and much more experienced. In one scene with Joan, I am speaking to her about the affair my son is having with someone, not knowing it's Joan's character, Roberta. Both of us are dressed beautifully, while I show Joan around my mansion. Being a shallow woman and proud of my wealth, I had to show my jealousy of my son's affair, was difficult for me to convey. But Joan was wonderful in helping me creat that!"

Joan with Mathieu Carriere

The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, but it was not a commercial success. Incindentaly one of the stars of this film Antonio Cantaforo turn up as Joan's co-star in her smash hit film 'The Bitch' under the guise of Michael Coby, a name he used for a few years..

80'S Video sleeve

I  have an original vidoe release from Canada from the 80's. but I have never seen an English language
version, however I do also have a release from Italy from 2015, which you can still buy.. It's a box set of 3 films from director Romano Sacavolini, including this film in Italian only!

 ORDER L'AMORE BREVIE DVD HERE!