57 more days...

Cruising with Cyn
Collection of useless information circuitous to the OPERATION: Poisson Rouge Adventure.

This 6 week installment of Cyn's Cinema, we will be exploring movies that have been filmed in the regions we will be visiting. Take some time off from your everyday life and watch a movie with scenes from Barcelona, Naples, Rome, Florence, Nice and Toulon.

Let us know if you've seen any of these movies and what your thoughts are.

Title	Year	Genre	IMDb Rating	Staring
Aliens Gone Wild	2008	Sci-Fi	5.3	Michael Stark
Synopsis:	There is no offical synopsis but I did see a comment that this is the best skin flick on late night tv.  And since I'm committed to bring all types of movies to your attention...
Sightings:	Florence, Tuscany, Italy Paris, France  Piazza San Marco, Venice, Veneto, Italy (exteriors) Venice, Veneto, Italy
Under the Tuscan Sun	2003	Comedy, Romance, Drama	6.7	Diane Lane, Sandra Oh
Synopsis:	Frances Mayes is a 35-year-old San Francisco writer whose perfect life has just taken an unexpected detour. Her recent divorce has left her with terminal writer's block and extremely depressed, and her best friend, Patti, is beginning to think she might never recover. Frances decides to take a break and she buys a villa in the beautiful Tuscan countryside and decides to begin anew. Restoring her new home, she eventually finds the fulfillment she was searching for, including love. Synopsis written by Baked_bean
Sightings:	Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, Florence, Tuscany, Italy (interiors) (bank scene) Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy (studio) (bookstore opening/Patti & Grace's San Francisco apartment)  Cortona, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy Florence, Tuscany, Italy Montepulciano, Siena, Tuscany, Italy (leaving Cortona/wedding) Positano, Salerno, Campania, Italy Rome, Lazio, Italy Sansepolcro, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy (exteriors) (Flag-Waving show) Teatro Signorelli, Cortona, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy (interiors)
Thoughts:	Look at all those sights - I'd watch it.
Tea with Mussolini	1999	Drama, Comedy, War	6.7	Cher, Judi Dench
Synopsis:	Semi-autobiographical tale from the early life of director Franco Zeffirelli looks at the illegitimate son of an Italian businessman. The boy's mother has died, and he is raised by an Englishwoman in pre-WWII Fascist Italy. Living to each other in Florence, and presided over by an ambassador's widow, a group of Englishwomen live a sheltered existence which they believe is guaranteed personal protection in a tea reception given by Il Duce. However, as war breaks out, the women are interned. Occasionally in this English colony is a wealthy American, who visits among her travels and marriages to wealthy older men. She respects the "Scorpioni", as they are known, and secretly arranges for their stay in a hotel. The ambassador's widow finds her vulgar and tries to ignore her, but when the United States enters the war, the American too is taken into custody. Only then does she discover that her Italian lover has tricked her into signing over all her money and modern art collection to him, and is now arranging her execution. This obliges all to join forces. Lily Tomlin also appears as an American archaeologist working at a dig in the city. Synopsis written by John Sacksteder {jsackste@bellsouth.net}
Sightings:	Florence, Tuscany, Italy Rome, Lazio, Italy San Gimignano, Siena, Tuscany, Italy
A Room with a View	1986	Comedy, Romance, Drama	7.5	Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter
Synopsis:	Lucy Honeychurch, a young Englishwoman, makes her first visit to Florence, Italy in the early 1900's. There, she meets a quiet yet eccentric young man named George Emerson. Upon her return to England, Lucy must decide whether to follow through with her marriage to her stotic fiance, Cecil, or follow her heart and her growing attraction to George. Synopsis written by Liza Esser {essereli@student.msu.edu}
Sightings:	Bluebell Railway, East Sussex, England, UK (Railway Scene) Estonian Embassy, Hyde Park Gate, South Kensington, London, England, UK  Fiesole, Florence, Tuscany, Italy  Florence, Tuscany, Italy   Foxwold House, Chiddingstone, Kent, England, UK  Kent, England, UK  Linley Sanbourne house, 18 Stafford Terrace, Kensington, London, England, UK  (Mrs. Vyse's well appointed home) Piazza Santa Croce, Florence, Tuscany, Italy Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Tuscany, Italy  Quisisana e Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Tuscany, Italy Saint Mary's Church, Chiddingstone, Kent, England, UK Villa di Maiano, Maiano, Florence, Tuscany, Italy
The Agony and the Ecstasy	1965	Drama, History	7.0	Charlton Heston
Synopsis:	Pope Julius is eager to leave behind works by which he will be remembered. To this end he cajoles Michelangelo into painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. When not on the battlefield uniting Italy, the Pope nags Michelangelo to speed up his painful work on the frescoes. Synopsis written by Ed Stephan {stephan@cc.wwu.edu}
Sightings:	Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy (studio) Apuan Alps, Tuscany, Italy Bracciano, Rome, Lazio, Italy Carrara, Massa-Carrara, Tuscany, Italy (quarry scene) Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy (studio) Massa-Carrara, Tuscany, Italy Piazza del Popolo, Todi, Perugia, Umbria, Italy (St. Peter's Square scene) Quarries, Carrara, Massa-Carrara, Tuscany, Italy (Quarrie scenes) Rome, Lazio, Italy Todi, Perugia, Umbria, Italy Tuscany, Italy Umbria, Italy