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English --> engmovie-000 --> e-engmov-001b Same CN
 
A downloaded movie used eMule with Morricone's music
La Califfa/Lady Caliph 1970-B
70-14-official
Relative music page
IMDB(English)
IMDB(Chinese)
Note
"-official" is in official catalogue
 
4 About the movie
About the movie from IMDB

Overview

Director:Alberto Bevilacqua

Writers:Alberto Bevilacqua (novel)
Alberto Bevilacqua (screenplay)

Release Date:9 November 1971 (West Germany) more
Genre:Drama more
Plot Synopsis:This plot synopsis is empty. Add a synopsis
Plot Keywords:Female Nudity / Based On Novel
Awards:3 wins & 1 nomination more

Additional Details

Also Known As:Lady Caliph
more
Parents Guide:Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:Argentina:96 min / Spain:112 min
Country:France / Italy
Language:Italian
Color:Color (Technicolor)
Sound Mix:Mono

Synopsis This plot synopsis is empty. Add a synopsis (See here)
 
4-1 From official sites. The introduce of the "La Califfa/Lady Caliph" is very poor. There are some Italian web pages, but the English pages is still less. We have spent more time for search them, below are a few information we can find
1. From Englisg web sites
Here the director adapts his own novel about Mira (Romy Schneider), a firebrand of a woman, who moves from being a ferocious labor organizer to being the mistress of her town's factory owner (Ugo Tognazzi). Labor negotiations provide a background for their brief but devastating romantic affair.(See 01, 02, 03 )
2.From Italian web sites
Original: La "Califfa" (nomignolo che in Emilia viene attribuito alla donna autoritaria e spregiudicata) ?la giovane vedova di un operaio ucciso a Parma durante uno scontro con le forze dell'ordine. Nemica acerrima dell'industriale Doberd? proprietario della fabbrica presso la quale lavorava il marito, la "Califfa" muta il suo atteggiamento nei confronti dell'uomo il giorno in cui lo vede tener testa spavaldamente agli operai e ai propri colleghi imprenditori che, con il loro atteggiamento, hanno costretto un industriale fallito ad uccidersi. Entrata in contatto con Doberd? la "Califfa", attraverso una serie di burrascose discussioni, comincia ad apprezzare la buona fede dell'uomo e l'aspirazione a cambiare lo stato delle cose. Doberd? da parte sua, per ricambiare la simpatia della donna, che finisce col diventare la sua amante, rileva la fabbrica dell'industriale suicidatosi e la affida in gestione agli stessi operai. Il suo atteggiamento suscita per? l'immediata reazione degli altri industriali; un giorno, mentre ritorna con la sua donna da un convegno, egli viene ucciso da alcuni sconosciuti(see here and here)
The English words from auto translate: The "Califfa" (nickname that in Emilia comes attributed to the authoritarian and spregiudicata woman) is the young person vedova of a laborer killed to Parma during one crash with the police enforcements. Enemy acerrima of the Doberdò manufacturer, owner of the factory near which the husband worked, the "dumb Califfa" its attitude in the comparisons of the man the day in which he sees it to hold head to the laborers arrogant and to the own colleagues entrepreneurs who, with their attitude, have forced a failed manufacturer to kill themselves. Entrance in contact with Doberdò, the "Califfa", through a series of burrascose arguments, begins to appreciate the good faith of the man and the aspiration to change the state of the things. Doberdò, from part its, in order to exchange again the sympathy of the woman, that its lover ends with becoming, finds the factory of the killed manufacturer and it entrusts in management the same laborers. Its attitude provokes but the immediate reaction of the other manufacturers; a day, while he returns with its woman from a convention, it comes killed from some disowned
4-2 From civilian
From a Blog (See here)

Translation into English Unfortunately the La Luna CD-booklet gives no translation of this song.
As a first attempt, I used the AltaVista Translator, but that left a lot of words untranslated, yet it gave a good start. Thanks to Mikee Nuñez-Inton, David Smith and Andrea Di Simone the translation became complete -- some considerations are given below the translation. What we came up with is given below on the left.
The CD-booklet of the La Luna: non-European version does contain a translation of this song, and thanks to Julie Thompson I can give it here on the right:

The Lady Caliph

You do not believe, because
The owners' cruelty
Has seen in me
Only a dog,
That I will tie myself
To your chain.

When I cross the city,
This, your hypocritical city,
My body
That passes amidst of you all
Is a cry of anger against cowardice.

With me you will find once more
That most splendid property,
A moment of sunshine over all of us,
In search of you.

               
 
Don't believe because
the cruelty of the proprietors
has seen in me
just a dog, which
puts itself at your chain.
 

When I cross the city
this hypocrite, your city
my body,
which passes through both of you,
is an insult at cowardice.

You will find again
the most splendid possession,
a moment of sun above us
in search of you.

As you can see there are some differences, but the translation I came up with is not very different. All in all, however, I am not completely satisfied with the "official" translation on the right, as it seems to miss out some of the words (for example there is certainly a "You" at the beginning of the first line of the original), and the feeling is different.
The problem is, of course, that it is difficult to make a translation of a song, being on the one hand true to the words and on the other hand keep the feeling, the intention of the song. Personally I prefer the translation on the left, not because I took part in making it, but because it feels better to me.


 

Notes on song and translation

Some notes concerning the song and the translation, with many thanks to David Smith and others mentioned:
 >  Title and possible origin of the song
The word califfa in the title of the song is not an existing word in Italian. It is meant as a female form of califfo: the wive of the califfo, which means "Caliph" (or: "Khalif"). [With thanks to Arianna Franceschi.]
Since "the female caliph" does not sound very well and "the lady caliph" sounds more majestic, more regal, as seems to be the intention of the song, the latter has become the translated title.
A Caliph is a Muslim ruler. The word, generally spelled with a capital C, comes from the Arabic for substitute or deputy: the Caliph is the representative in absence of the Profet. The title is used by successors of Mohammed (c.570-632) as worldly leaders of the Muslim community and protectors of the law (they had no religeous authority).
"The caliphate of Baghdad reached its highest splendour under Haroun al-Raschid (786-809). From the 13th century the titles Caliph, Sultan, Imam came to be used indiscriminately, but in the 19th century Ottoman Sultans sought to revive their claim to the title, especially Abdul Hamid II (1876-1908). In 1924 the Turks declared the abolition of the Caliphate." -- Brewer's Consise Dictionary of Phrase & Fable, ed. Betty Kirkpatrick, Cassell Publishers Ltd., 1992.
Another point worth noting, adds David Smith, is "that there was an Italian film from the early seventies called La Califfa. During that period of time there were many dark films about how tough life was in socialist/communist Italy and I think that La Califfa film was about a woman who was badly treated by her husband but ultimately does well in the end." This may mean that the addressed "you" in the very last line could refer to a better world, with freedom and a good life for all.
Vibeke Patterson wrote me later that "La Califfa" is a film from 1970, and that the original music for the film was composed by Ennio Morricone. Information on the film can be found at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), where I see that the movie is also known as "Lady Caliph", so I made a good choice for the translation title ...
The film was directed by Alberto Bevilacqua (1934, Italy), who also wrote the words of this song and the scenario of the film, as well as a novel. The Lady Caliph was played by Romy Schneider (1938-1989, Austria). There is no mention of Morricone on the IMDb, nor is the story of the movie given.
Geoffrey Kidd sent later the story as it appears in the liner notes of the soundtrack album of the movie, which is written in not so very good English. Guessing a little as to what is meant, we think this summarises the story:
In the Emilia Country, the nickname "Califfa" is given to an unprejudiced and persevering woman. The "lady Caliph" [played by Romy Schneider] hates Doberdò [Ugo Tognazzi], the owner of the factory where her husband worked before he was killed by the police during a riot. She learns to respect Doberdò and the two become lovers. But in the end Doberdò is murdered by killers hired by other industrialists he stood up against because of his love for the "lady Caliph".
This story is not entirely in agreement with what David Smith remembers, which is written above. ('Emilia country' is a region in Italy.)
Geoffrey adds that "Morricone's soundtrack is absolutely stunning!".
Stephen Laws writes that his "belief has always been that - since the movie deals with industrial relations/strikes etc in Italy and (as I understand it), a woman taking over the running of a factory - the title means 'Lady Boss'."
That as title makes it sound rather uninspiring, I think: "Lady Caliph" has as title more to say, more strength.
Stephen adds that the songs has already been 'covered' as a vocal by the Italian singer Milva.
 >  Third line of the first stanza: "Ha visto -- has seen"
Unlike English, but like many other languages (Dutch, French, German, ...), Italian has a different word for the formal you (second person, plural) and the informal you (second person, single). In the formal sense "Ha visto" means "he/she has seen".
But the subject of "Ha visto" is "crudelta" and instead of saying that the owners think that she is a "cagna" (see next note), the author says that the cruelty of the owners has seen her as a cagna. So "Ha visto" does not mean "he/she has seen", but "it (the cruelty) has seen in me".
[Thanks to Jim Baxter and Andrea Di Simone.]
 >  Fourth line of the first stanza: "cagna -- dog"
Actually, "cagna" is "bitch", meaning "female dog". But since the word "bitch" when used in English is most often used in a degrading way, it is better to use "dog" here, and "herself" in the following line, to indicate it is a female dog -- although the actual Italian words translate as "myself". When Italians want to say "bitch" in the offensive meaning, they use the word "puttana" (=whore). [Thanks to Arianna Franceschi for info.]
 >  Fifth line of the second stanza: "invettiva -- cry of anger"
Translating "invettiva" here is not easy. Arianna Franceschi writes that it does not mean "insult" (=insulto) or "curse" (=maledizione), as I first wrote here, but comes from Latin and refers to the speaker's invective [=forceful attacking speech used for blaming someone for something and often including swearing] in the forum or in the Senate: a tough speech but without offending. Hence, using "cry of anger" is a good and poetical translation here.
Note that the "E' un" in the original lyrics is wrongly spelled in the CD-booklet as "Eun" and actually has no meaning.
 >  Second line of the third stanza: "proprietà -- property"
Translating "proprietà" is not an easy thing to do, as the meaning is not directly clear. The word can mean "property", as in an object (house, car, ...) owned, but it can also mean "correctness" as in being dressed correctly or smartly ("properly dressed", so the say). The use of "property" sounds perhaps strange here, but as Arianna Franceschi points out: overs use to say "I'm yours". In this line, "property" is used in both the spiritual and the materialistic meaning at the same time: "love". This meaning fits well with and perhaps even refers to the following lines: sunlight is something no one can steal.
Further, "più" means "more" or "most" and is the adjective to "splendida" (=splendid), both refering to "proprietà": "love", which is the greatest property there is.
Combining these notes, and looking to the poetics in connection with the rest of the stanza, translating "That most splendid property" works very well (though "la" actually means "the" rather than "that").
[Thanks to David Smith, Arianna Franceschi, Chad, Julie Thompson for help and info.]
 >  Fourth line of the third stanza: "te -- you"
This "you" keeps the poetical ambiguity in the stanza: it refers to the property "love" (previous note) and to sunlight, to freedom.
5. Still and comment from us
 
The Still(The time is from start of the movie)
Music, part of the movie and comment
001-Sangue sull' asfalto
002-LA CALIFFA
The start of the movie is bloody (and its end scene). The impress of the movie is inhibition and heaviness. The killed mill-owner Doberdo's corpse is in the square, Califfa- a common women worker and his lover- her sadness, bile and helpless face, gave everybody misery impress. The love affair across two classes have been doomed to failue and devastate from the start
 
 
003-REQUIEM PER UN OPERAIO
Angry strikers, embattle polices, chaos conflict, billy, squirt gun, mill-owner in waiting and seeing, serious injured and even got killed worker......seems tell everybody, the capitalism society is not so good, of course, its result only is the title of the song--"Requiem per un operaio"( A requiem of the workers). Califfa lose her husband in this strike. She became a jacobinical labor organizer because her enmity for mill-owner
 
 
 
 
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