Mark Petry wrote:
> George said that these items were made by Santini for a movie, possibly
> on the life of Coppi and his exploits in the classic period. Can
> anybody confirm that ?
and Chuck wrote:
>Wheelsmith in Palo Alto had the Coppi movie (theatrical movie on his
>life) on two video cassettes. Not a very good movie in my opinion. The
>actors version of bike racing was pretty laughable but they guy who was
>Coppi looked a LOT like Coppi.
Yes, the movie was not outstanding, but Peter and I jumped at the chance to join several dozen other Coppi fans and view the Premiere showing of the film, with "Smilin' George" Mount as the narrator. What an evening.
Here's the actual text from the oversized billboard poster (that I stole), featuring a great close-up photo of Fausto scrunching his nose, that Ric Hjertberg at Wheelsmith produced to promote the film:
"FAUSTO COPPI the film - the legend - the truth Friday, June 4th, 7:30 - 10:30pm
IL GRAND FAUSTO, the dramatic and visually spectacular classic about the life of Italy's greatest-ever cyclist, Fausto Coppi, was produced in 1995, triggering a storm of sentimentality. Directed by Alberto Sironi, starring Sergio Castellitto as Coppi and Ornella Muti as his mistress, the film features dramatic battles of Bartali and Coppi; the devotion of Fausto's blind soigneur, Biagio Cavanna; the passion between Coppi and his mistress, Giulia Occhini; and the compelling beauty of the Italian countryside. U.S. Olympic Cycling star George Mount will interpret this awesome work whose scale and richness is reminiscent of Chariots of Fire. The film is three hours long and FREE. Everyone is welcome. Wear berets.
A very rare 1951 Bianchi racing bicycle, identical to the machine which Fausto Coppi rode, will be on display. An Italian flag jersey will be raffled."
The Bianchi bicycle belongs to Seth Finkelstein of Santa Cruz, CA and Peter and I won the raffle for the Italian flag jersey. What a fun evening that was! We both loved the film and especially enjoyed the scene where Fausto appears on an Italian televison variety show and sings his moving rendition of "Volare". Classic!
Jan Johnson
Portola Valley, CA