THE SEA TO DRINK - Jean-Paul BELMONDO, Gina LOLLOBRIGIDA - Lot 179

THE SEA TO DRINK - Jean-Paul BELMONDO, Gina LOLLOBRIGIDA Film by Renato Castellani, 1963. 17 photos, original silver gelatin prints, bearing both dry and wet censorship stamps (inspection stamps) on sixteen of the backs, all annotated. 9 x 12.5 cm each. Note: A set of seventeen photographs featuring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Gina Lollobrigida in *Mare matto* (*The Sea to Drink*), a film directed by Renato Castellani and released in 1963. This Italian comedy with a folksy flair brings together two major stars of 1960s European cinema in a Mediterranean setting blending adventure, humor, and romance. Jean-Paul Belmondo, then at the height of his international career following the successes of the French New Wave and popular French cinema, stars here alongside Gina Lollobrigida, an iconic figure of postwar Italian cinema. Most of the prints bear the dry and wet stamps of the French censorship authority (“visa de contrôle”), attesting to their circulation through official film promotion and distribution channels. This type of cohesive collection provides an interesting documentary record of the distribution of European films in the 1960s and holds particular appeal for collectors of Italian and French cinema.