Studio: Avco Embassy
Running time: 102 minutes
Identikit/The Driver’s Seat (1974)
“In what remains the most obscure, bizarre and wildly misunderstood film of her entire career – and perhaps even ‘70s Italian cinema – Elizabeth Taylor stars as a disturbed woman who arrives in Rome to find a city fragmented by autocratic law, leftist violence and her own increasingly unhinged mission to find the most dangerous liaison of all. Academy Award nominee Ian Bannen (The Offence), Mona Washbourne (The Collector) and Andy Warhol co-star in this ‘unique, hallucinatory neo noir’ (Cult Film Freaks) – barely released in America as The Driver’s Seat – directed by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi (‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore), adapted from the unnerving novella by Muriel Spark (The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie) and featuring cinematography by three-time Oscar winner Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now, The Last Emperor)”. [From the Blu-ray]
Cast
Lise: Elizabeth Taylor
Richard: Ian Bannen
Carlo: Guido Mannari
Mrs. Fiedke: Mona Washbourne
Bill: Maxence Mallifort
Crew
Director: Giuseppe Patroni Griffi
Producer: Franco Rossellini
Screenwriters: Raffaele La Capria and Giuseppe Patroni Griffi
Based on Muriel Spark’s novella, “The Driver's Seat”
Cinematographer: Vittorio Storaro
Art Director: Mario Ceroli
Musical Score: Franco Mannino
Costumes: Gabriella Pescucci
Did You Know?
The Driver’s Seat, based on the novel by Muriel Spark, features one of Elizabeth’s most daring and underrated performances. Ahead of filming, she would write this letter, now kept at the National Library of Scotland, expressing her gratitude to Spark for the author’s confidence in her ability to bring to life the character of Lise:
"Thank you so much for your lovely letter and your enthusiasm at the idea of my playing Lise. I cannot tell you how pleased and flattered I am. I shall do my very best to live up to your faith in my portrayal. Richard and I are, and always have been, great fans of your enormous talent and look forward very much to meeting you . . .”
The Driver’s Seat was an unconventional experience for Elizabeth. Although based on Sparks’s novel, much of the dialogue was improvised as the actors went along. “We are shooting it differently, without a proper script,” Elizabeth explained during production. And, with no American investment, it marked Elizabeth’s first completely foreign film.
The Premiere
The Driver’s Seat had its star-studded world premiere in Monte Carlo on May 20, 1974. Hosted by Elizabeth’s friends Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco, it was held as a benefit for the Red Cross, and overshadowed the Cannes Film Festival, which was then in full swing. Attendees included Elizabeth and her co-stars, Andy Warhol and Mona Washbourne.
