Thinking back, I realized that there was more to Tornatore than his reputation suggests. In 2002, Miramax released the much longer director's cut of Cinema Paradiso with its rating tellingly changed from a PG to an R. A few years ago I tracked down an imported DVD of the director's cut of Malena, which was also considerably darker and more pointed; the Weinsteins were really the ones responsible for the softness of those films. I also remembered a movie called A Pure Formality (1994) about a police investigator (Roman Polanski) questioning a mystery man (Gerard Depardieu) found stumbling along the road; most of the film takes place in a damp, sinister police station with flashbacks to what might have happened previously. That tone gets closer to what's going on in The Unknown Woman, which starts with a knockout centerpiece performance by Kseniya Rappoport.

• Robert Altman (1925-2006) - Read my post on the great director of M*A*S*H and The Player.
• John Blackburn (1913/14-2006) - Songwriter ("Moonlight in Vermont") and author who wrote the novel of Nothing But the Night. He died November 15.
• Orin Borsten (1912-2006) - Screenwriter of Angel Baby who also worked as a publicist for Porky's, Texas Across the River, The War Wagon and Topaz. He died of natural causes November 18, in Studio City, California.
• James Bostwick (1916-2006) - Film producer for General Motors. He died November 22, in Royal Oak, Michigan.
• Dave Cockrum (1943-2006) - Comic book artist who co-created the characters Storm, Colossus and Nightcrawler, who appear in the X-Men films. He died of complications from diabetes on November 26.
• Betty Comden (1915-2006) - Oscar-nominated writer and lyricist of musicals, including Singin' in the Rain, On the Town, The Band Wagon It's Always Fair Weather and Auntie Mame, with partner Adolph Green. She also appeared in the film Slaves of New York. She passed away, from heart failure, November 23, in New York City. Check out Jette's tribute to Comden in her Vintage Image of the Day column.
• William Diehl (1924-2006) - Author who wrote the novels that were adapted into Sharky's Machine and Primal Fear. He also appeared in Sharky's Machine and Baby of the Family. He died of an aortal aneurysm November 24, in Atlanta.
• Colin Forbes (1923-2006) - Author whose same-titled novel was adapted into Avalance Express. He died of a heart attack August 23, in London.
• Phyllis Fraser (1911-2006) - Actress who appeared in Little Men, Winds of the Wasteland and Lucky Devils. She died of complications from a fall on November 24, in New York City.