This is a stacked weekend for movies that could get awards attention but probably won’t, both in theaters and on digital platforms. First up is a lively ode to one of cinema’s musical masters.
The contender to watch this week: “Ennio”
Giuseppe Tornatore‘s documentary about influential composer Ennio Morricone has been a long time coming, and not only because Morricone’s career dates back to 1946. “Ennio” premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in 2021 and was released in Italy in 2022. But don’t take its delayed domestic debut as a bad omen: The movie is a spellbinding tribute to the two-time Oscar winner, who wrote the scores for “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” “Days of Heaven,” “The Untouchables,” “The Hateful Eight,” and Tornatore’s own “Cinema Paradiso.” The talking heads include Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood, Quincy Jones, and Bruce Springsteen. Following a theatrical run in February,...
The contender to watch this week: “Ennio”
Giuseppe Tornatore‘s documentary about influential composer Ennio Morricone has been a long time coming, and not only because Morricone’s career dates back to 1946. “Ennio” premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in 2021 and was released in Italy in 2022. But don’t take its delayed domestic debut as a bad omen: The movie is a spellbinding tribute to the two-time Oscar winner, who wrote the scores for “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” “Days of Heaven,” “The Untouchables,” “The Hateful Eight,” and Tornatore’s own “Cinema Paradiso.” The talking heads include Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood, Quincy Jones, and Bruce Springsteen. Following a theatrical run in February,...
- 4/13/2024
- by Matthew Jacobs
- Gold Derby
The Taste Of Things, a meditation on turn-of-the-century French cooking — no chicken wings or nachos in sight — is stirring up a nice weekend for IFC Films with $126k and the best per-theater opening of the year so far on Super Bowl weekend.
Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days from Neon is looking at $100k on five screens. In wider release, Bleecker Street’s Out Of Darkness is at a solid $1 million on circa 900 screens. American Fiction and Poor Things are holding in the top ten.
The Taste Of Things, which premiered at Cannes, winning Best Director for Vietnamese-born French filmmaker Tràn Anh Hùng, is seeing a $42k PTA from three screens. Originally The Pot-au-Feu, it stars Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel as cook Eugenie and her boss Dodin, longtime partners in love and in the kitchen of Dodin’s country villa.
Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days from Neon is looking at $100k on five screens. In wider release, Bleecker Street’s Out Of Darkness is at a solid $1 million on circa 900 screens. American Fiction and Poor Things are holding in the top ten.
The Taste Of Things, which premiered at Cannes, winning Best Director for Vietnamese-born French filmmaker Tràn Anh Hùng, is seeing a $42k PTA from three screens. Originally The Pot-au-Feu, it stars Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel as cook Eugenie and her boss Dodin, longtime partners in love and in the kitchen of Dodin’s country villa.
- 2/11/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s a weekend of well-reviewed indie openings with Bleecker Street’s Out Of Darkness, The Monk And The Gun (from the directors of Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom) and limited openings for The Taste Of Things, Perfect Days (Best International Feature nominated), Anthony Chen’s Drift, Bas Devos’ Here and Ennio by Giuseppe Tornatore, which premiered in Venice in 2021 and is finally getting a U.S. release.
Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days, Japan’s official Oscar submission that nabbed a nom, opened at six locations in New York and LA Wednesday, adding additional cities next week. The film written by Wenders and Takuma Takasaki stars Hirayama, a public toilet cleaner in Tokyo who seems utterly content with his simple life until a series of unexpected encounters reveal more of his unearthed past. See Deadline review.
Neon had a qualifying run in November.
Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days, Japan’s official Oscar submission that nabbed a nom, opened at six locations in New York and LA Wednesday, adding additional cities next week. The film written by Wenders and Takuma Takasaki stars Hirayama, a public toilet cleaner in Tokyo who seems utterly content with his simple life until a series of unexpected encounters reveal more of his unearthed past. See Deadline review.
Neon had a qualifying run in November.
- 2/9/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
If would be hard to name an artist in any medium who illustrated Flaubert’s famous maxim of creativity better than Ennio Morricone. Morricone, who died in 2020 (at 91), was certainly one of the greatest composers of movie soundtracks who ever lived. But even if you consider him next to his fellow giants, Morricone scaled his own wild peak, inventing his own kind of beauty, his own transcendent cacophony. Yet you would never have guessed it to look at him.
“Ennio,” directed by Guiseppe Tornatore (“Cinema Paradiso”), is a 156-minute portrait of Morricone built around an extensive interview with the composer. (It also includes comments from a murderers’ row of filmmakers and artists.) The movie opens on a beating metronome, which seems to set the orderly, clockwork rhythm of Morricone’s life. Strolling into his ornately furnished living room, he walks quickly, not like a man of 90, and his voice is light and direct.
“Ennio,” directed by Guiseppe Tornatore (“Cinema Paradiso”), is a 156-minute portrait of Morricone built around an extensive interview with the composer. (It also includes comments from a murderers’ row of filmmakers and artists.) The movie opens on a beating metronome, which seems to set the orderly, clockwork rhythm of Morricone’s life. Strolling into his ornately furnished living room, he walks quickly, not like a man of 90, and his voice is light and direct.
- 2/9/2024
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
I suppose there’s a more interesting film to be made about the great composer Ennio Morricone, but watching Giuseppe Tornatore’s loving and comprehensive “Ennio” makes it almost impossible to care. An uncomplicated and reverent tribute that was shot before the late maestro’s death in 2020 (and would feel like a two-and-a-half-hour tribute reel if not for the fact that Morricone himself is the film’s most frequent talking head), this straightforward biodoc is almost perversely generic for a movie that’s meant to honor one of cinema’s greatest radicals.
And yet, do you really not want to see Clint Eastwood deadpanning that Morricone’s music “helped dramatize me, which is really hard to do”? Would a less conventional documentary have been able to squeeze Bruce Springsteen, Wong Kar-wai, and James Hetfield into the same film, or include so much of what Bernardo Bertolucci had to say about...
And yet, do you really not want to see Clint Eastwood deadpanning that Morricone’s music “helped dramatize me, which is really hard to do”? Would a less conventional documentary have been able to squeeze Bruce Springsteen, Wong Kar-wai, and James Hetfield into the same film, or include so much of what Bernardo Bertolucci had to say about...
- 2/7/2024
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
“A director can’t understand the final result from a description. You cannot describe music; it needs to be listened to.” So says Ennio Morricone in one of many talking-head sections that comprise Giuseppe Tornatore’s documentary. But Ennio, as it’s aptly titled, can feel part-documentary, part-video essay, and, yes, part-talking head compilation. It’s 156 minutes, but even the first four hint at its simplicity. A barrage of musicians, producers, and filmmakers spout what the film quickly compresses into glorified soundbites. Morricone was a towering artist. Audiences already knew this. But Tornatore doesn’t fully unpack the composer’s impact; he does more to describe it.
So what else is there to listen to? Per Morricone himself, he wanted to be a doctor, but his father insisted he learn the trumpet. He took classes at the Saint Cecilia Conservatory at age 12 and studied under Goffredo Petrassi, later marrying Maria Travia.
So what else is there to listen to? Per Morricone himself, he wanted to be a doctor, but his father insisted he learn the trumpet. He took classes at the Saint Cecilia Conservatory at age 12 and studied under Goffredo Petrassi, later marrying Maria Travia.
- 2/7/2024
- by Matt Cipolla
- The Film Stage
After the cinematic doldrums of January, February brings surprisingly packed, varied offerings, from Oscar-contending international features to biographical documentaries of legendary film artists to some electrifying genre outings. Check out my picks to see below, and catch up with our Sundance coverage ahead of our Berlinale reviews here.
16. The Monk and the Gun (Pawo Choyning Dorji; Feb. 9)
Returning after his Oscar-nominated directorial debut Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, Pawo Choyning Dorji’s Ifsn Advocate Award-shortlisted The Monk and the Gun premiered at Telluride and TIFF to much acclaim and will now be released this month. Selected by Bhutan as their Oscar entry, the heartwarming film is about an American in search of a long-lost, vintage gun in Bhutan as the country’s launching a democracy.
15. Ennio (Giuseppe Tornatore; Feb. 9)
The film world lost perhaps its most legendary musician when Ennio Morricone died at the age of 91 in July 2020. Cinema Paradiso director Giuseppe Tornatore,...
16. The Monk and the Gun (Pawo Choyning Dorji; Feb. 9)
Returning after his Oscar-nominated directorial debut Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, Pawo Choyning Dorji’s Ifsn Advocate Award-shortlisted The Monk and the Gun premiered at Telluride and TIFF to much acclaim and will now be released this month. Selected by Bhutan as their Oscar entry, the heartwarming film is about an American in search of a long-lost, vintage gun in Bhutan as the country’s launching a democracy.
15. Ennio (Giuseppe Tornatore; Feb. 9)
The film world lost perhaps its most legendary musician when Ennio Morricone died at the age of 91 in July 2020. Cinema Paradiso director Giuseppe Tornatore,...
- 2/1/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The film world lost perhaps its most legendary musician at the start of this decade when Ennio Morricone passed away at the age of 91 in July 2020. Cinema Paradiso director Giuseppe Tornatore, who worked with the composer over a dozen times across his career, crafted a tribute with the documentary Ennio, which fittingly premiered at the Venice Film Festival and will now be arriving in the U.S. Featuring interviews with Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood, Dario Argento, John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Wong Kar-wai, Oliver Stone, and more, the new trailer has now arrived ahead of a February 9 theatrical release from Music Box Films.
Here’s the official synopsis: “Giuseppe Tornatore, director of the beloved Cinema Paradiso, turns his camera on his longtime collaborator Ennio Morricone (1928 – 2020) in a moving and comprehensive profile of the indefatigable composer. Tornatore’s documentary portrait examines the breadth of the maestro’s career, from his early Italian...
Here’s the official synopsis: “Giuseppe Tornatore, director of the beloved Cinema Paradiso, turns his camera on his longtime collaborator Ennio Morricone (1928 – 2020) in a moving and comprehensive profile of the indefatigable composer. Tornatore’s documentary portrait examines the breadth of the maestro’s career, from his early Italian...
- 12/26/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
"I never thought music would be my destiny." Music Box Films has revealed a brand new US trailer for the documentary film titled Ennio, a biopic doc about the legendary Italian film composer Ennio Morricone. This was in the works for years already, but it was only finished after Ennio passed away in late 2020. The film premiered a few years ago at the 2021 Venice Film Festival, opening in Europe in 2022. It's now finally set for a release in the US in February 2024, nearly 3 years after its premiere. A portrait of one of the most popular and prolific film composers of the twentieth century, Ennio celebrates the life and legacy of Ennio Morricone, featuring never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with many filmmakers & musicians including Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood, and others. I actually saw this in Venice in 2021 in its original 3-hour form, and it's packed with interviews,...
- 12/19/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The trailer for Giuseppe Tornatore’s documentary on the famed Italian film composer Ennio Morricone has been released ahead of its opening in select US theaters on February 9th, 2024. Watch it below.
Titled Ennio, the film traces Morricone’s career from his early work with Sergio Leone to his first Academy Award for Quentin Tarantino’s 2016 movie The Hateful Eight, including The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Once Upon a Time in America; Days of Heaven; The Mission; and The Untouchables. It also offered the late composer, who died in 2020, an opportunity to tell his own story and break down his artistic process.
Adding to the portrait of Morricone are interviews with several of his collaborators and contemporaries, including Clint Eastwood, Quentin Tarantino, and Bruce Springsteen. Ennio also features appearances from Oliver Stone, Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Bernardo Bertolucci, Marco Bellocchio, Giuliano Montaldo, Dario Argento, Joan Baez, and more.
Titled Ennio, the film traces Morricone’s career from his early work with Sergio Leone to his first Academy Award for Quentin Tarantino’s 2016 movie The Hateful Eight, including The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Once Upon a Time in America; Days of Heaven; The Mission; and The Untouchables. It also offered the late composer, who died in 2020, an opportunity to tell his own story and break down his artistic process.
Adding to the portrait of Morricone are interviews with several of his collaborators and contemporaries, including Clint Eastwood, Quentin Tarantino, and Bruce Springsteen. Ennio also features appearances from Oliver Stone, Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Bernardo Bertolucci, Marco Bellocchio, Giuliano Montaldo, Dario Argento, Joan Baez, and more.
- 12/19/2023
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Film News
Italian cinema is in the spotlight at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles where the screening series “Ennio Morricone: Essential Scores from a Movie Maestro,” programmed in partnership with Cinecittà, is currently playing to sold-out audiences.
The Oct. 6-Nov. 25 event comprises 20 titles, including Sergio Leone’s “The Good the Bad and the Ugly” in a new restored print, “Once Upon a Time in the West” (pictured) and Don Siegel’s “Two Mules for Sister Sara,” plus a selection of other works hailing both from the master composer’s native Italy and the U.S.. Among these are Brian De Palma (“The Untouchables”), Terrence Malick (“Days of Heaven”) and Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight,” for which Morricone finally won the the Oscar for best original soundtrack in 2016.
“Hateful Eight” screened at the museum’s David Geffen Theatre in the 70mm “Roadshow” version with an intermission and an overture.
Cinecittà operates...
The Oct. 6-Nov. 25 event comprises 20 titles, including Sergio Leone’s “The Good the Bad and the Ugly” in a new restored print, “Once Upon a Time in the West” (pictured) and Don Siegel’s “Two Mules for Sister Sara,” plus a selection of other works hailing both from the master composer’s native Italy and the U.S.. Among these are Brian De Palma (“The Untouchables”), Terrence Malick (“Days of Heaven”) and Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight,” for which Morricone finally won the the Oscar for best original soundtrack in 2016.
“Hateful Eight” screened at the museum’s David Geffen Theatre in the 70mm “Roadshow” version with an intermission and an overture.
Cinecittà operates...
- 11/16/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Music Box Films has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Giuseppe Tornatore’s documentary Ennio, paying tribute to the late, revered film composer Ennio Morricone.
Morricone scored a number of Tornatore’s films, beginning with his 1988 Oscar-winning Classic Cinema Paradiso.
For Ennio, the director turned the camera on his beloved collaborator to make a moving portrait of the composer featuring testimonies from artists and directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Marco Bellocchio, Giuliano Montaldo, Dario Argento, Clint Eastwood, Joan Baez, Quentin Tarantino and more.
Music Box Films will release the film in New York at the Film Forum on February 9, 2024, with a national expansion and home entertainment release to follow.
Prior to that, there will also be a special screening in New York on December 2 as part of the Museum of Modern Art’s Morricone retrospective which opens on December 1.
The show, which has been put together in collaboration with Cinecittà,...
Morricone scored a number of Tornatore’s films, beginning with his 1988 Oscar-winning Classic Cinema Paradiso.
For Ennio, the director turned the camera on his beloved collaborator to make a moving portrait of the composer featuring testimonies from artists and directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Marco Bellocchio, Giuliano Montaldo, Dario Argento, Clint Eastwood, Joan Baez, Quentin Tarantino and more.
Music Box Films will release the film in New York at the Film Forum on February 9, 2024, with a national expansion and home entertainment release to follow.
Prior to that, there will also be a special screening in New York on December 2 as part of the Museum of Modern Art’s Morricone retrospective which opens on December 1.
The show, which has been put together in collaboration with Cinecittà,...
- 11/9/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow and Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
A new exhibition about “trash filmmaker” John Waters and new screening series featuring the work of French New Wave grandmother Agnès Varda and freshly scanned and restored Fleischer cartoon shorts are coming this fall to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
The Los Angeles institution will also mark its second birthday by offering complimentary admission to all visitors on Saturday, Sept. 30.
“This fall’s slate of programs at the Academy Museum are designed to tell immersive and dynamic stories of moviemaking for visitors of all ages and abilities,” Amy Homma, chief audience officer of the Academy Museum, said in a statement. “Visitors can experience the John Waters: Pope of Trash exhibition, then join us for Drag Queen Story Hour to see kid-friendly live scene-readings from his films. Or visit the Director’s Inspiration gallery to view some of Agnès Varda’s personal artifacts before making their way to the theater...
The Los Angeles institution will also mark its second birthday by offering complimentary admission to all visitors on Saturday, Sept. 30.
“This fall’s slate of programs at the Academy Museum are designed to tell immersive and dynamic stories of moviemaking for visitors of all ages and abilities,” Amy Homma, chief audience officer of the Academy Museum, said in a statement. “Visitors can experience the John Waters: Pope of Trash exhibition, then join us for Drag Queen Story Hour to see kid-friendly live scene-readings from his films. Or visit the Director’s Inspiration gallery to view some of Agnès Varda’s personal artifacts before making their way to the theater...
- 8/16/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Piovani composed the Oscar-winning soundtrack to Roberto Benigni’s ’Life Is Beautiful’.
Italian composer Nicola Piovani will receive a lifetime achievement at the 2023 World Soundtrack Awards, held at Film Fest Ghent on October 21.
Piovani is best known for composing the score to Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful for which he won the Oscar in 1999.
The composer began his career in 1971 with Silvano Agosti’s N.P. Il Segreto and has gone on to compose the music to more than 200 films and series.
He worked with Federico Fellini on a number of his films including Ginger & Fred (1986), Intervista (1987) and...
Italian composer Nicola Piovani will receive a lifetime achievement at the 2023 World Soundtrack Awards, held at Film Fest Ghent on October 21.
Piovani is best known for composing the score to Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful for which he won the Oscar in 1999.
The composer began his career in 1971 with Silvano Agosti’s N.P. Il Segreto and has gone on to compose the music to more than 200 films and series.
He worked with Federico Fellini on a number of his films including Ginger & Fred (1986), Intervista (1987) and...
- 3/1/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Iranian action drama “World War III,” which won two awards at the recent Venice festival, will feature among the main competition titles at next month’s Tokyo International Film Festival.
The festival will operate as an in-person event with foreign filmmakers, media and other guests in attendance from Oct. 24-Nov. 2, 2022.
“World War III” is joined in the competition section by the world premiere of Milcho Manchevski’s “Kaymak,” Spanish director Carlos Vermut’s “Manticore” and Roberta Torre’s “The Fabulous Ones,” Michale Boganim’s “Tel Aviv Beirut,” and Youssef Chebbi’s debut film “Ashkal.”
The 15-strong competition also includes two Japanese films Imaizumi Rikiya’s “By The Window” and Matsunaga Daishi’s “Egoist” and two Japanese co-productions, Fukunaga Takeshi’s “Mountain Woman,” and Kyrgyzstan director Aktan Arym Kubat’s “This Is What I Remember.”
Winners from the competition section will be chosen by a jury headed by Julie Taymor, along with Joao Pedro Rodrigues,...
The festival will operate as an in-person event with foreign filmmakers, media and other guests in attendance from Oct. 24-Nov. 2, 2022.
“World War III” is joined in the competition section by the world premiere of Milcho Manchevski’s “Kaymak,” Spanish director Carlos Vermut’s “Manticore” and Roberta Torre’s “The Fabulous Ones,” Michale Boganim’s “Tel Aviv Beirut,” and Youssef Chebbi’s debut film “Ashkal.”
The 15-strong competition also includes two Japanese films Imaizumi Rikiya’s “By The Window” and Matsunaga Daishi’s “Egoist” and two Japanese co-productions, Fukunaga Takeshi’s “Mountain Woman,” and Kyrgyzstan director Aktan Arym Kubat’s “This Is What I Remember.”
Winners from the competition section will be chosen by a jury headed by Julie Taymor, along with Joao Pedro Rodrigues,...
- 9/21/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Giuseppe Tornatore is bringing the “Cinema” to the small screen.
The Oscar-winning writer/director is set to adapt his 1989 classic film “Cinema Paradiso” into a six-episode streaming series, as Variety first reported. Tornatore will write and direct the TV show, produced by Marco Belardi (“Perfect Strangers”) through his Bamboo Production banner. Belardi revealed the series is set to land at a prominent U.S. streamer.
“Cinema Paradiso” tells the story of a stunning Sicilian cinema house where a young boy named Toto falls in love with film. “Cinema Paradiso” won a Special Jury Prize at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival and later won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film in 1990. A restored version of the film was re-released in the U.K. in 2020. Tornatore’s last feature film was the 2021 documentary “The Glance of Music,” about legendary composer Ennio Morricone, who created the score for the original film.
The...
The Oscar-winning writer/director is set to adapt his 1989 classic film “Cinema Paradiso” into a six-episode streaming series, as Variety first reported. Tornatore will write and direct the TV show, produced by Marco Belardi (“Perfect Strangers”) through his Bamboo Production banner. Belardi revealed the series is set to land at a prominent U.S. streamer.
“Cinema Paradiso” tells the story of a stunning Sicilian cinema house where a young boy named Toto falls in love with film. “Cinema Paradiso” won a Special Jury Prize at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival and later won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film in 1990. A restored version of the film was re-released in the U.K. in 2020. Tornatore’s last feature film was the 2021 documentary “The Glance of Music,” about legendary composer Ennio Morricone, who created the score for the original film.
The...
- 8/1/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Paolo Sorrentino’s Oscar-nominated autobiographical drama “The Hand of God” took top honors at Italy’s 67th David di Donatello Awards, winning best picture, director, supporting actress and tying for the best cinematography statuette.
Sorrentino’s Naples-set film about the personal tragedy and other vicissitudes that drove him to become a top notch film director had been the frontrunner along with young helmer Gabriele Mainetti’s second feature, the elegant effects-laden historical fantasy “Freaks Out.”
“Freaks Out” won six prizes, including for its producer, Andrea Occhipinti, as well as cinematographer, set design, and effects.
The cinematography prize, which was a tie, was split between “Hand of God” Dp Daria D’Antonio, marking the first time this David goes to a woman, and Michele Attanasio for “Freaks Out.”
The Davids were held as a fully in-person ceremony at Rome’s Cinecittà studios just as the famed facilities undergo a radical renewal being...
Sorrentino’s Naples-set film about the personal tragedy and other vicissitudes that drove him to become a top notch film director had been the frontrunner along with young helmer Gabriele Mainetti’s second feature, the elegant effects-laden historical fantasy “Freaks Out.”
“Freaks Out” won six prizes, including for its producer, Andrea Occhipinti, as well as cinematographer, set design, and effects.
The cinematography prize, which was a tie, was split between “Hand of God” Dp Daria D’Antonio, marking the first time this David goes to a woman, and Michele Attanasio for “Freaks Out.”
The Davids were held as a fully in-person ceremony at Rome’s Cinecittà studios just as the famed facilities undergo a radical renewal being...
- 5/3/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
As they celebrate being held as a physical event, Italy’s upcoming 67th David di Donatello Awards epitomize the ongoing shift in generations and genres that is underway in Cinema Italiano.
Leading the pack this year are seasoned auteur Paolo Sorrentino’s most personal film “The Hand of God” and young helmer Gabriele Mainetti’s second feature, the elegant effects-laden historical fantasy “Freaks Out,” which is set in 1943 Rome and involves four “freaks” working in a circus when the Eternal City is bombed by Allied Forces. Both pics scored 16 nominations each.
Close behind are Mario Martone’s classic biopic “The King of Laughter,” about popular early 20th-century Neapolitan actor and playwright Eduardo Scarpetta, with 14 noms. Then come Leonardo Di Costanzo’s subtle prison drama “Ariaferma” and “Diabolik,” an adaptation of a comic book about a charming master thief, directed by Marco and Antonio Manetti, both with 11 noms a piece.
“We...
Leading the pack this year are seasoned auteur Paolo Sorrentino’s most personal film “The Hand of God” and young helmer Gabriele Mainetti’s second feature, the elegant effects-laden historical fantasy “Freaks Out,” which is set in 1943 Rome and involves four “freaks” working in a circus when the Eternal City is bombed by Allied Forces. Both pics scored 16 nominations each.
Close behind are Mario Martone’s classic biopic “The King of Laughter,” about popular early 20th-century Neapolitan actor and playwright Eduardo Scarpetta, with 14 noms. Then come Leonardo Di Costanzo’s subtle prison drama “Ariaferma” and “Diabolik,” an adaptation of a comic book about a charming master thief, directed by Marco and Antonio Manetti, both with 11 noms a piece.
“We...
- 4/30/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Festival titles ‘Happening’ and ‘Playground’ are also new this week.
It is a fairly quiet week for openers at the UK-Ireland box office, with Lionsgate’s The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent the widest release, opening at 563 locations, and the chief contender for making a dent in the top five.
The action comedy sees Nicolas Cage – who is also a producer on the feature – play a fictionalised version of himself, with the actor teaming up with the CIA stop a Cage superfan who may also be the dangerous head of a cartel. Tom Gormican directs, and has co-written the screenplay with Kevin Etten.
It is a fairly quiet week for openers at the UK-Ireland box office, with Lionsgate’s The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent the widest release, opening at 563 locations, and the chief contender for making a dent in the top five.
The action comedy sees Nicolas Cage – who is also a producer on the feature – play a fictionalised version of himself, with the actor teaming up with the CIA stop a Cage superfan who may also be the dangerous head of a cartel. Tom Gormican directs, and has co-written the screenplay with Kevin Etten.
- 4/22/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
"I never thought that music would be my destiny." Ennio! The maestro! Dogwoof has released an official trailer for the documentary film titled Ennio, a biopic doc about the legendary Italian film composer Ennio Morricone. This was in the works for years already, but it was only finished after Ennio passed away in late 2020. The film premiered at last year's Venice Film Festival, and also played at IDFA in the fall. A portrait of one of the most popular and prolific film composers of the twentieth century, Ennio celebrates the life and legacy of Ennio Morricone, featuring never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with renowned filmmakers and musicians including Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Quentin Tarantino and Clint Eastwood. They gave it a different title in English - The Glance of Music - which just sounds weird and doesn't quite capture the magic of Morricone. He's a genius! I saw this at...
- 4/19/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
“The Lost City” and “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” led the U.K. and Ireland box office over the four-day Easter holiday weekend.
Paramount’s “The Lost City,” with a star-studded cast including Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe and Brad Pitt, debuted with £2.7 million (3.5 million) atop the box office, according to numbers released by Comscore. Warner Bros.’ “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” was close behind with £2.6 million and has a total of £12.6 million after its second weekend.
In third position, Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” collected £2.04 million for a total of £16.3 million after three weekends.
Universal’s “The Northman,” directed by Robert Eggers and starring Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy and Ethan Hawke debuted in fourth position with £897,737.
Rounding off the top five was another debutant, Warner Bros.’ WWII drama “Operation Mincemeat,” starring Colin Firth, Matthew Macfadyen and Kelly Macdonald with £895,008.
There were two Indian debuts in the top 10 – “Beast,...
Paramount’s “The Lost City,” with a star-studded cast including Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe and Brad Pitt, debuted with £2.7 million (3.5 million) atop the box office, according to numbers released by Comscore. Warner Bros.’ “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” was close behind with £2.6 million and has a total of £12.6 million after its second weekend.
In third position, Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” collected £2.04 million for a total of £16.3 million after three weekends.
Universal’s “The Northman,” directed by Robert Eggers and starring Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy and Ethan Hawke debuted in fourth position with £897,737.
Rounding off the top five was another debutant, Warner Bros.’ WWII drama “Operation Mincemeat,” starring Colin Firth, Matthew Macfadyen and Kelly Macdonald with £895,008.
There were two Indian debuts in the top 10 – “Beast,...
- 4/19/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Italian exhibitors are sounding an alarm over the country’s pandemic-prompted box office plunge and the removal of theatrical windows which they say are causing closure of 500 movie screens.
Their cry for help comes amid what they say is a lack of signals in Italy pointing to the cinemagoing recovery that is instead currently underway in other European countries.
Two years after Italy’s roughly 3,600 cinema screens were first shuttered, 500 of those screens have still not reopened across the country, according to Mario Lorini, head of local exhibitors org. Anec.
Calling for action to counter this crisis, Lorini at a Rome confab urged the government to reinstate the country’s 90-day window between a film’s release in movie theaters and via streaming platforms and broadcasters that was lifted during the pandemic by Italy’s motion picture association.
Lorini said there are now hundreds of screens in Italian cinemas programming...
Their cry for help comes amid what they say is a lack of signals in Italy pointing to the cinemagoing recovery that is instead currently underway in other European countries.
Two years after Italy’s roughly 3,600 cinema screens were first shuttered, 500 of those screens have still not reopened across the country, according to Mario Lorini, head of local exhibitors org. Anec.
Calling for action to counter this crisis, Lorini at a Rome confab urged the government to reinstate the country’s 90-day window between a film’s release in movie theaters and via streaming platforms and broadcasters that was lifted during the pandemic by Italy’s motion picture association.
Lorini said there are now hundreds of screens in Italian cinemas programming...
- 2/21/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Jury
Italy’s Giuseppe Tornatore, director of the Oscar, BAFTA and Cannes winning film “Cinema Paradiso,” will preside over the features competition jury at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival (Dec. 6-15). Tornatore’s latest documentary, “Ennio,” about revered composer Ennio Morricone, which bowed at Venice, will have its Arab premiere at the festival out-of-competition in the International Spectacular strand.
Joining Tornatore on the jury are Tunisian actor Hend Sabry (“The Blue Elephant 2”) Palestinian-American director, writer, actor and producer Cherien Dabis (“Amreeka”), Morelia International Film Festival director Daniela Michel and Saudi filmmaker Abdulaziz Alshlahei (“Zero Distance”).
The Red Sea shorts competition jury will be led by Egypt’s Marwan Hamed, director of Tribeca winner “The Yacoubian Building”) who will be joined by Saudi Arabian actor and director Ahd Kamel (“Wadjda”) and Finnish-Somali director and writer Khadar Ayderus (“The Gravedigger’s Wife”).
Trailer
Universal Pictures has released a trailer for “Redeeming Love,...
Italy’s Giuseppe Tornatore, director of the Oscar, BAFTA and Cannes winning film “Cinema Paradiso,” will preside over the features competition jury at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival (Dec. 6-15). Tornatore’s latest documentary, “Ennio,” about revered composer Ennio Morricone, which bowed at Venice, will have its Arab premiere at the festival out-of-competition in the International Spectacular strand.
Joining Tornatore on the jury are Tunisian actor Hend Sabry (“The Blue Elephant 2”) Palestinian-American director, writer, actor and producer Cherien Dabis (“Amreeka”), Morelia International Film Festival director Daniela Michel and Saudi filmmaker Abdulaziz Alshlahei (“Zero Distance”).
The Red Sea shorts competition jury will be led by Egypt’s Marwan Hamed, director of Tribeca winner “The Yacoubian Building”) who will be joined by Saudi Arabian actor and director Ahd Kamel (“Wadjda”) and Finnish-Somali director and writer Khadar Ayderus (“The Gravedigger’s Wife”).
Trailer
Universal Pictures has released a trailer for “Redeeming Love,...
- 11/24/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Sorrentino was a winner in the category with ’The Great Beauty’ in 2014.
Italy has selected The Hand Of God, from Oscar winner Paolo Sorrentino, as its entry for the best international feature film category at the 2022 Academy Awards.
It was chosen by an 11-member committee representing directors, journalists, critics, distributors, festivals, government officials and market specialists, including Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera and former Mia Market head Lucia Milazzotto.
18 films were submitted to the committee by individual production companies. These included Jonas Carpignano’s Quinzaine title A Chiara, Giuseppe Tornatore’s Ennio Morricone documentary Ennio, and Nanni Moretti’s Cannes competition drama Three Floors.
Italy has selected The Hand Of God, from Oscar winner Paolo Sorrentino, as its entry for the best international feature film category at the 2022 Academy Awards.
It was chosen by an 11-member committee representing directors, journalists, critics, distributors, festivals, government officials and market specialists, including Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera and former Mia Market head Lucia Milazzotto.
18 films were submitted to the committee by individual production companies. These included Jonas Carpignano’s Quinzaine title A Chiara, Giuseppe Tornatore’s Ennio Morricone documentary Ennio, and Nanni Moretti’s Cannes competition drama Three Floors.
- 10/26/2021
- by Gabriele Niola
- ScreenDaily
Festival
The 78th Venice International Film Festival (Sept. 1-11) will include an out of competition screening of “Ennio” by Giuseppe Tornatore, director of the Oscar winning “Cinema Paradiso.” “Ennio” is a comprehensive portrait of two time Oscar winning composer Ennio Morricone, among the most influential and prolific musicians of the twentieth century, who has scored over 500 movie soundtracks.
The documentary tells the Maestro’s story in a long interview of him with Tornatore, and with comments by artists and directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Giuliano Montaldo, Marco Bellocchio, Dario Argento, the Taviani brothers, Carlo Verdone, Barry Levinson, Roland Joffé, Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, Bruce Springsteen, Nicola Piovani, Hans Zimmer and Pat Metheny, and through music and archive footage.
The film also seeks to reveal Morricone’s lesser-known aspects, such as his passion for chess, and the origin of some of his musical intuitions, like the howl of a coyote that...
The 78th Venice International Film Festival (Sept. 1-11) will include an out of competition screening of “Ennio” by Giuseppe Tornatore, director of the Oscar winning “Cinema Paradiso.” “Ennio” is a comprehensive portrait of two time Oscar winning composer Ennio Morricone, among the most influential and prolific musicians of the twentieth century, who has scored over 500 movie soundtracks.
The documentary tells the Maestro’s story in a long interview of him with Tornatore, and with comments by artists and directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Giuliano Montaldo, Marco Bellocchio, Dario Argento, the Taviani brothers, Carlo Verdone, Barry Levinson, Roland Joffé, Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, Bruce Springsteen, Nicola Piovani, Hans Zimmer and Pat Metheny, and through music and archive footage.
The film also seeks to reveal Morricone’s lesser-known aspects, such as his passion for chess, and the origin of some of his musical intuitions, like the howl of a coyote that...
- 8/10/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Venice Adds Ennio Morricone Film By Giuseppe Tornatore
The Venice Film Festival is adding an Out of Competition screening of Ennio Morricone documentary Ennio by Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso). The film is described as a comprehensive portrait of the late great composer, who was the winner of two Oscars and responsible for more than 500 movie soundtracks, many of them classics. The story is told via a long interview between the two Italians but also with comments by artists and directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Giuliano Montaldo, Marco Bellocchio, Dario Argento, the Taviani brothers, Carlo Verdone, Barry Levinson, Roland Joffé, Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, Bruce Springsteen, Nicola Piovani, Hans Zimmer and Pat Metheny. The film reveals lesser known aspects of the composer such as his passion for chess and the origin of some of his musical intuitions, like the howl of a coyote that inspired the theme of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.
The Venice Film Festival is adding an Out of Competition screening of Ennio Morricone documentary Ennio by Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso). The film is described as a comprehensive portrait of the late great composer, who was the winner of two Oscars and responsible for more than 500 movie soundtracks, many of them classics. The story is told via a long interview between the two Italians but also with comments by artists and directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Giuliano Montaldo, Marco Bellocchio, Dario Argento, the Taviani brothers, Carlo Verdone, Barry Levinson, Roland Joffé, Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, Bruce Springsteen, Nicola Piovani, Hans Zimmer and Pat Metheny. The film reveals lesser known aspects of the composer such as his passion for chess and the origin of some of his musical intuitions, like the howl of a coyote that inspired the theme of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.
- 8/10/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Everyone who works with Ennio Morricone calls him "Maestro." It's a title that's both deferential and affectionate for the prolific, 87-year-old composer. Since the late Fifties, he has written some 500 movie scores, including such celebrated and iconic contributions to soundtracks such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Mission and Cinema Paradiso. His music has inspired a wide swath of artists from Metallica to Celine Dion, as well as filmmakers from Sergio Leone to Bernardo Bertolucci. But despite this, he has received few film awards in the U.
- 1/11/2016
- Rollingstone.com
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