Today is the birthday of Ennio Morricone who began his prolific film scoring career when he was in his early 30s during the 1950s, primarily for the "sword and sandal" (or peplum) historical epics popular at the time.
His films include the Dollars Trilogy of Westerns featuring Clint Eastwood: A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966); and the Once Upon a Time films: Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) and Once Upon a Time in America (1984), a violent but brilliant film.
However, Morricone never actually won an Academy Award for these marvelous films. I've often not agreed with the Academy in its choice of Oscar winning films. He finally received an Honorary Oscar in 2006.
Set in a fictional small Sicilian town, called Giancaldo, the film centers on the friendship between a young boy named Salvatore and Spaccafico, an aging projectionist who works at the titular movie theatre. The Italian-French co-production stars Enzo Cannavale, Philippe Noiret, Jacques Perrin, Antonella Attili, Pupella Maggio and Salvatore Cascio.
Seen as an example of "nostalgic postmodernism", the film intertwines sentimentality with comedy, and nostalgia with pragmaticism. It explores issues of youth, coming of age, and reflections (in adulthood) about the past. The imagery in the scenes can be said to reflect Salvatore's idealised memories of his childhood. Cinema Paradiso is also a celebration of films; as a projectionist, young Salvatore (a.k.a. Totò) develops a passion for films that shapes his life path in adulthood.
The role of Spaccafico is portrayed by Enzo Cannavale. The role of Salvatore is portrayed by three actors. Salvatore Cascio as the child, Marco Leonardi as the teenager and Jacques Perrin as the adult.
The film score was composed by Ennio Morricone and his son, Andrea Morricone, marking the beginning of a collaboration between Tornatore and Morricone that lasted until Morricone's death in 2020.
Happy birthday and congratulations at last, Ennio!
Viewfinder links:
No comments:
Post a Comment
PLEASE NOTE: comments are moderated BEFORE they are posted so DO NOT appear immediately.
Thank you.