Spirit of the Beehive director Victor Erice’s 1950s-set drama is an intimate study of a girl’s attempts to fathom out – and forgive – her father
Related: El Sur: the unfinished Spanish drama that’s perfect the way it is
Here’s a vivid rediscovery. Ten years after 1973’s now canonical The Spirit of the Beehive, Victor Erice made this richly rewarding 1950s-set drama, which feels very much like an extension of its predecessor’s chief narrative concern – a child’s curiosity about a figure who might be a giant, a monster, or merely a man. Rather than Frankenstein’s creature, eight-year-old Estrella (Sonsoles Aranguren) is beholden to a charismatic doctor father (Omero Antonutti) who divines water between unexplained spells in seclusion. He could represent any number of patrician leaders, but Erice’s handling proves more intimate than allegorical, beckoning us into Vermeer-like compositions – and the cinema once again...
Related: El Sur: the unfinished Spanish drama that’s perfect the way it is
Here’s a vivid rediscovery. Ten years after 1973’s now canonical The Spirit of the Beehive, Victor Erice made this richly rewarding 1950s-set drama, which feels very much like an extension of its predecessor’s chief narrative concern – a child’s curiosity about a figure who might be a giant, a monster, or merely a man. Rather than Frankenstein’s creature, eight-year-old Estrella (Sonsoles Aranguren) is beholden to a charismatic doctor father (Omero Antonutti) who divines water between unexplained spells in seclusion. He could represent any number of patrician leaders, but Erice’s handling proves more intimate than allegorical, beckoning us into Vermeer-like compositions – and the cinema once again...
- 9/15/2016
- by Mike McCahill
- The Guardian - Film News
I Never Sang for My Father: The Taviani Brothers and the Prison of Patriarchy
For many, Italian directing duo Paolo and Vittorio Taviani are best remembered for their output from the late 70s to late 80s, coming to prominence on the international circuit and unveiling a string of notable titles before falling out of critical favor by the mid-1990s. In 2012, the brothers made a resurgence winning the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, which resulted in bringing their old classics back to new, contemporary audiences. A retrospective featuring new restorations of three important titles begins with one of their most lauded films, 1977’s Padre Padrone, which took home the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival (notably, Roberto Rossellini was the jury president, whose 1946 film Paisan inspired the brothers as filmmakers). Based on a memoir (Gavino Ledda’s The One That Got Away) and originally intended for television,...
For many, Italian directing duo Paolo and Vittorio Taviani are best remembered for their output from the late 70s to late 80s, coming to prominence on the international circuit and unveiling a string of notable titles before falling out of critical favor by the mid-1990s. In 2012, the brothers made a resurgence winning the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, which resulted in bringing their old classics back to new, contemporary audiences. A retrospective featuring new restorations of three important titles begins with one of their most lauded films, 1977’s Padre Padrone, which took home the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival (notably, Roberto Rossellini was the jury president, whose 1946 film Paisan inspired the brothers as filmmakers). Based on a memoir (Gavino Ledda’s The One That Got Away) and originally intended for television,...
- 2/2/2016
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
'Father of the Bride': Steve Martin and Kimberly Williams. Top Five Father's Day Movies? From giant Gregory Peck to tyrant John Gielgud What would be the Top Five Father's Day movies ever made? Well, there have been countless films about fathers and/or featuring fathers of various sizes, shapes, and inclinations. In terms of quality, these range from the amusing – e.g., the 1950 version of Cheaper by the Dozen; the Oscar-nominated The Grandfather – to the nauseating – e.g., the 1950 version of Father of the Bride; its atrocious sequel, Father's Little Dividend. Although I'm unable to come up with the absolute Top Five Father's Day Movies – or rather, just plain Father Movies – ever made, below are the first five (actually six, including a remake) "quality" patriarch-centered films that come to mind. Now, the fathers portrayed in these films aren't all heroic, loving, and/or saintly paternal figures. Several are...
- 6/22/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
So, I’ll be the first to admit that I have never seen this film, nor have I ever heard it mentioned, even on the corners of the internet where friends are obsessed with Italian cinema. However, this is a Raro Video Blu-ray, which means it will be part of my collection. I don’t know if you that are reading have ever purchased a Raro Blu-ray before, but they are fantastic releases, and serve a great purpose of exposing us to some of the best of the criminally ignored entries into the Italian genre film scene. On August 5th, Raro Video, in partnership with Kino Lorber will release the new Raro Video Blu-ray release of Bankers of God: The Calvi Affair, and if you’re a fan of what Raro and Kino do, then you should probably hit this link and pre-order a copy for yourself. Check out the press release below.
- 7/26/2014
- by Shawn Savage
- The Liberal Dead
Omero Antonutti, Saverio Marconi, Padre Padrone John Gielgud, Charles Laughton The Barretts Of Wimpole Street: Father's Day Movies Based on Gavino Ledda's autobiography, Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani's father-son drama Padre Padrone (1977) portrays the difficult, complex relationship between a young Sardinian man (Saverio Marconi) and his reactionary, ruthlessly domineering father (Omero Antonutti). The setting is 20th-century rural Italy, but it might as well have been the Italy of the Middle Ages or earlier. The film's title literally translates as "Father Proprietor/Boss." Padre Padrone won both the Palme d'Or and the International Film Critics' Fipresci Prize at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival. Additionally, it [...]...
- 6/20/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
DVD Playhouse—July 2010
By
Allen Gardner
Two From Powell/Pressburger Criterion releases gorgeous new transfers of two of the greatest films to come out of post-war Britain, from that period’s greatest filmmaking team: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Black Narcissus was originally released in 1947 and caused a sensation with its explosive story about a nun (Deborah Kerr), cloistered in a remote convent in the Himalayas, who must battle elements both external (the punishing weather) and internal (temptations of the flesh over duty to the spirit). Also features stellar turns by England’s greatest actresses at the time: Flora Robson, Kathleen Byron and a young Jean Simmons. One of the most dazzling films ever made, bolstered by Oscar-winning cinematography from Jack Cardiff. Bonuses: New transfer, supervised by Cardiff, editor Thelma Schoonmaker Powell; Introduction by filmmaker Bernard Tavernier; Commentary by Powell and Martin Scorsese; Featurettes; Documentaries and interviews; Trailer. The Red Shoes,...
By
Allen Gardner
Two From Powell/Pressburger Criterion releases gorgeous new transfers of two of the greatest films to come out of post-war Britain, from that period’s greatest filmmaking team: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Black Narcissus was originally released in 1947 and caused a sensation with its explosive story about a nun (Deborah Kerr), cloistered in a remote convent in the Himalayas, who must battle elements both external (the punishing weather) and internal (temptations of the flesh over duty to the spirit). Also features stellar turns by England’s greatest actresses at the time: Flora Robson, Kathleen Byron and a young Jean Simmons. One of the most dazzling films ever made, bolstered by Oscar-winning cinematography from Jack Cardiff. Bonuses: New transfer, supervised by Cardiff, editor Thelma Schoonmaker Powell; Introduction by filmmaker Bernard Tavernier; Commentary by Powell and Martin Scorsese; Featurettes; Documentaries and interviews; Trailer. The Red Shoes,...
- 7/27/2010
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Authenticity is a rare and beautiful thing in the world of film. It’s not often that a police procedural movie gives such an accurate look at the process of criminal investigations, which are slow and consist mostly of wasted conversations that will lead nowhere. Magical computers don’t conveniently supply every bit of pertinent information about a suspect in a matter of seconds. An investigator trusts nothing and verifies everything. Director Andrea Molaioli, in her feature film debut, captures the tedium of a police officer’s world but still somehow makes it fascinating cinema.
The plot of the film is reminiscent of Twin Peaks. A pretty young girl is murdered in a small town and a talented investigator is called in from the big city to sort through the eccentric local suspects to deduce the killer’s identity. In this case, the locale is a picturesque small town in Northern Italy,...
The plot of the film is reminiscent of Twin Peaks. A pretty young girl is murdered in a small town and a talented investigator is called in from the big city to sort through the eccentric local suspects to deduce the killer’s identity. In this case, the locale is a picturesque small town in Northern Italy,...
- 7/22/2010
- by Rob Young
- JustPressPlay.net
This fourth of July sees Starz at night, featuring Spike Lee's movie, "Miracle at St. Anna." The film stars Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Matteo Sciabordi, John Leguizamo, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Valentina Cervi, Pierfrancesco Favino, John Turturro, Kerry Washington, D.B. Sweeney, Robert John Burke, Omari Hardwick, Omero Antonutti and Sergio Albelli. Directed by Spike Lee, this action war drama is about how a seemingly senseless crime in 1983 reveals the long-forgotten story of four African-American soldiers deep behind enemy lines in World War II Italy, and their struggle with the challenges of fighting in a segregated army. USA - 2008 - R...
- 7/1/2009
- by April MacIntyre
- Monsters and Critics
By Michael Atkinson
A distinctive force in European cinema for over 35 years, Paolo and Vittorio Taviani achieved from their first films an eloquent stylistic bridge between Rossellinian stringency and Fellinian braggadocio. Their movies are often framed like friezes, but the chaos of human whim always muddies the compositions. Appropriately, the Tavianis began as political barnburners, fashioning absurdist parables and sometimes cosmic commedia from Italy's lunatic flirtations with extreme movements. No European filmmaker has ever been as dedicated to their nation's peasant legacy, and no one on the continent since the '70s has made such potent and revealing use of their native landscape. Still, if the Tavianis' penchant for old-fashioned narrative folkiness has grown tedious over the last decade or two, there's still 1982's "The Night of the Shooting Stars," their premier achievement, and arguably the best Italian film of the '80s.
Right off the bat, with its framing...
A distinctive force in European cinema for over 35 years, Paolo and Vittorio Taviani achieved from their first films an eloquent stylistic bridge between Rossellinian stringency and Fellinian braggadocio. Their movies are often framed like friezes, but the chaos of human whim always muddies the compositions. Appropriately, the Tavianis began as political barnburners, fashioning absurdist parables and sometimes cosmic commedia from Italy's lunatic flirtations with extreme movements. No European filmmaker has ever been as dedicated to their nation's peasant legacy, and no one on the continent since the '70s has made such potent and revealing use of their native landscape. Still, if the Tavianis' penchant for old-fashioned narrative folkiness has grown tedious over the last decade or two, there's still 1982's "The Night of the Shooting Stars," their premier achievement, and arguably the best Italian film of the '80s.
Right off the bat, with its framing...
- 4/8/2008
- by Michael Atkinson
- ifc.com
ROME -- The production team behind Spike Lee's wartime drama Miracle at St. Anna on Friday announced the Italian-language cast for the film and said that work on the project will begin Oct. 15.
The film, which will be shot mostly on location in Tuscany, tells the story of a group of black U.S. soldiers who get involved in a Tuscan village's efforts to weed out a traitor.
According to producers Luigi Musini and Roberto Cicutto, the Italian-language cast will include Pierfrancesco Favino (Romanzo Criminale), Omero Antonutti (La Ragazza del Lago), Valentina Cervi (War and Peace), Lydia Biondi (HBO-BBC's Rome) and Italian TV actor Sergio Albelli.
Producers have not yet announced the films English- and German-speaking cast.
In addition to Musini and Cicutto, producers will be Italy's 01 Distribution, RAI Cinema and Lee's own 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks.
The film, which will be shot mostly on location in Tuscany, tells the story of a group of black U.S. soldiers who get involved in a Tuscan village's efforts to weed out a traitor.
According to producers Luigi Musini and Roberto Cicutto, the Italian-language cast will include Pierfrancesco Favino (Romanzo Criminale), Omero Antonutti (La Ragazza del Lago), Valentina Cervi (War and Peace), Lydia Biondi (HBO-BBC's Rome) and Italian TV actor Sergio Albelli.
Producers have not yet announced the films English- and German-speaking cast.
In addition to Musini and Cicutto, producers will be Italy's 01 Distribution, RAI Cinema and Lee's own 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks.
- 9/22/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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