Momentous and monumental, the latest film by Oscar-winning director Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso), ENNIO – THE MAESTRO celebrates the life and legacy of the legendary Italian composer Ennio Morricone.
Revolving around an interview between Tornatore and Morricone recorded shortly before his death in 2020, aged 91, ENNIO – THE MAESTRO begins with the composer’s morning workout of stretches and light callisthenics.
Disciplined and idiosyncratic, the exercise regime is illustrative of the nonagenarian maestro’s work ethic and tempo.
Skilfully weaving through interviews and footage of Ennio’s star studded filmography of a staggering five hundred scores, we get the good, the bad and the ugly from the horse’s mouth and from his myriad collaborators, including Bernardo Bertolucci, Dario Argento, Oliver Stone, Clint Eastwood and Quentin Tarantino.
Tornatore explores Ennio’s staggering career in intimate detail, starting with Morricone’s early works in TV commercials and pop music, to his iconic work on Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns and Dario Argento’s Giallo films and finally his move to Hollywood, which saw mainstream international success.
An immersive look inside the musical genius that is Morricone, ENNIO -THE MAESTRO intimately recounts details and inspirations behind his most beloved works.
David Puttnam is very vocal on Morricone’s score for The Mission not winning the Oscar that year and Morricone talks of his obstinance in regard to the scoring of The Untouchables. That score would also be nominated for an Oscar, an award he was nominated for six times, winning at last in 2015 for The Hateful Eight, whilst also picking up an Honorary Academy Award in 2007 for “his magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music”.
ENNIO-THE MAESTRO also looks at the compositions not written for the screen and his public showmanship as a conductor.
It goes without saying that ENNIO – THE MAESTRO is a must for all cinema and music fans alike, well worth a fist full of dollars, and a few dollars more .
See ENNIO- THE MAESTRO at The Chauvel, Palace Norton and Hayden Orpheum
