The Night of the Shooting Stars
| The Night of the Shooting Stars | |
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 DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Paolo Taviani Vittorio Taviani |
| Produced by | Giuliani G. De Negri |
| Written by | Paolo Taviani Vittorio Taviani Giuliani G. De Negri Tonino Guerra |
| Starring | Omero Antonutti Margarita Lozano |
| Music by | Nicola Piovani |
| Cinematography | Franco Di Giacomo |
| Editing by | Roberto Perpignani |
| Distributed by | United Artists Classics (USA) |
| Release date(s) | 16 September 1982 |
| Running time | 105 mins. |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
The Night of the Shooting Stars (Italian: La Notte di San Lorenzo, also known as The Night of San Lorenzo) is a 1982 Italian fantasy war drama film directed by Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani. It was entered into the 1982 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Jury Special Grand Prix.[1]
The film follows several inhabitants of the Italian town during the end of World War II. Defeat is certain for the Germans, and the front is retreating back to Germany, leaving a path of destruction in their wake. The Germans plan to bomb several buildings in the town, and have told all the villagers to congregate in the town's church. Approximately half of the town decides to stay, and place their trust in the church. The rest of the town dresses in dark clothing, and go out to seek the Americans, who are rumored to be nearby, liberating towns as they come to them.
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[edit] Reception
The film was given a rapturous review by the critic Pauline Kael in The New Yorker : " The Night of the Shooting Stars is so good it's thrilling. This new film encompasses a vision of the world. Comedy, tragedy, vaudeville, melodrama - they're all here, and inseparable...In its feeling and completeness, Shooting Stars may be close to the rank of Jean Renoir's bafflingly beautiful Grand Illusion...unreality doesn't seem divorced from experience (as it does with Fellini) - it's experience made more intense...For the Tavianis, as for Cecilia, the search for the American liberators is the time of their lives. For an American audience, the film stirs warm but tormenting memories of a time when we were beloved and were a hopeful people." [2]
[edit] Cast
- Omero Antonutti - Galvano
- Margarita Lozano - Concetta
- Claudio Bigagli - Corrado
- Miriam Guidelli - Belindia
- Massimo Bonetti - Nicola
- Enrica Maria Modugno - Mara
- Sabina Vannucchi - Rosanna
- Giorgio Naddi - Bishop
- Renata Zamengo - La Scardigli
- Micol Guidelli - Cecilia
- Massimo Sarchielli - Father Marmugi
- Giovanni Guidelli - Marmugi Junior
- Mario Spallino - Bruno
- Paolo Hendel - Dilvo
[edit] References
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: The Night of the Shooting Stars". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/1582/year/1982.html. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
- ^ Pauline Kael, review reprinted in Taking It All In, p 446-451
[edit] External links
- The Night of the Shooting Stars at the Internet Movie Database
- The Night of the Shooting Stars at AllRovi
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Light Years Away |
Grand Prix Spécial du Jury, Cannes 1982 |
Succeeded by Monty Python's The Meaning of Life |
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