In Venice the portrait of Morricone signed by Tornatore

A portrait of Ennio Morricone signed by Giuseppe Tornatore will be presented out of competition at the Venice Film Festival. The announcement came as a surprise from the Venice Biennale. ‘Ennio’ by Giuseppe Tornatore is a full-fledged portrait of Ennio Morricone, a musician known and loved all over the world, one of the most influential and prolific of the twentieth century, twice Oscar winner, author of over 500 unforgettable soundtracks. The documentary tells it through a long interview by Giuseppe Tornatore with the Maestro, testimonies of artists and directors – such as Bertolucci, Montaldo, Bellocchio, Argento, i Taviani, Verdone, Barry Levinson, Roland Joffè, Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, Bruce Springsteen, Nicola Piovani, Hans Zimmer and Pat Metheny – archive music and images. ‘Ennio’ is also an investigation aimed at revealing what little is known about Morricone. Like his passion for chess, which perhaps has mysterious ties to his music. But also the realistic origin of some of his musical intuitions as happens for the scream of the coyote that suggests the theme of ‘The good, the ugly, the bad’, or the rhythmic clapping of the hands on some tin cans by the strikers at the head of a protest procession through the streets of Rome that inspires him the beautiful theme of ‘Sosenga Pereira’. An aptitude for invention that finds confirmation in his constant love for absolute music, and his vocation for persistent experimentation. “I worked for thirty years with Ennio Morricone – declares Giuseppe Tornatore – I made almost all my films with him , not to mention the documentaries, commercials and projects that we have tried to set up without success. During all this time our friendship has been consolidated more and more. So, film after film, as my knowledge of his character as a man and as an artist deepened, I always wondered what kind of documentary I could make about him. And today the dream came true. I wanted to make ‘Ennio’ to make Morricone’s story known to the public all over the world who love his music. It was not just a matter of having him tell me about his life and his magical relationship with music, but also of searching in archives around the world for repertory interviews and other images relating to the countless collaborations carried out in the past by Morricone with filmmakers. most important of his career. I structured ‘Ennio’ as an audiovisual novel that through the pieces of the films he sets to music, the archive images, the concerts, can let the viewer enter the formidable existential and artistic parable of one of the most beloved musicians of the ‘900 “. subject, script and direction of ‘Ennio’ are by Giuseppe Tornatore, the music by Ennio Morricone, the photography by Fabio Zamarion and Giancarlo Leggeri, the editing by Massimo Quaglia and Annalisa Schillaci, the sound by Gilberto Martinelli and Fabio Venturi. An Italy-Belgium-China-Japan co-production, produced by Gianni Russo and Gabriele Costa for Piano B Produzioni Srl International distribution Block 2 Distribution Italian distribution Lucky Red.