Paolo Taviani

Paolo Taviani

  • Birthday: 1931-11-08
  • Deathday: 2024-02-29
  • Place of birth: San Miniato, Tuscany, Italy

Biography

Paolo Taviani (born 8 November 1931) and Vittorio Taviani (20 September 1929 – 15 April 2018), collectively referred to as the Taviani brothers, were Italian film directors and screenwriters who collaborated on film productions. At the Cannes Film Festival, the Taviani brothers won the Palme d'Or and the FIPRESCI prize for Padre Padrone in 1977 and the Grand Prix du Jury for La notte di San Lorenzo (The Night of the Shooting Stars, 1982). In 2012 they won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival with Caesar Must Die. Vittorio Taviani died on 15 April 2018 at the age of 88. Both born in San Miniato, Tuscany, Italy, the Taviani brothers began their careers as journalists. In 1960 they came to the world of cinema, directing with Joris Ivens the documentary L'Italia non è un paese povero (Italy is not a poor country). They went on to direct two films with Valentino Orsini, Un uomo da bruciare (A Man to Burn) (1962) and I fuorilegge del matrimonio (Outlaws of Marriage) (1963). Their first autonomous film was I sovversivi (The Subversives, 1967), with which they anticipated the events of 1968. With actor Gian Maria Volonté they gained attention with Sotto il segno dello scorpione (Under the Sign of Scorpio, (1969) where one can see the echoes of Brecht, Pasolini, and Godard. In 1971, they co-signed the media campaign against Milan's police commissioner Luigi Calabresi, published in the magazine L'espresso. The revolutionary theme is present both in San Michele aveva un gallo (1971), an adaptation of Tolstoy's novel The Divine and the Human, a film greatly appreciated by critics, and in the film Allonsanfan (1974), in which Marcello Mastroianni has a role as an ex-revolutionary who has served a long term in prison and now views his idealistic youth in a much more realistic light, and nevertheless gets entangled in a new attempt in which he no longer believes. Their next film Padre Padrone (1977) (Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival), taken from a novel by Gavino Ledda, speaks of the struggle of a Sardinian shepherd against the cruel rules of his patriarchal society. In Il prato (1979) there are nonrealistic echoes, while La notte di San Lorenzo (The Night of the Shooting Stars, 1982) narrates, in a fairy-tale tone, a marginal event in the days before the end of World War II, in Tuscany, as seen through the eyes of some village people. The film was awarded the Special Jury Award in Cannes. Kaos (1984)—another literary adaptation—is a poignantly beautiful and poetical film in episodes, taken from Luigi Pirandello's Short Stories for a year. In Il sole anche di notte (1990) the Taviani brothers transposed in 18th century Naples the story from Tolstoy's Father Sergius. From then onwards, the Tavianis' inspiration proved faltering. Successes like Le affinità elettive, (1996, from Goethe) and an attempt to woo the international audiences like Good morning Babilonia, (1987), on the pioneers of cinema history, alternate with lesser films like Fiorile (1993) and Tu ridi (1996), inspired by the characters and short stories of Pirandello. ... Source: Article "Paolo and Vittorio Taviani" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Filmography

Production

The Lark Farm

2007

As Director

Fiorile

1993

As Director

Padre Padrone

1977

As Director

Kaos

1984

As Director

Night Sun

1990

As Director

Elective Affinities

1996

As Director

Good Morning, Babylon

1987

As Director

St. Michael Had a Rooster

1972

As Director

Allonsanfan

1974

As Director

Caesar Must Die

2012

As Director

You Laugh

1998

As Director

The Meadow

1979

As Director

Luisa Sanfelice

2004

As Director

Resurrection

2001

As Director

Under the Sign of Scorpio

1969

As Director

A Man for Burning

1962

As Director

The Subversives

1967

As Director

Wondrous Boccaccio

2015

As Director

Outlaws of Love

1963

As Director

Rainbow: A Private Affair

2017

As Director

Leonora addio

2022

As Director

The Sword and the Cross

1958

As First Assistant Director

L'uomo dai calzoni corti

1958

As First Assistant Director

Rotelle nello sport

1955

As Director

Sicilia all'addritta

1959

As Director

The Lark Farm

2007

As Screenplay

Fiorile

1993

As Writer

Good Morning, Babylon

1987

As Writer

St. Michael Had a Rooster

1972

As Screenplay

Caesar Must Die

2012

As Screenplay

Luisa Sanfelice

2004

As Writer

The Subversives

1967

As Writer

Wondrous Boccaccio

2015

As Writer

Padre Padrone

1977

As Writer

Night Sun

1990

As Writer

Elective Affinities

1996

As Writer

Outlaws of Love

1963

As Writer

You Laugh

1998

As Writer

The Meadow

1979

As Writer

A Man for Burning

1962

As Writer

Rainbow: A Private Affair

2017

As Screenplay

Leonora addio

2022

As Writer

Kaos

1984

As Screenplay

Allonsanfan

1974

As Story

Allonsanfan

1974

As Screenplay

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