Vittorio Taviani

Personal Info

Known For Director

Gender Male

Birthday 1929-09-20

Deathday 2018-04-14 (88 years old)

Place of Birth San Miniato, Pisa

Vittorio Taviani

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.

Known For

Director

2015
Wondrous Boccaccio

as Director

2012
Caesar Must Die

as Director

2007
The Lark Farm

as Director

2004
Luisa Sanfelice

as Director

2001
Resurrection

as Director

1998
You Laugh

as Director

1996
1993
Fiorile

as Director

1990
Night Sun

as Director

1987
1984
Kaos

as Director

1979
The Meadow

as Director

1977
Padre Padrone

as Director

1974
Allonsanfan

as Director

1967
The Subversives

as Director

1963
Outlaws of Love

as Director

1962
A Man for Burning

as Director

1959
1955
1954

Writer

2017
2015
2012
Caesar Must Die

as Writer

2007
The Lark Farm

as Screenplay

2004
Luisa Sanfelice

as Adaptation

1998
You Laugh

as Writer

1996
1993
Fiorile

as Writer

1990
Night Sun

as Writer

1987
1984
Kaos

as Screenplay

1979
The Meadow

as Writer

1977
Padre Padrone

as Writer

1974
Allonsanfan

as Screenplay

1974
Allonsanfan

as Story

1967
The Subversives

as Writer

1963
Outlaws of Love

as Writer

1962

Crew

2022
Leonora addio

as In Memory Of