Taviani brothers | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Vittorio (left) and Paolo Taviani in 2015 | |
| Born | Paolo Taviani (1931-11-08)8 November 1931 |
| Died | 29 February 2024(2024-02-29) (aged 92) Rome, Italy |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1962–2024 |
| Spouse | Lina Nerli |
| Born | Vittorio Taviani (1929-09-20)20 September 1929 San Miniato, Tuscany, Kingdom of Italy |
| Died | 15 April 2018(2018-04-15) (aged 88) Rome, Italy |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1962–2018 |
Paolo Taviani (Italian:[ˈpaːolotaˈvjaːni]; 8 November 1931 – 29 February 2024) andVittorio Taviani (Italian:[vitˈtɔːrjotaˈvjaːni]; 20 September 1929 – 15 April 2018), collectively referred to as theTaviani brothers, were Italian film directors and screenwriters who collaborated on numerous film productions.
At theCannes Film Festival, the Taviani brothers won thePalme d'Or and theFIPRESCI prize forPadre Padrone in 1977 and theGrand Prix du Jury forLa notte di San Lorenzo (The Night of the Shooting Stars, 1982). In 2012 they won theGolden Bear at theBerlin International Film Festival withCaesar Must Die.
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Both born inSan Miniato, Tuscany, Italy,[1] the Taviani brothers began their careers as journalists. In 1960 they came to the world of cinema, directing withJoris Ivens the documentaryL'Italia non è un paese povero (Italy is not a poor country).[2][3] They went on to direct two films withValentino Orsini,Un uomo da bruciare (A Man to Burn) (1962) andI fuorilegge del matrimonio (Outlaws of Marriage) (1963).
Their first anonymous film wasI sovversivi (The Subversives, 1967), with which they anticipated the events of 1968. With actorGian Maria Volonté they gained attention withSotto il segno dello scorpione (Under the Sign of Scorpio, (1969) where one can see the echoes ofBrecht,Pasolini, andGodard.
In 1971, they co-signed the media campaign against Milan's police commissionerLuigi Calabresi, published in the magazineL'espresso.
The revolutionary theme is present both inSan Michele aveva un gallo (1971), an adaptation ofTolstoy's novelThe Divine and the Human, a film greatly appreciated by critics, and in the filmAllonsanfan (1974), in whichMarcello 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 filmPadre Padrone (1977) (Palme d'Or at theCannes Film Festival), taken from a novel byGavino Ledda, speaks of the struggle of aSardinian shepherd against the cruel rules of his patriarchal society. InIl prato (1979) there are nonrealistic echoes, whileLa notte di San Lorenzo (The Night of the Shooting Stars, 1982) narrates, in a fairy-tale tone, a marginal event in the days leading up to 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 fromLuigi Pirandello'sShort Stories for a year. InIl sole anche di notte (1990) the Taviani brothers transposed in 18th centuryNaples the story from Tolstoy'sFather Sergius.
From then onwards, the Tavianis' inspiration proved faltering. Successes likeLe affinità elettive, (1996, fromGoethe) and an attempt to woo the international audiences likeGood morning Babilonia, (1987), on the pioneers of cinema history, alternate with lesser films likeFiorile (1993) andTu ridi (1996), inspired by the characters and short stories ofPirandello.
In the 2000s, the brothers turned successfully to directing television films and miniseries, such as Leo Tolstoy'sResurrection (2001) andAlexandre Dumas'sLuisa Sanfelice (2004), as well asLa masseria delle allodole (2007), presented at theBerlin Film Festival in the section 'Berlinale Special'.
Their filmCaesar Must Die won the Golden Bear at the62nd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2012.[4] The film was also selected as the Italian entry for theBest Foreign Language Oscar at the85th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist.[5]
On 15 April 2018, Vittorio Taviani died inRome after a long illness at the age of 88.[6][7][8]
Paolo Taviani died of a pulmonary edema in Rome, on 29 February 2024, at the age of 92.[9][10]
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