| Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness | |
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| Directed by | Johnny Depp |
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| Based on | Modigliani by Dennis McIntyre |
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| Edited by | Mark Davies |
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Running time | 108 minutes[1] |
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| Box office | $492,740[2][3] |
Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness (Italian:Modì – Tre giorni sulle ali della follia) is a 2024biographical drama film based on the life of Italian artistAmedeo Modigliani. It is directed byJohnny Depp from a screenplay by Jerzy and Mary Kromolowski, which is based on the playModigliani by Dennis McIntyre.
Produced by Depp'sIN.2 Film, Salome Productions, Barry Navidi Productions, and Proton Cinema, it is a co-production between the United Kingdom, Hungary and Italy. It starsRiccardo Scamarcio in the leading role, withStephen Graham,Al Pacino and Antonia Desplat in supporting roles. The artist's life story, which was previously adapted forMontparnasse 19 (1958) andModigliani (2004), is Depp's second directorial effort, followingThe Brave (1997).
Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness premiered at the72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival on 24 September 2024. The film was awarded Cult Movie of the Year at the 29thCapri Hollywood Roma Fall Gala, the day before it premiered in Italy at the19th Rome Film Festival on 26 October 2024.[4][5][6] The film was released in theatres in Italy on 21 November 2024.
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The film spans seventy-two hours in the life ofBohemian Italian artistAmedeo Modigliani, known to his friends as Modì, who frequented the streets of war-tornParis in 1916. On the run from the police, his desire to end his career and leave the city is dismissed by his fellow Bohemians: French artistMaurice Utrillo, theBelarusian-bornChaïm Soutine and English museBeatrice Hastings. Modì seeks advice from his Polish art dealer and friendLéopold Zborowski. However, after a night of hallucinations, the chaos in Modì's mind reaches a crescendo when faced with American collector Maurice Gangnat, who has the power to change his life.[7]
In the late 1970s,Al Pacino first had the idea to make a biopic aboutAmedeo Modigliani based on the playModigliani by Dennis McIntyre. American film producerKeith Barish bought the rights to the play and gave Pacino full creative control. Pacino flewRichard Price to Paris to start writing the script, using the play as the basis for the film. Initially, in 1979, the script was given to American filmmakerFrancis Ford Coppola to direct, withBernardo Bertolucci andMartin Scorsese as Pacino's second and third choices, respectively. After being turned down by Coppola, Pacino presented the script to Scorsese, who was impressed by it. The two men, however, found great difficulty producing the film in the 1980s due to studios not wanting to finance it.[8]
Mick Davis wrote a script forModigliani in the 1990s and sent it to Scorsese. "Martin Scorsese told me it's one of the best screenplays he's ever read and could turn into either a movie or a theatre performance," said Davis in a 2014 interview. Al Pacino and20th Century Studios received the screenplay not long thereafter and were happy with it, but suggested that Davis combine the new version of the script with the earlier one.
Pacino was considered as director at this point, with Johnny Depp playing the leading role of Modigliani. Pacino first proposed the idea of doing a film about Modigliani to Depp while they were shootingDonnie Brasco in 1997.[9] Davis, who was not satisfied with the idea of combining the two versions of the script, decided to makehis version of the film in 2004, starringAndy García as the artist.[8]
In 2012, Barry Navidi and Al Pacino discussed the project with the idea of Depp in the role of Modigliani. However, Depp's busy schedule prevented it from happening. Pacino asked Depp to direct the film before theCOVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.[9]
In August 2022, it was officially announced that Depp would direct and produceModigliani, withAl Pacino and Barry Navidi producing.[10] The film is based on a play by Dennis McIntyre, and adapted for the screen by Jerzy and Mary Kromolowski.[10] It is Depp's first directorial effort sinceThe Brave, released in 1997 (in which he starred withMarlon Brando).
It is also Depp's third collaboration with Al Pacino, the two others beingDonnie Brasco andJack and Jill. Depp expressed his admiration of Modigliani: "The saga of Mr. Modigliani's life is one that I'm incredibly honored, and truly humbled, to bring to the screen. It was a life of great hardship, but eventual triumph — a universally human story all viewers can identify with." Pacino, who initially pitched the idea of directing the biopic to Depp, stated: "This is a slice of Modì's life and not a bio. It's been a dream of mine to work with Johnny again — he's a true artist with an amazing vision to bring this great story to the screen."[11]
In May 2023, the film was announced to be titledModì, and the first round of casting was announced.[12]Riccardo Scamarcio andPierre Niney were cast in the leading roles as Amedeo Modigliani andMaurice Utrillo, respectively, while Al Pacino was cast as Gangnat.[7][13]
The film was sold for distribution during the2023 Cannes Film Festival by the Veterans.[12] In September 2023, Pierre Niney exited the film due to scheduling conflicts,[14] whileLuisa Ranieri, Antonia Desplat,Stephen Graham,Bruno Gouery, Ryan McParland,Benjamin Lavernhe andSally Phillips joined the cast.[15] On 11 October 2023,Romaniantaraf singers Viorica and Ionita Manole announced onInstagram that they would appear in the film as singers, performing for Modigliani and his friends.[16]
Principal photography commenced in September 2023, inBudapest, Hungary.[15] Some scenes were shot near Károlyi Garden, where the streets were decorated to look like Paris in the 1910s.[17] This prompted sightings of the cast and of Depp, and posts showing the location of the sets on Hungary's social-media networks.[18] On 4 November 2023, filming wrapped in Budapest, with the cast and crew posting photos and celebrating onInstagram. A few days later, Depp took to Instagram to thank the cast and crew for their work on the project.[19] In January 2024, the scenes in which Al Pacino are featured were shot in Los Angeles.[20] Additional filming took place inTurin, Italy, on 20 and 21 February 2024.[21][19][22]
On 18 January 2024, after filming had wrapped inLos Angeles, the first images from the set were made available, along with a statement by Depp:
Embarking on this cinematic journey as the director ofModì has been an incredibly fulfilling and transformative experience. I would like to express my profound gratitude to the entire cast, crew, and producers for their unwavering commitment and creativity. To Al, who requested that I make this film—how could I refuse Pacino? A sincere acknowledgement for generously contributing his talent and dedication to this project.Modì is a testament to the collaborative spirit of independent filmmaking, and I am excited to present this unique and compelling story to the world.
— Johnny Depp, talking about his experience as the director of Modì,Entertainment Tonight[23]
In August 2024, the film was given the subtitleThree Days on the Wing of Madness.[24] The film is produced by Depp's IN.2 (a European sister company to his Los Angeles-basedInfinitum Nihil), Salome Productions, Barry Navidi Productions and The Veterans, with local production in Budapest handled by Proton Cinema.[12][25]Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness is dedicated to musicianJeff Beck, who was a close friend of Depp's.[26]
On 31 August 2023, it was announced thatModì would be financially backed by theRed Sea Film Foundation, which had also supportedMaïwenn'sJeanne du Barry, in which Depp played a leading role.[27]
The film premiered out of competition at the72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival on 24 September 2024, where it was met with praise and a long standing-ovation by the audience.[26][24] It premiered in Italy at the19th Rome Film Festival on 26 October 2024 as the closing film,[28] prior to being released in theatres in Italy by Be Water Film on 21 November 2024.[29][30] The film also played at the 4thRed Sea International Film Festival on 12 December 2024.[31]Vertical acquired the North American rights for a limited domestic run beginning on 7 November 2025.[32]
The film soundtrack was compiled and curated by Johnny Depp. A 2LP set and CD Box was released on 17th July 2025 on Cadiz Music/In.2 Records, featuring tracks from Tom Waits, The Velvet Underground & Nico and British Brechtian Punk Cabaret trio, The Tiger Lillies, alongside dialogue from the film and original music composed by Sacha Puttnam and arranged by Steve McLaughlin.[33]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 50% of 14 critics' reviews are positive.[34]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 32 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[35]
As of 6 August 2025,Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness grossed $492,740 in Italy, Russia, Lithuania, Spain and the United Kingdom.[3][2]
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
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| 2024 | Capri Hollywood International Film Festival | Capri Cult Award | Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness | Won | [4] |
Premio Cult Movie of the Year Award "Modì" di J. Depp[Cult Movie of the Year Award "Modì" by J. Depp]
Ecco il trailer ufficiale di Modì[Here is the official trailer for Modì]
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