Il Cinema Ritrovato at Brown University’s Granoff Center
CHUCK: Professor Riva, when we talked last year you were putting together an entirely virtual festival, something we’ve all gotten used to but I suspect we would love to abandon in a heartbeat. So this year’s festival is entirely in person, right?
MASSIMO: This time around it is going to be entirely in person. We are betting on the fact that people are eager to go back to the movies after a long time to see these classic films beautifully restored in black and white or color on a big screen. It makes such a difference. So we decided to keep it entirely in person to go back to the original installation of the Cinema Ritrovato.
CHUCK: Well, the lineup this time really looks spectacular. Why don’t we start with the first one on Thursday night?
MASSIMO: On Thursday night at seven we open with a special events extravaganza from 1911, Dante’s Inferno, one of the first blockbusters of Italian cinema with a brand new electronic music soundtrack. And as the trade journal Moving Picture World wrote on its release in this country, the film is exceedingly faithful to the words of the poet of Dante, making Dante intelligible to the masses. The special effects might not be particularly impressive 111 years later, however, the vision inspired by the drawings and engravings of the great French artist, Gustave Dore make it still worth a journey through the inferno.
CHUCK: So let’s talk about Friday at 5pm. What’s on tap for that night?
MASSIMO: Yes, we have a rarely seen, censored, Iranian film from 1976. In fact, it was censored when it came out, and has been rarely seen. It’s an amazing looking mystery by Iran.
CHUCK: And there’s another film coming up Friday night after that one.
MASSIMO: Yes, this is a real classic. It’s a masterpiece of magical neorealism, “Miracle in Milan”, by the authors of the unforgettable Bicycle Thief, Vittorio De Sica and Cesare Zavattini. It is an urban fairy tale set among homeless characters in postwar Milan. It’s a really wonderful film, restored beautifully in a pristine black and white. This is one of my favorites.
CHUCK: Okay, so that gets us to Saturday, I guess. It’s at four in the afternoon. Tell us about this one.
MASSIMO: Yes, at four o’clock in the afternoon on Saturday we’re screening “The Spider Stratagem” by Bernardo Bertolucci, which is one of the best Italian psychological political films, tackling the legacy of fascism and anti fascism in the 1970s. With a touch of surrealism and Bertolucci, and his cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, the winner of several Oscars, literally shot most of the film during twilight in the Po River valley near Bertolucci’s birthplace, Parma.
CHUCK: So tell us how we can attend.
MASSIMO: Yes, just come down to the Martinos Auditorium in the Granoff Center. We will provide masks on premises for those of you who may have forgotten them. But there is no ticket, it’s free, entirely free and open to the public. All our festivals are free and meant to attract a large community, the local community and and we hope this time around people will be eager to come and watch these wonderful films from the Cineteca of Bologna.
CHUCK: That was Professor Massimo Riva talking about this year’s festival of rare and restored cinema. It kicks off tonight at 7 in the Martinos Theater at the Granoff Center on the Brown Campus, with the 1911 silent feature on Dantes Inferno, with a newly recorded soundtrack of electronic music, provided by the electronic band Tangerine Dream. Here is some of their music for the film. And you can find more information about the festival at their website.
