| Good Morning, Babylon | |
|---|---|
| Italian theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Paolo Taviani Vittorio Taviani |
| Screenplay by | Paolo Taviani Vittorio Taviani Tonino Guerra |
| Story by | Paolo Taviani Vittorio Taviani Lloyd Fonvielle |
| Produced by | Giuliani G. De Negri |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Giuseppe Lanci |
| Edited by | Roberto Perpignani |
| Music by | Nicola Piovani |
Release date |
|
Running time | 117 minutes |
| Countries | Italy France |
| Languages | English Italian |
Good Morning, Babylon (Italian : Buongiorno Babilonia) is a 1987 drama film written and directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, starring Vincent Spano, Joaquim de Almeida, Greta Scacchi, Désirée Nosbusch, Omero Antonutti, and Charles Dance. The film follows the story of two Italian brothers who emigrate to America and find work as set designers for D.W. Griffith's silent film epic Intolerance (1916).
The French-Italian co-production was screened out of competition at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. [1] It was a critical and financial hit in its native country, winning a Nastro d'Argento for Best Costume Design with an additional nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Two Tuscan brothers, Nicola and Andrea Bonanno, come from a long line of artisans and church restorers. In 1911, they find themselves out of work without any real prospects. Hoping to find their fortunes elsewhere, they emigrate to the United States. Initially forced into precarious jobs, the two young man manage to find work in the Italian emigrant neighborhood of San Francisco.
Thanks to their talent and with a bit of luck, they find themselves in the employ of film director D. W. Griffith, who is overseeing preproduction of his historical epic Intolerance and is looking for Italian-born set designers. The brothers find themselves working on the film's elaborate Babylonian period setpieces, while falling in love with two young extras; Edna and Mabel, whom they eventually marry.
Life, however, soon turns bitter for the brothers after Edna dies in childbirth. Rather than uniting the brothers, the tragedy only divides them. Later on in World War I, Nicola and Andrea will meet and the camera, used by the army for military purposes, will be the dramatic witness of the epilogue of their lives.
David Wark Griffith was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the narrative film.
Intolerance is a 1916 epic silent film directed by D. W. Griffith. Subtitled as Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages and A Sun-Play of the Ages, the three-and-a-half-hour epic intercuts four parallel storylines, each separated by several centuries: first, a contemporary melodrama of crime and redemption; second, a Judean story: Christ's mission and death; third, a French story: the events surrounding the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572; and fourth, a Babylonian story: the fall of the Babylonian Empire to Persia in 539 BC. Each story had its own distinctive color tint in the original print. The scenes are linked by shots of a figure representing Eternal Motherhood, rocking a cradle.
Greta Scacchi, OMRI is an actress known for her roles in the films White Mischief (1987), Presumed Innocent (1990), The Player (1992), Emma (1996) and Looking for Alibrandi (2000).

La Grande Bouffe is a 1973 French–Italian satirical film directed by Marco Ferreri. It stars Marcello Mastroianni, Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Piccoli, Philippe Noiret and Andréa Ferréol. The film centres on a group of friends who plan to eat themselves to death. It satirises consumerism and the decadence of the bourgeoisie and was received controversially upon its release, but later gained a cult status.

The Best of Youth is a 2003 Italian historial romantic drama film directed by Marco Tullio Giordana and written by Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli. A family saga set in Italy from 1966 through 2003, it chronicles the life of the middle-class Carati family, focusing primarily on brothers Nicola and Matteo as their life paths separate during youth, encompassing major political and social events in post–World War II Italian history.

Jefferson in Paris is a 1995 historical drama film, directed by James Ivory, and previously entitled Head and Heart. The screenplay, by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, is a semi-fictional account of Thomas Jefferson's tenure as the Ambassador of the United States to France before his presidency and of his alleged relationships with Italian-English artist Maria Cosway and his slave, Sally Hemings.
Looking for Alibrandi is a 2000 Australian coming-of-age film directed by Kate Woods and written by Melina Marchetta. The film is set in 1990s Sydney, New South Wales and features a cast of Australian actors, including Pia Miranda as Josephine Alibrandi, the film's main character; Anthony LaPaglia as her father, Michael Andretti, who left her and her mother before her birth; and Kick Gurry as Josie's love interest, Jacob Coote. The film won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film in 2000.
Joaquim António Portugal Baptista de Almeida is a Portuguese actor. He started his film career playing a role in the 1982 action film The Soldier, and later achieved recognition for playing Andrea Bonanno in the 1987 Italian film Good Morning, Babylon. He achieved international fame with his portrayals of Félix Cortez in the 1994 thriller Clear and Present Danger and Bucho in the 1995 action thriller Desperado. Several years later, he became popular for playing Ramon Salazar on the Fox thriller drama series 24, between 2003 and 2004, and Hernan Reyes in the 2011 film Fast Five, a role he reprised in 2023's Fast X.
Vincent M. Spano Jr. is an American film, stage, and television actor, and a film director and producer.

Heat and Dust is a 1983 British historical romantic drama film, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based on her novel, Heat and Dust (1975). It was directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant. It stars Greta Scacchi, Shashi Kapoor and Julie Christie.

Omero Antonutti was an Italian actor and voice actor.
Marco Bellocchio is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor.
Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani, collectively referred to as the Taviani brothers, were Italian film directors and screenwriters who collaborated on numerous film productions.

The Night of the Shooting Stars is a 1982 Italian fantasy war drama film directed by Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani. It was written by Giuliani G. De Negri, Paolo Taviani, Tonino Guerra, and Vittorio Taviani. It was entered into the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Special Grand Prix. The film was selected by Italy as its entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 55th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.

The Family is a 1987 Italian drama film directed by Ettore Scola and starring Vittorio Gassman, Fanny Ardant, Philippe Noiret, and Stefania Sandrelli. It was entered into the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the 60th Academy Awards.

The 52nd Cannes Film Festival took place from 12 to 23 May 1999. Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg served as jury president for the main competition. Kristin Scott Thomas was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies.
Désirée Nosbusch also known as Désirée Becker, is a Luxembourgish actress and television presenter. She was the host of the Eurovision Song Contest 1984.

The 74th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 6 to 17 July 2021, after having been originally scheduled from 11 to 22 May 2021. American filmmaker Spike Lee was invited to be the president of the jury for the main competition for the festival, after the COVID-19 pandemic in France scuttled plans to have him head the jury of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival. French actress Doria Tillier hosted the opening and coolsing ceremonies.

The Palace is a 2023 black comedy film directed by Roman Polanski, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jerzy Skolimowski and Ewa Piaskowska. The film stars Oliver Masucci, Fanny Ardant, John Cleese, Bronwyn James, Joaquim de Almeida, Luca Barbareschi, Milan Peschel, Fortunato Cerlino, and Mickey Rourke. It chronicles the mishaps of a 1999 New Year's Eve dinner party in the Gstaad Palace, from a penguin going loose in the hotel to the exploitation of the millennium bug for a guest's financial gain.

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