In the spring, two pearls of cinema history return to cinema screens - Sergio Leone's film "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" ("Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo", 1966) and 5 Oscar winner Francis Ford Coppola's drama that nearly drove him to the grave "Apocalypse Now" (1979). Exclusive tapes will be shown in Vilnius and Beautiful Forum cinemas, however, will return for one day only.
The final installment of the Dollars Trilogy, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is perhaps the most famous spaghetti western in the world. The latter, somewhat comical-sounding name, stuck to American-style westerns made by Italian directors. They are characterized by a gloomy mood, multi-meaning pauses, close-ups, choreographed scenes of violence.
Three bandits played Treasure Hunt on the Prairies director Quentin Tarantino called it "the best-directed movie of all time." Not for nothing - this film changed the way filmmakers think about this genre forever, and its traces can also be seen in modern cinema. For many, the soundtrack created by the famous Italian composer Ennio Morricone stuck forever.
The director's perfectionism
Born into a family of a film actress and director, Leone is considered the pioneer of the spaghetti western. The beginning of his career could be envied by many. He worked as an assistant on Italian director Vittorio de Sica's film The Bicycle Thieves (Ladri di biciclette, 1948), which went down in cinema history as a masterpiece of Italian neorealism.
S. Leone's accuracy was important, so to recreate the period of the Civil War (1861-1865), he traveled to JAV. Some of the sources used by the author of the film are documents found in the Library of Congress and photographs of Mathew Brady, who is called the father of photojournalism. However, the film is not an exact copy of the period - the dynamite used in the film had not been invented at the time.
However, it was not easy for the actor C. Eastwood to work with the perfectionist director. This is what pushed him to start independent filmmaking. S. Leone did not want to let the actor go easily - he even flew to Los Angeles and offered the role of Harmonica in the film "Once Upon a Time in the Wild West" (Cera una volta il West, 1968). However, C. Eastwood was not interested in the offer and in the end this character was played by Lithuanian western actor Charles Bronson.
The Good Bad and the Ugly premieres on April 25. in "Forum Cinemas" cinemas in Vilnius and Kaunas. The number of tickets is limited.
Mysticism and accidents abound
Apocalypse Now can be called a disaster movie for many reasons. His story has many strange events and, of course, difficulties. A documentary was released about this in 1991. Because the film was about those who did not support the war in Vietnam, the US Department of Defense refused to help the creative team. So even though FF Coppola wanted to shoot the film in Vietnam, he was forced to choose the Philippines.
The second difficulty is the postponement of filming. The latter were supposed to last 14 weeks, but due to equipment and environmental damage caused by the typhoon, work stopped for 8 weeks. The adaptation of Joseph Conrad's novel "Heart of Darkness" almost killed the film's director and actor Martin Sheen. He had a heart attack. What's more, M. Brando, the actor who appeared on the set, had gained weight and was unprepared.
The author of the "The Godfather" trilogy invested an impressive sum of 30 million in the film. dollars. of their personal funds. He also mortgaged his house and vineyard for the film. In general, this work almost drove him to his grave as well - he suffered multiple epileptic seizures, suffered a nervous breakdown and threatened to commit suicide 3 times.
In Apocalypse Now, Lieutenant Willard (Mr. Sheen) is ordered to find a refugee camp run by the mysterious Colonel Kertz (Marlon Brando). The young officer's task is simple - to destroy the rebel with the least possible violation of justice. But during the hellishly difficult journey, his team thins little by little and Willard himself begins to feel that he is becoming more and more like the man he is ordered to kill.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBQ4j0EsVLU
Screenings of "Apocalypse Now" will be held on May 15. in cinemas at Forum Cinemas in Vilnius and Kaunas. The number of tickets is limited.
