Il Cinema Ritrovato 2023 Roundup
Golden Boy (Rouben Mamoulian, 1939)
“…nowadays where have we got freedom of speech…America itself is a mirage. And Europe, every time I read what’s going on in the papers I feel so bad I have to close my shop and go see a double feature.” - a line from Golden Boy (Rouben Mamoulian, 1939)
The above quote is a line from Golden Boy (Rouben Mamoulian, 1939) and speaks to our present. Hiding in a cinema to watch a film or two or more helps us to take our mind of things, and attending Il Cinema Ritrovato lets us dig into cinema history.
I’ve been travelling to Bologna to attend Il Cinema Ritrovato since 2017 (except for 2020 where I experienced the online edition and didn’t attend in 2022).
This year’s edition started a few days after Turner Classic Movies lost its entire executive leadership.
after some high-profile layoffs at TCM recently, some movie fans and Hollywood bigwigs sounded the alarm, many of them worried that changes at the company would alter and diminish the beloved classic movie resource. via NPR
Since then, the situation has changed and slightly improved.
Seeing that an institution like Turner Classic Movies can be at risk of being diminished or shut down, it made me realise how much more important a festival like Il Cinema Ritrovato is. It’s a pilgrimage of sorts for people like me who don’t have access to repertory cinema(s) in our home cities, and not even a channel like TCM.
Visitor numbers to Il Cinema Ritrovato has grown over the past couple of years, a testament to its importance and growing popularity. I’m noticing more younger audiences, especially the ones that love to photograph what they’re watching which is slowly growing to be a nuisance and the festival needs to train the young ushers to keep an eye on this and to stop it. Older/regular audiences are not shy to shout out loud “put your phone down” or “stop photographing”. Maybe next years edition should include a message about not using phones on the screen before the film starts and for people introducing films to say something too. I only experienced one introduction where the presenter of the film sternly asked us to keep our phones away, it was at one of the outdoor carbon arc projection in Piazzetta Pasolini. We all cheered and clapped loudly.
Ehsan Khoshbakh, one of the four directors of Il Cinema Ritrovato has been doing an annual tradition of collating a list of favourites and discoveries from attendees (including yours truly) and listing it on his blog. The Film Foundation has it listed on their website too.
For this post, I’ll share a slightly longer list of my favourites and film stills and GIFs.
I watched 40 films in total. I liked most of what I saw, but my number 1 highlight was watching Black Narcissus (Powell & Pressburger, 1947) for the first time on a new 35mm print screened in Piazza Maggiore and presented by Thelma Schoonmaker and Ian Christie. A film that has been on my wish list for a very long time, and it was an unforgettable experience watching it outdoors on a cool breezy night.
Isolation and mental breakdown set in a remote Himalayan convent and filmed in UK’s Pinewood Studios using matte paintings or miniatures for backdrops like the cliff, mountains and sky. Cinema magic and technicolour wonder that shames CGI effects of today.
The cliff top scene (first image below) and the glistening lake are breathtaking. I gasped in shock when Sister Ruth appeared in a red dress. And Mr Dean’s outfits looked very suitable for Bologna summers.
Here’s my top 10:
Black Narcissus (Powell and Pressburger, 1947, 35mm)
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931, Digital)
Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932, 35mm) - This film was repeated on the last day and couldn’t resist watching it again.
Queen Christina (Rouben Mamoulian, 1933, 35mm)
Silk Stockings (Rouben Mamoulian, 1957, 35mm)
City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931, 35mm)
Rings on Her Fingers (Rouben Mamoulian, 1943, 35mm)
The Dupes (Tawfiq Saleh, 1973, Restored) - another one on my Wishlist (I had only seen it home streaming on Aflamuna). We watched a new restoration which had a touching introduction by Anni Kanafani, wife of Ghassan Kanafani whose 1963 novel Men in the Sun the film is based on. Quoting Cécilia Cenciarelli, one of the festival’s directors, who described it as “painfully relevant” during the introduction.
Dreams of a City (Mohammad Malas, 1984, 35mm) - I included this film at the 2021 edition of CineMAS and watched an unrestored digital version, so I was glad to see a better copy on 35mm.
Leila and the Wolves (Heiny Srour, 1984, Restored)
Other highlights:
After first seeing it in Venice last year, I caught the last 20 mins of Stella Dallas (Henry King, 1925) with a live orchestra in Piazza Maggiore. I stood at the back and got teary eyed like most of everyone else watching it. That Stephen Horne score rips my heart. Now I regret not watching all of it again.
Thelma Schoonmaker introducing Hotel Splendide.
Nan Goldin at the screening of The Dupes.
Seeing Matt Dillon dropped off, he was the surprise guest of the festival and was there to introduce Last Words by Jonathan Nossiter.
Brief chat with film director James Vaughan (Friends and Strangers) after spotting him at a screening.
Catching up with Farran Nehme.
Joe Dante attending a private screening organised by Ian Mantgani for his new crowdfunded short film Nosepicker. I don’t know how, but he managed to book Cinema Medica after arriving in Bologna to show the films to friends who won’t be in London for its premier. He also seeked out Joe Dante who was an invited guest of Il Cinema Ritrovato and invited him to the screening. We turned up and weren’t sure if Joe Dante would actually show up. But show up he did and Ian had the biggest grin on his face and we all watched the film tiger. It was our alternative Il Cinema Ritrovato afternoon, and an unforgettable one too.
Seeing Joe Dante again presenting a double bill of Gremlins and Gremlins 2: The New Batch. It was lovely to see him walk to the stage to a rapturous applause.
Films by Rouben Mamoulian with excellent introductions by Ehsan Khoshbakht who curated this section. At one of the screenings he described his films as “a clash between the holy and the horny”. Khosbakht also told us to look out for cats that appear in all of the Mamoulian films. But it was the legs that stood out even more.
These were all the films from the program:
The Flute of Krishna (1929)
Applause (1929)
City Streets (1931)
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1931)
Love Me Tonight (1932)
The Song of Songs (1933)
Queen Christina (1933)
We Live Again (1934)
Golden Boy (1939)
The Mark of Zorro (1940)
Blood and Sand (1941)
Ring on Her Fingers (1942)
Silk Stockings (1957)
I watched them all except for Blood and Sand, I watched that on a nitrate print in London last month at BFI’s Film on Film festival.
Applause (1929)
City Streets (1931)
Gary Cooper!
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1931)
Love Me Tonight (1932)
A delightful musical fairytale. The woman gets her man. “Once upon a time there was a princess and a prince charming, who was not a prince but who was charming, and they lived happily ever after.”
The Song of Songs (1933)
Queen Christina (1933)
Greta Garbo!
We Live Again (1934)
“…before love comes humanity, people.”
Golden Boy (1939)
Ring on Her Fingers (1942)
Gene Tierney!
Silk Stockings (1957)
This was such a fun experience to watch. Peter Lorre’s dance moves was the cherry on top.
