Tarantino Live - Review

Riverside Studios, London

***

Adapted and directed by Anderson Davis

Karen Mav

Tarantino Live is a grand title - for a show that is really Tarantino’s soundtracks, live. One of the most influential filmmakers of the last 30 years, Quentin Tarantino’s work is a consistent fusion of razor-sharp scripts, performed by the greatest actors of the time, accompanied by graphically brutal violence, and all set to soundtracks that are each sensational albums of tracks that span both decades and genres.

Tarantino compilations make for eclectic listening and it is a credit to this show’s cast and band that their work so authentically conjures up the musical magic of the movies. In what is possibly the best covers set in town George Strickland’s band, brilliantly supported by occasional actor-musician contributions from the cast are sublime. Musically and vocally, the show is flawless.

But it is a foolish quest to have tried to interpolate Tarantino’s exquisite dialogue onto a Hammersmith stage. Some of the movies' most famous lines are played out, often interwoven from different stories, in sequences that are more akin to snatches from Tarantino's Greatest Hits. It is nigh-on impossible to replicate the droll irony of Samuel L. Jackson, Harvey Keitel et al, a challenge that the producers and creatives would have been wiser to avoid.  

Equally, it is the talent of Hollywood’s special effects crews that make us gasp and wince at the movies' horrific bloodshed. At the Riverside we merely smile in a kind but un-shocked manner, acknowledging the visuals that the production is trying to achieve. The one exception to this critique is the second act's car chase, taken from the movie Death Proof. This little vignette that has to be one of the finest examples of low-budget technical brilliance to be found on a London stage

All of the cast sing magnificently, but particular shout-outs to Maëva Feitelson, Karen Mav, George Maguire and Lifford David Shillingford whose work through the evening is frequently sublime.

If you’re not familiar with Tarantino’s movies you’ll find the show perplexing. If you love the man’s soundtrack choices then sit back and enjoy how skilfully this company perform the classic numbers. In a show that could easily be trimmed by half an hour, Tarantino Live makes for an unusual night’s entertainment.

Runs until 13th August

Conversazione con Ennio Morricone

Ennio Morricone con Jonathan Baz

INTRODUZIONE

A 91 anni e con una carriera iniziata circa 65 anni fa, Ennio Morricone è uno dei più grandi compositori di musica da film del nostro tempo. Gran parte della sua musica è magnifica, in parte iconica, con la sua colonna sonora per lo "spaghetti western" di Sergio Leone del 1966 “Il buono, il brutto e il cattivo” che è diventata una delle melodie cinematografiche più riconosciute a livello mondiale di tutti i tempi.

I decenni più recenti hanno visto le colonne sonore di Morricone per The Mission di Roland Joffe e Cinema Paradiso di Giuseppe Tornatore (solo per citare due titoli) ottenere apprezzamenti critici praticamente universali e solo tre anni fa il compositore ha vinto il suo secondo Oscar e la sua sesta vittoria ai BAFTA, questa volta per “Hateful Eight” di Quentin Tarantino. Ovviamente oltre agli Oscar e ai BAFTA ci sono tantissimi altri premi nella bacheca dei trofei di Morricone. Innumerevoli riconoscimenti rendono omaggio a un uomo di eccezionale genio che, proprio mentre viene pubblicata questa intervista, è nel bel mezzo della composizione per il prossimo progetto di Tornatore.

E così è stato all'inizio di quest'anno che Ennio Morricone mi ha ricevuto a casa sua, un duplex squisitamente arredato situato in cima a un condominio di lusso in un elegante sobborgo di Roma. La residenza del Maestro è stata arredata e condivisa con Maria, sua moglie da più di 60 anni, ed è un luogo dove il calore dell'accoglienza è stato eguagliato solo dal buon caffè e dalla splendida vista sulla città.

L'impressione all'interno dell'appartamento dei Morricone non è stata solo di familiarità (Maria era in cucina a parlare via Skype con il figlio Giovanni a New York mentre io chiacchieravo con Ennio), ma anche di un luogo dedito alla cultura e alla bellezza con un pizzico di politica . L'arredamento e le opere d'arte potevano essere incredibilmente stupendi, ma l'etica del luogo non era quella della stravaganza, ma piuttosto quella del successo del talento e della modestia pacata e meravigliosamente assicurata.

Con Fabio Venturi, fonico di fiducia e braccio destro di Morricone come interprete, Morricone ha condiviso con me alcune osservazioni sulla sua vita e carriera e come ci si potrebbe aspettare da un uomo non solo così abile ma anche saggio, ha rappresentato l’essenza stessa della diplomazia. Non una volta un particolare individuo o film è stato evidenziato per elogi eccezionali, né scelto per critiche. 

INFLUENZA GLOBALE

L'ampia filmografia di Morricone lo ha visto firmare più di 500 film in una vasta gamma di generi che possono spaziare dall'amore ossessivamente appassionato, fino all'horror grafico. Numerosi compositori (tra cui Hans Zimmer e John Williams) insieme a vari "grandi" del mondo rock e pop ammettono di essere stati influenzati da Morricone, quindi la mia prima domanda è stata come lui stesso percepisse l'impronta culturale che la sua musica ha lasciato nel mondo negli ultimi 60 anni. In quello che doveva essere il primo di molti scorci della profonda modestia di Morricone, una virtù costante durante tutta la nostra conversazione, ha semplicemente affermato che si mette al servizio di qualsiasi film per il quale è impegnato a comporre. Con assoluta umiltà, ha affermato la sua semplice convinzione che è unicamente responsabilità del pubblico che ascolta la sua musica formarsi la propria opinione su quale segno possa aver lasciato nel mondo.

L'ITALIANITÀ

Il nostro dialogo si è spostato dall'impatto globale all'amata Italia,  patria di Morricone. Mentre ha lavorato per gli studi di Hollywood, spesso con grande successo, la produzione più prodigiosa di Morricone è stata al fianco dei suoi colleghi cineasti italiani. I sostenitori della cultura italiana sosterranno ferocemente che il compositore incarna L'italianità - un'aura indefinibile ma riconoscibile che imprime il "Made in Italy" su un'opera d'arte. Morricone però non era d'accordo: nonostante il suo immenso orgoglio nazionale, era appassionato nel definire la sua musica come internazionale piuttosto che campanilistica nella sua provenienza.

MUSICA E VIOLENZA

Molti dei film che Morricone ha composto nel corso degli anni hanno incluso scene di violenza esplicita ed ero curioso di sapere se fosse mai personalmente turbato o influenzato da alcune delle immagini che la sua musica aveva supportato. In un'affascinante risposta ha in primo luogo commentato che per la maggior parte del tempo si ritrova indifferente alla violenza del film, considerando la scena e la sua interazione con la colonna sonora semplicemente come parte del suo lavoro. Detto questo, quando ha lavorato per la prima volta con Dario Argento (il regista italiano, famoso per i suoi film horror e gialli) si è reso conto dell'importanza dell'atonalità nella musica che può accompagnare una violenza orribile. Morricone strappa via l'armonia da tali momenti, analogamente alla brutalità della scena che è di per sé una spogliazione dell'umanità. Tuttavia, in una nota a piè di pagina che definiva ulteriormente il suo genio esperto, Morricone aggiunse che laddove un film potesse essere stato destinato ad un mercato commerciale più popolare piuttosto che al consumo "d'essai", avrebbe tenuto conto di ciò nelle sue composizioni e avrebbe incluso più melodia accanto alla violenza.

 

E qual è stato, secondo lui, il film più raccapricciante che ha scritto? Il Maestro non esitò a dirmi che il film “Salò o Le 120 giornate di Sodoma” di Pier Paolo Pasolini del 1975 era stato un progetto che aveva trovato quasi impossibile da digerire.

IL CONTESTO POLITICO DI MORRICONE

Morricone ha vissuto un enorme cambiamento politico nella sua nativa Italia e una domanda che gli ho posto è stata se il cambiamento del panorama politico del suo paese negli ultimi nove decenni abbia avuto un impatto sulla sua musica? "Niente affatto" è stata la sua rapida risposta.

L'EVOLUZIONE DELLA VISIONE DEI CINEMATOGRAFI NEL CORSO DEI DECENNI

Gli ultimi decenni hanno visto cambiamenti sismici nel modo in cui i film vengono visti dal pubblico. All'inizio della carriera di Morricone, un cinema/teatro era l'unico modo per guardare un film. Da allora, le proiezioni più personali, siano esse via TV o sui vari dispositivi digitali di oggi, hanno superato il numero di persone che acquistano i biglietti del cinema. Ho chiesto al compositore come questo cambiamento nel modo in cui i film "vengono consumati" dal pubblico moderno, possa aver influito sul suo lavoro. Ancora una volta, e con un rinnovato impegno per la purezza artistica, Morricone ha commentato che la sua composizione è sempre guidata dal dramma, sia come sceneggiatura che come recitazione, e che non è distratto dai cambiamenti nel modo in cui un film alla fine verrà visto.

Detto questo, Morricone rimane profondamente consapevole dell'equilibrio sonoro finale di un film e del mix finale tra musica, rumore ambientale di sottofondo e dialoghi. Abbiamo discusso l'entità del suo coinvolgimento nella post-produzione del sonoro di un film, dove ha indicato che in linea di massima lascia tale decisione interamente nelle mani del regista. Tuttavia ha accennato in modo intrigante ad un particolare progetto di qualche anno fa (purtroppo non ha menzionato nessun nome) in cui ha appreso che il regista aveva trascorso solo un giorno (!) A mixare e finalizzare il suono per l'intero film. La sua opinione su quel progetto era aspra, e non sono riuscito a sapere altre informazioni.

LE MUSE DI MORRICONE

Nel 1968 Morricone doveva scrivere la colonna sonora di “C'era una volta il West” di Sergio Leone, un film per il quale ha successivamente raccontato di aver composto due delle melodie più evocative - Il tema di Jill e L'uomo con l'armonica - basate esclusivamente sulla sceneggiatura e ben prima che le riprese principali fossero iniziate o fossero state create con lo storyboard. La colonna sonora, in particolare la memorabile linea di soprano in Jill's Theme, è diventata una delle composizioni più celebri di Morricone e ha parlato brevemente dei vincoli e delle libertà di scrivere musica per un film che esisteva solo sulla carta.

Ha spiegato che con pochi registi selezionati (incluso Leone ovviamente), è stato in grado di immaginare una visione molto chiara delle immagini di un film dalle discussioni e dalla pianificazione iniziale. Da queste discussioni, i temi critici della narrazione hanno sviluppato la loro forma musicale in modi che dovevano essere completati solo dal film finito.

La conversazione si è poi spostata sull'ispirazione a cui attinge per la "tavolozza musicale" di una particolare partitura? La sua risposta è stata che tipicamente una tale tavolozza emerge dal suo semplice seguire la storia filmata. Tuttavia penserà sempre attentamente a quanto potrebbe essere "scioccante" una partitura particolare. Ha anche parlato di trarre ispirazione dal suo ambiente e da ciò che lo circonda, raccontando come nel 1995 mentre stava scrivendo la colonna sonora di “Sostiene Pereira”, il dramma politico di Roberto Faenza sul fascismo portoghese, il rumore derivante da una manifestazione politica che si svolgeva in Piazza Venezia a Roma, fuori dalla sua casa di allora, gli avrebbe fornito l’ispirazione per la musica di quel film.

MORRICONE, QUENTIN TARANTINO E GLI HATEFUL EIGHT

Cambiando rotta, la conversazione è tornata al catalogo di composizioni di Morricone. I registi moderni (in particolare Tarantino, in un certo numero di film negli ultimi 15 anni circa) hanno inserito le sue composizioni precedenti, incorporando la musica nelle loro immagini del 21° secolo. Ho chiesto a Morricone il grado di controllo editoriale (se presente) che ha cercato di esercitare su tale uso.

Morricone ha espresso un atteggiamento rilassato su come la sua musica potrebbe essere stata utilizzata nelle colonne sonore successive, ma ha offerto uno sguardo affascinante su uno "scambio" culturale attorno a The Hateful Eight. Il Maestro ha suggerito che mentre Tarantino era stato libero di selezionare melodie vintage nelle sue precedenti compilation di colonne sonore, a Morricone, a sua volta, era stata concessa una mano relativamente libera nella composizione della colonna sonora di quel film. Ho chiesto se il film segnasse il ritorno di Morricone ai western, e lui ha risposto che in realtà aveva cercato di porre maggiore enfasi sul lato drammatico della storia piuttosto che sul suo genere western. Era tuttavia fiducioso - una fiducia successivamente premiata sia dall'Accademia britannica che da quella americana - che il suo lavoro si adattasse sia alla sceneggiatura che alla fotografia.

Vale la pena notare che quando Morricone ha vinto l'Oscar del 2016, è diventato il più anziano vincitore di un Oscar a trionfare in una categoria competitiva. Ascolta la registrazione della colonna sonora e nota la traccia intitolata "Neve" che dura 12 minuti, un tempo sorprendente per una composizione cinematografica di questi tempi. Morricone ha parlato del suo personale orgoglio per la musica del film, descrivendo quel brano come dotato di una bellezza quasi sinfonica e di quanto apprezzasse la rara opportunità di comporre una colonna sonora del genere in questa era moderna del cinema.

Le Partiture dei film vengono suonate dal vivo

Man mano che il pubblico che impara ad apprezzare alcune delle colonne sonore più classiche del cinema cresce e con l'assistenza della tecno-stregoneria del 21° secolo, c'è una tendenza crescente per i film da proiettare con la colonna sonora originale cancellata digitalmente dalla stampa e sostituita da un'orchestra dal vivo che esegue simultaneamente la colonna sonora del film.

Morricone è stato, ancora una volta, succinto su questo. In ogni caso, ha detto, andare ad un concerto di una colonna sonora in cui potrebbero esserci state forse leggere ri-orchestrazioni dell'opera per gli scopi di quel particolare evento, quando il film viene proiettato, la musica per accompagnare quell'esperienza dovrebbe essere indiscutibilmente la colonna sonora originale come registrata - è stato chiaro che le sue partiture non dovrebbero mai essere suonate dal vivo per accompagnare una proiezione.

IL SANTUARIO INTERIORE DI MORRICONE

L'intervista si era svolta nel salotto dei Morricone, ma ero curioso di vedere meglio l'appartamento. Sfruttando il caloroso rapporto che si era instaurato tra il geniale compositore italiano e il curioso giornalista inglese, colsi l'attimo e chiesi al Maestro un di poter vedere un assaggio dei “suoi Oscar”. Raggiante di orgoglio, mi afferrò per un braccio, accompagnandomi ad una scala che conduceva al suo studio nell'attico. Raramente sono stato in una cabina di pilotaggio così profonda di creatività, in una stanza che è una testimonianza del talento. Le pareti erano tappezzate di prime edizioni incorniciate delle partiture di Morricone, insieme ad attestati di onore e riconoscimento che risalivano al suo diploma (di prima classe, naturalmente) da adolescente al Conservatorio Santa Cecilia di Roma. Lo scaffale dei trofei era assordante nel suo silenzioso tributo al loro proprietario, ma discutendo di quella stanza e della sua magnificenza con Morricone, tutto ciò che poteva dire era che era orgoglioso di tutte le sue composizioni, indipendentemente dalle dimensioni, dal budget o dalla natura di qualsiasi produzione.

Ennio Morricone - un uomo il cui genio è pari solo alla sua modestia.

Grazie mille a Nanni Civitenga per aver tradotto il mio articolo originale in italiano. JB

Ennio Morricone In Conversation

Ennio Morricone and Jonathan Baz

INTRODUCTION

At 91 years old and with a career that stretches back some 65 years, Ennio Morricone is one of the greatest film composers of our time. Much of his music is magnificent, some of it iconic, with his score for Sergio Leone's 1966 "spaghetti western" The Good, The Bad And The Ugly having become one of the most globally recognised movie tunes of all time.

More recent decades have seen Morricone’s scores for  Roland Joffe's The Mission and Giuseppe Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso (to name but two titles) garner virtually universal critical appreciation and only three years ago the composer earned his second Oscar and his sixth BAFTA win, this time for Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight. There are of course more than just Oscars and BAFTAs in Morricone's trophy cabinet. Countless accolades pay tribute to a man of outstanding genius who even as this interview is published, is in the midst of composing for Tornatore's next project.

And so it was earlier this year that Ennio Morricone invited me to his home, an exquisitely furnished duplex set atop a luxury condo in a smart Rome suburb. The Maestro’s residence has been built and shared with Maria his wife of more than 60 years and it is a place where the warmth of the welcome was matched only by the fine coffee and stunning city views.

The impression within the Morricones’ apartment was not just that of homeliness (Maria was in the kitchen Skyping with son Giovanni in New York as I chatted to Ennio), but also of a place dedicated to culture and beauty with just a hint of politics too. The furnishings and artworks may have been breathtakingly gorgeous, but the ethos of the place was not one of extravagance, but rather that of talented achievement and quietly-spoken, beautifully assured modesty.

With Fabio Venturi, Morricone’s trusted sound engineer and right-hand man to act as interpreter, Morricone shared some observations upon his life and career with me and as one might expect from a man not only so accomplished but also wise, that he remained throughout the very essence of diplomacy. Not once was any particular individual or movie highlighted for exceptional praise, nor singled out for criticism. Read on...

GLOBAL INFLUENCE 

Morricone’s extensive filmography has seen him score for more than 500 pictures across a diverse range of genres that can range from hauntingly passionate love, through to graphic horror. With numerous composers (including Hans Zimmer and John Williams) together with various "greats" from the rock and pop world citing Morricone as an influence, my first question was how he himself perceived the cultural handprint that his music has left upon the world over the last 60 years. In what was to be the first of many glimpses of Morricone’s profound understatement, a constant virtue throughout our conversation, he simply stated that he places himself at the service of any movie that he is engaged to compose for. With a stark humility, he stated his simple belief that it is solely the responsibility of the audiences listening to his music to form their own opinion as to what mark he may have left upon the world.

L’ITALIANITÀ

Our dialogue shifted from global impact to Morricone’s native beloved Italy. While he has worked for Hollywood studios, often to great acclaim, Morricone’s most prodigious output has been alongside his fellow native Italian filmmakers. Proponents of Italy’s culture will fiercely argue that the composer epitomises L’Italianità – an undefinable yet recognisable aura that stamps “Made In Italy” upon a work of art. Morricone however disagreed: notwithstanding his immense national pride, he was passionate in defining his music as international rather than parochial in its provenance.

MUSIC AND VIOLENCE 

Many of the movies that Morricone has scored over the years have included scenes of graphic violence and I was curious as to if he was ever personally troubled or affected by some of the imagery that his music had supported. In a fascinating reply he firstly commented that for the most part he finds himself unmoved by movie violence, looking at the scene and its interaction with his score as simply part of his job. That being said, when he first worked with Dario Argento (the Italian director, famous for his horror and giallo work) he realised the importance of atonality in music that can accompany horrific violence. Morricone strips away the harmony from such moments, analogous in a way to the scene’s brutality being in itself a stripping-away of humanity. However, In a footnote that further defined his savvy genius, Morricone added that where a movie may have been aimed at a more mainstream commercial market rather than for "arthouse" consumption, that he would factor that into his compositions and include more melody alongside the violence. 

And what, in his opinion, was the most gruesome movie that he had scored? The Maestro had no hesitation in telling me that Pier Paolo Pasolini's 1975 movie  Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom had been a project that he had found nigh-on impossible to stomach.

MORRICONE’S POLITICAL BACKDROP

Morricone has lived through massive political change within his native Italy and a question I posed to him was whether his country's changing political landscape over the last nine decades had impacted upon his music? "Not at all" was his swift reply.

THE EVOLUTION OF MOVIE VIEWING OVER THE DECADES 

Recent decades have seen seismic shifts in how movies are viewed by their target audiences. At the start of Morricone's career, a cinema / theatrical was the only way to catch a film. Since then, more personal screenings be they via TV, or today’s various digital devices have outstripped the numbers of people buying cinema tickets. I asked the composer as to how that change in the way in which movies "are consumed" by modern audiences, may have impacted upon his work? Again, and with a refreshing commitment to artistic purity, Morricone commented that his composition is always driven by the drama either as a script or as acted - and that he is not distracted by mainstream changes in how a movie is ultimately to be watched. 

That being said, Morricone remains acutely aware of a film’s final sound balance and of the final mix between music, background ambient noise and dialogue. We discussed the extent of his involvement in the post-production of a movie's sound, where he indicated that he broadly leaves that decision entirely in the hands of the director. He did however hint intriguingly at one particular project from years gone by (sadly no names mentioned) in which he learned that the director had spent just one day (!) mixing and finalising the sound for the entire picture. His opinion of that project was scathing, although I was left longing for an indiscretion or two.

MORRICONE’S MUSES

In 1968 Morricone was to score Sergio Leone’s Once Upon A Time In The West, a movie for which he has subsequently related that he composed two of the most haunting melodies - Jill’s Theme and The Man With The Harmonica - based solely upon the script and well before principal photography had even commenced or been storyboarded. The score, particularly the haunting soprano line in Jill’s Theme, went on to become one of Morricone’s most celebrated compositions and he spoke briefly about the constraints and indeed freedoms, of writing music for a movie that existed only on paper.

He explained that with a select few directors (including Leone of course), he was able to picture a very clear understanding of a movie's imagery from discussions and early planning. From these discussions, the critical themes of the narrative developed their musical form in ways that were only to be complemented by the finished picture.

The conversation then wandered onto the inspiration he draws upon for the "musical palette" to any particular score? His response was that typically such a palette emerges from his simple following of the filmed story. He will though always think carefully as to how "shocking" he may want a particular score to be. He spoke too of drawing inspiration from his environment and surrounds, relating how in 1995 as he was writing the score for Sostiene Pereira, Roberto Faenza’s political drama about Portuguese fascism, that it was the noise arising from a political demonstration  taking place on Rome’s Piazza Venezia, outside his (then) home, that was to provide the muse for that movie’s music.

Ennio Morricone's BAFTA for The Hateful Eight

MORRICONE, QUENTIN TARANTINO AND THE HATEFUL EIGHT 

Changing tack, the conversation returned to Morricone’s back catalogue of compositions. Modern day directors (most notably Tarantino, in a number of movies over the last 15 or so years) have sampled his previous compositions, incorporating the music into their 21st century pictures. I asked Morricone about the degree of editorial control (if any) that he sought to exercise over such use. 

Morricone expressed a relaxed attitude to how his music may have been used in subsequent soundtracks, but offered a fascinating glimpse into a  cultural “exchange” around The Hateful Eight. The Maestro suggested that while Tarantino had been free to select vintage melodies in his earlier soundtrack compilations, Morricone in turn, had been granted a relatively free hand in composing that movie’s  score. I asked if the movie marked Morricone's return to Westerns to which he replied that he had actually sought to place more emphasis upon the story’s dramatic edge rather than on its Western genre. He was however confident - a confidence subsequently affirmed by both the British and American Academies - that his work fitted the both the screenplay and the photography. 

It is worth noting that when Morricone won that 2016 Oscar, that he became the oldest Academy Award winner ever to triumph in a competitive category. Listen to the soundtrack recording and note the track entitled “Neve” that lasts for 12 minutes - an astonishing length of time for a movie composition in this day and age. Morricone spoke of his personal pride in the movie’s music, describing that track as having an almost symphonic beauty to it and of how he cherished having the rare opportunity to lay down such a score in this modern era of film-making.

FILM SCORES BEING PLAYED LIVE

As audiences grow to appreciate some of cinema’s more classic scores and with the assistance of 21st century techno-wizardry, there is a growing trend for movies to be screened with the original score digitally erased from the print and replaced by a live orchestra simultaneously performing the movie’s scored backdrop.

Morricone was, again, succinct on this. By all means, he said, go to a concert performance of a score where there may perhaps be subtle re-orchestrations of the work for the purposes of that particular event. However, where the movie is being screened then the music to accompany that experience should unquestionably be the original soundtrack as recorded - he was clear that his scores should never be live-played to accompany a screening.

MORRICONE’S INNER SANCTUM 

The interview had taken place in the Morricones’ lounge - but I was curious to see more of the apartment. Chancing my luck upon the warm rapport that had been struck between the genius Italian composer and the curious English journalist, I grabbed the moment and asked the Maestro for a glimpse of “his Oscars”. Beaming with pride, he grasped my arm, escorting me to a staircase that led to his penthouse study. Rarely have I been in such a cockpit of profound creativity, in a room that is a testament to talent. The walls were covered in framed first editions of Morricone’s scores, together with certificates of honour and recognition that dated back to his graduation (first class, naturally) as a teenager from Rome’s Santa Cecilia Conservatory. The shelf of trophies was deafening in its silent tribute to their owner - but in discussing that room and its magnificence with Morricone, all he could say was that he took pride in all his compositions, irrespective of any production’s size or budget or pedigree.

Ennio Morricone - a man whose genius is matched only by his modesty.

With grateful thanks and appreciation to Fabio Venturi and Nanni Civitenga, who made this interview possible. 

Ennio Morricone - The 60 Years of Music Tour - Review

The O2, London

*****

In a world that sees the phrase "legend" used far too freely, Ennio Morricone defines the word.

The maestro has been composing film scores since the 1960s and whilst his name may possibly be unfamiliar to an ignorant few, his haunting theme from Sergio Leone's spaghetti western The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is up there as one of the most famous tunes. Ever.

Having given the movie industry so much of his talent for so long, recent years have seen Morricone, who at 87 still composes, undertake frequent tours performing a selection of his work live. The evening's programme has to be kept to only a selection, for records suggest that he has scored close to 500 films.

At this concert the elitist snobbery so often associated with orchestras and arias is deliciously turned on its head. In an era where the world's popular music is so often derived from a 12 bar blues structure, it has been left to cinema to provide much of the fertile ground in which composers can bring lavish symphonies to commercial success. The great film composers (of whom Morricone is one of the greatest) bring a classical structure to a mass and popular market and all too often it can be a movie's fabulous score (think here of John William's Star Wars theme or Bernard Herrmann's Psycho-tic strings) that lives in our memories, serving as a movie's truly lasting hallmark. 

Sat in London's cavernous yet packed O2, there was a rock concert feel to the evening. Merchandise was on sale (and yes, hell yes, I bought the t-shirt) as banks of speakers and jumbo screens brought the music to those on the arena's perimeter. And so what if the music was pumped up through (for the most part) a perfectly balanced sound system? Morricone had always intended it to be played via Dolby's finest technology from the outset.

Where most touring concerts typically number less than two dozen artists and a swarm of roadies, Morricone travels with The Czech National Symphony Orchestra along with both the Hungarian Kodaly and Csokonai National Theatre Choirs. That’s a total of 200 performers plus crew. Floodlights illuminate the stage in a simple white wash and that’s it. There is no need for spotlight-stabbed smoke or a dazzling laser display. The charm of this gig lies solely in Morricone's magical melodies.

The Italian was one of the first to fuse the majesty of a classical orchestra with the emergent post-war electric instruments such as guitar, bass and keyboard and the video screens helped pick out the artists such as Rocco Zifarelli on electric guitar and Nanni Civitenga, on bass whose contributions so subliminally enhanced (by way of example) The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Chi Mai respectively. Older readers will of course recall Chi Mai as the theme to the BBC's The Life And Times Of David Lloyd George.

Not all of the evening’s programme was Morricone's most famous works. Kicking off with a homage to Giuseppe Tornatore (and quite why Cinema Paradiso was omitted from the night remains a mystery) The Legend of 1900, from the film of the same name, offered an enchanting harp section that melded into a mournful violin solo with a hint of blues, evolving into the most gorgeous example of the Italianità - that espresso-infused essence of style that so defines the beauty of modern Italian culture.

The first unrestrained whoop of audience pre-recognition came as (a shamefully unnamed) wind-player put a Hohner to his lips for the opening bars of The Man with the Harmonica from Leone's epic western, Once Upon A Time In The West - a score that was in fact completed some six years before photography began on the movie -  Hearing the haunting riff was spine tingling - but when soprano Susanna Rigacci stepped up to sing the aria to Jill’s Theme from the same movie, tears flowed and here was the very essence of Morricone's craft. There was no clever, witty libretto for the diva to sing. Just her ethereal voice in perfect harmony with the orchestra.

And remember that in cinema, often, no narrative is asked for from the composer - the director, screenwriter and actors do that bit. Most times the composer is there to simply enhance the visuals and dialogue. So when a wordless melody, taken on its own and away from the distraction of the silver screen can prove so exquisite - there can be no better definition of Morricone's genius.

Rigacci only fuelled my love for the soprano voice, remaining on stage to sing The Ecstasy of Gold. Don’t recognize the title? Search it out on You Tube and you'll certainly know its melody. As she closed the first half, the audience rose in thunderous appreciation.

The interval saw Morricone being presented with his sixth BAFTA, this time for the score to Quentin Tarantino's most recent movie The Hateful Eight. Tarantino's previous movies have used classy compilation collections as their soundtracks that have often included Morricone’s work from earlier films and there has long been a mutual regard between director and composer. That Morricone has now scooped both Golden Globe and BAFTA for The Hateful Eight (and who knows, maybe an Oscar too for the hat trick?), this particular score marked his return to westerns after a 40-year absence. It therefore was appropriate that the second half opened with The Last Stagecoach to Red Rock and then Bestiality from this latest release. Even neater too, it was this very Czech orchestra that had recorded the movie’s original soundtrack only last year, adding to the authenticity of the gig. It also makes one consider the richness of global collaboration - Italian composer, American movie, Czech musicians and Hungarian singers

Further treats included Deborah’s Theme from Once Upon A Time In America and a closing trio from The Mission that ended the programme with On Earth as it is in Heaven. The music had been magnificent in the movie, however live and under Morricone’s baton, it wasn’t so much a waterfall as a tsunami that engulfed the O2. The purest, most modern yet majestic beauty of man, woman and instrument in perfect harmony.

It is perhaps Morricone’s fellow artists who can best pay him tribute. Composer Hans Zimmer, 30 years Morricone’s junior, has said of the Italian that “there are a handful of great composers, but Ennio is so above everybody”. Whilst Tornatore himself commented “he is not just a great film composer, he is a great composer”.

Three thunderous ovation-fuelled encores were to see Rigaccci return to finally end proceedings, reprising The Ecstasy of Gold. The emotions and the talent of the night were unforgettable. Ennio Morricone is 87 years old and has already created the legacy of a legend.

Ennio Morricone plays in the UK again at Blenheim Palace on 23rd June 2016

The tour continues across Europe. Dates can be accessed here 

King Lear - Review

National Theatre, London


****

Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Sam Mendes

Simon Russell Beale and Olivia Vinall

There’s a vogue at the National to thrust Shakespeare’s work into the modern era and with a nod to thrift, the military garb from the South Bank’s recent Othello is coldly furnishing forth the costume requirements of Simon Russell Beale’s King Lear. Indeed, as the closing act conflict plays out, the Dover denouement is often interrupted by the sound effect of jet fighters screaming overhead. It’s a leap in time that doesn’t always sit easily with a tale so firmly rooted in pre-Saxon history.

In an image that highlights the play's thematic plea for Lear to “see clearly”, the programme cover features a half-face close up of the bearded, brooding, Beale. The reality, at least for much of the first half is a very different King. Barely thirteen years since he delivered his career defining Hamlet, Russell Beale’s Lear, stooped and Stalin-like, scuttles around the stage suggesting a hybrid of Captain Birds Eye and Del Boy’s Uncle Albert. There are moments when his overly clipped delivery is eased off, but some noticeable early episodes of agony are squandered. His curse of sterility upon Goneril, arguably one of the most harrowing speeches written, falls short of the mark and that a few of the audience chuckled during Lear’s “O reason not the need” speech further suggests that the production still needs some fine tuning. After the break, Russell Beale excels and the moment late on, as Olivia Vinall’s Cordelia wakes him in his hospital bed is exquisite.

There is some outstanding company work on offer. Stanley Townsend’s Kent offers an energetic brute of loyalty to the King whilst Anna Maxwell Martin’s vitriolic Regan positively sizzles, first as the uncaring daughter and later as a steamily seductive merry widow. Sam Troughton’s bastard Edmund is as dark a baddy as he should be and Tom Brooke’s Edgar is an eloquent and touching interpretation of a complex soul, bravely performed nude through much of the Mad Tom storm sequence. As the Fool, Adrian Scarborough gives an intelligent interpretation to another of Shakespeare’s enigmatic characters and Mendes offers his own explanation to that Bard-Cluedo question: What exactly happens to the Fool? Well in this show he is brutally murdered: by Lear; in a bathtub; bloodily battered with the lead piping. Perhaps the standout performance amongst Lear’s court is that of Stephen Boxer’s Gloucester. Boxer effortlessly coaxes the beauty from his verse and rarely has his character’s confession “I stumbled when I saw” sounded so poignant. If Shakespeare knew that Gloucester’s blinding would entertain a blood-thirsty Elizabethan audience, so too does movie-maker Mendes who with an eye for a good visual and perhaps a nod to Quentin Tarantino, updates the hapless man's torture having him first waterboarded during the “wherefore to Dover?” interrogation before the required eye-gouging. In this production administered with a corkscrew, natch.

The production is unquestionably a brilliant King Lear, even if not one of the finest. It’s a fresh interpretation of the classic tale and its extremes of good, evil and the redemptive blessing of forgiveness prove as relevant today as ever. It’s a version that will be talked about for years and if you are lucky enough to acquire a ticket, (they are like gold dust) it is an evening very well spent.

Booking through to May 2014

Big Bad Wolves and Rabies - Israeli Cinema Does Horror

Tzahi Grad contemplates revenge in Big Bad Wolves

When Quentin Tarantino proclaims a film as the best of 2013, its time to pay attention. The filmmaker is famously reserved in his praise, so when he shared his opinion of new Israeli horror Big Bad Wolves, interest in the picture skyrocketed. The film had already closed the London Film 4 Frightfest this summer and with co-writers and directors Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado currently on a global promotion tour before the movie comes back to London’s West End next month, I caught up with Papushado in LA, who told me about the development both of the film and of his creative partnership with Aharon Keshales.

Both in their 30s, they met when Papushado was studying film theory at Tel Aviv University under Professor (in fact only a few years older) Keshales. The two men quickly realised they shared a passion for wanting to create exciting escapist movies, away from the typically worthy docu-drama style of film, long associated with Israeli cinema. In a country whose very existence is continually threatened, that is governed by a parliament that whilst often chaotic is still a rare democracy for the region and whose territorial policies spark fiercely divisive opinions, it has always seemed far more appropriate for Israeli cinema to reflect upon the country's history, or to seek to challenge the country’s current policies or social trends. With so many serious challenges to contemplate, few filmmakers dared venture into seriously frivolous fantasy. No Israeli was making popcorn-style thrill-ride movies that gave an audience a chance to sit back in the dark and enjoy good old fashioned (albeit horrific) fairy tales. Until now that is.

Keshales and Papushado's first picture Rabies made in 2010 and screened in the 2011 Tribeca Festival, was an offbeat horror. A story that is quirky but engaging, reminding one of Arthur Schnitlzler’s 1890’s play La Ronde that follows a sexual chain of relationships between ten individiuals, each sleeping with the next,  Rabies takes a (slightly) similar theme but explores how ten people, from different walks of life, end up in the same woods on the same day and through a circuitous series of events, end up killing or being killed by, each other. The film is profoundly imaginative, unconventional and at times shocking (both in its plotline and in some viscerally gruesome images) yet with an occasional hint of deliciously ironic humour. And all made, as is so often the way with some of the most innovative of modern horror, on a shoestring budget. It's suspense is sublime. When a character wanders off to take a pee in the woods and the camera pulls back to reveal she has strayed into a minefield, the anguished anticipation as she takes each carefree step is almost unbearable. As Rabies neared the end of its post-production, it caught the attention of an Israeli Cultural Ministry official. Liking what she saw, funds were put into the film’s distribution, creating early international recognition for the writer/directors and paving the way for Big Bad Wolves. 

Released in 2013 and reviewed here, the pair's second feature is a bravely made story that tackles the darkest criminal taboos, paedophilia and child murder. Making for uncomfortable yet compelling viewing, Navot and Papushado create moments of the starkest irony, intent on making their audience chuckle at some of the human frailities to which their adult characters are exposed, particularly those traits that bear a particularly Jewish association. Nagging elderly parents forever on the phone, seeking to evoke a reaction of guilt from their children, is one of the many comedic seams that have been gleefully mined since Woody Allen first discovered the comedic potential of the inadequate guilt-burdened "nebbisch" Jew some 50 years ago. Keshales and Papushado rudely exploit that theme, but thrust it squarely into a horror scenario. It is a bold move even to consider mixing comedy with evil and Papushado speaks of the painstaking labour that accompanied their script-writing process as the pair sought to push the parameters of acceptability, whilst remaining within decent conventions. Rabies had also briefly explored the “nagging Jewish parent/guilt” thing and Papushado comments that as writers they wish to explore further the Jewish angle on horror. It’s a brave path to take, as the pair tred carefully, anxious to avoid the double edged swords of cliché and offense. 

Big Bad Wolves comes with a budget considerably in excess of its rabid predecessor, though still modest and Papushado is proud that with one exception, all the movie's visual and special make up effects were physically created and photographed rather created by CGI. He admits that digital imagery was used to portray the effects of someone being blowtorched, but is happy (as are a wincing audience) that the particular sequence only lasts a few seconds! The understanding of the all round finished image of their movies is critical to these film-makers, with sound design and music key to their tales. Papushado praises Frank Ilfman’s scores for both pictures that suggest suspense and darkness that brilliantly complement the on-screen action.

The duo have a busy time ahead. Slated to direct one of the chapters of “The ABCs Of Death 2”, an anthology movie in which respected horror directors from across the globe, are invited to create a 5-minute horror themed around a specific letter of the alphabet (and where Papushado speaks praisingly in particular of the works of Xavier Gens and Lee Harcastle in ABC of D 1), they remain as committed to expanding the Israeli movie industry. Intriguingly and mixing popcorn with politics, their next feature will be a spaghetti western styled movie, Once Upon A Time In Palestine. Theirs will be a story of pre-Israel Palestine, when the territory was ruled by British Mandate and many of those who were to go on to become Israeli statesmen were guerrillas, freedom fighters and in the eyes of some, terrorists. 

Big Bad Wolves opens in London on December 6. It’s a funny, dark and ultimately profoundly troubling tale, brilliantly told. If you like your horror modern and uncompromising, don’t miss it.

Big Bad Wolves screens at the Prince Charles Cinema, London from 6th December

Rabies receives a UK broadcast premiere on The Horror Channel on 28th December

Feature : Jen and Sylvia Soska - Canada's Twisted Twins




Jen and Sylvia Soska in a cameo appearance from their latest movie American Mary



Meeting Jen and Sylvia Soska (who are the founders and driving force of Twisted Twins Productions) one is quickly struck by their energy and ability to create a rapport. You feel that their directing of a film unit is likely to be as invigorating for their crew members, as watching their movies is for the audience. So it was as I arrived at London's Soho Hotel for my interview with these talented identical twins, in town to promote their newest feature American Mary, which will be released on DVD and Blu-ray from Universal Pictures (UK) on 21st January 2013.

By the time of the interview my advance copy of American Mary had not yet arrived so in that regard I was interviewing blind, however this was not to prove a problem. The twins, together with the movie’s star, Katharine Isabelle who was touring with them, were delighted that my first viewing of the film was to be later that evening on a big screen in central London and so the conversation flowed around the Soskas’ first feature, Dead Hooker In A Trunk, as well as their background and their philosophy in filmmaking.

The twin’s have long shared a passion in horror film and they speak warmly of the influence and guidance of established director Eli Roth, in working with them and mentoring the pair. They shot Dead Hooker on the infinitesimally micro-budget of C$2,500 ( approximately £1,750!) and of this, most was spent on prosthetics. A look down the cast and credits of that picture at movie database IMDb, reveals that nearly all the main performers (as well as the twins themselves who starred in that oeuvre) often had several roles behind the camera, ranging from electrician to stunt-driver. Only once completed was a copy sent to Roth, already then a giant of horror production with Cabin Fever and Hostels 1 & 2 to his credit and who was bowled over by what he saw. With his input and supportive promotion, the picture went on to achieve global recognition and allowed the twins to command a (still tiny) budget of closer to C$1M for American Mary. The sisters refer to Roth as their “favourite Jew since Jesus”. American Mary is dedicated to him and the guidance that he has passed on to the sisters – one of his most helpful notes being that if a movie cannot be pitched in two sentences, don’t shoot it – echoes the mentoring and support that he himself received from Quentin Tarantino who came on board to produce the two Hostel pictures.

Dead Hooker is a quirky, left of field picture that follows a group of young people, (think of a parody of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five), discovering the body of a hooker in their car’s trunk and setting off on a blood spattered mystery, to uncover the truth behind her murder. Their journey takes them on a bizarre tour of the twins’ native Vancouver and the movies denouement, without too much spoiling, hilariously/horrifically touches upon a Jewish guy whose circumcision as a child had gone a little awry. The glee with which the Soskas’ take such recognised urban anxieties and nightmares and project them on screen as brash innovative statements, is a hallmark of their writing. In American Mary they have defined some of their most evil male characters as eminent teaching doctors.

Another common Soska thread is their desire to overturn the historic exploitation of women on screen. Their refreshing and honest empowerment of their heroines has so far given rise to stories and chapters that are often best described as emasculatory, at the very least! It is a mark of the respect that these filmmakers engender from their performers that during the filming of Dead Hooker, when the staged beating of actress Tasha Moth by the movie’s mysoginist bad-guy was being filmed, even under the expert eye of a stunt co-ordinator a baseball bat blow went off target and Moth took a swipe to the kidneys. Such was her devotion to the movie and the twins’ vision that she didn’t complain, even when the next day she was passing blood. Needless to say, the Soskas were mortified on learning of this mishap and happily the actress went on to make a full recovery.

Jen and Sylvia work well together throughout the development process of their stories. They talk of how as one creates, the other plays video games before, in the tradition of all good siblings, they dutifully trash and pull apart the other’s efforts. Yet from this process emerge well-argued storylines and intelligent plots. Music and excellent sound feature heavily in  Twisted Twins productions. They talk of how when they write a script that every camera angle, sound effect and background detail is documented right at the very commencement of the creative process. The baseball battering referred to above is set to the Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen and incredibly the combination of refined beauty in music being juxtaposed against distressing violence ( think of Beethoven in Kubrick’s The Clockwork Orange) is effective. The twins speak warmly of having been immersed in culture from a very young age by their parents and in a novel gesture of appreciation have had their real-life father perform minor comic cameos in each of the movies.

Meeting the Soska sisters (and my review of American Mary can be found here) confirms my perception that these striking, talented young artists represent a distinctive and refreshing take on the horror genre. Their films are graphic and wildly imaginative, but where Mary Shelley once shocked a world with Frankenstein, so are these two women reaching out to leave their mark on Tinseltown as an invigorating and formidable force. They also shoot damn good pictures.


American Mary, which will be released on DVD and Blu-ray from Universal Pictures (UK) on 21st January 2013 and will open at UK cinemas on 11th January 2013 (FrightFest)