The restored films of Venice Classics

Director Giuseppe Piccioni to head the Jury of Cinema History Students

Italian director Giuseppe Piccioni (Not of This World, Light of My Eyes, These Days) will chair the Jury of Cinema History Students which – for the fifth time – will award the VENEZIA CLASSICI AWARD for the BEST RESTORED FILM and the BEST DOCUMENTARY ON CINEMA.

The numerous restored masterpieces in the Venezia Classici section of the 74th Venice International Film Festival include:1900 by Bernardo Bertolucci (1976); Red Desert by Michelangelo Antonioni (1964), awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival; A Story from Chikamatsu (1954) and Sansho the Bailiff (1954), awarded the Silver Lion at the Venice International Film Festival, by Kenji Mizoguchi; Wanderers of the Desert by Nacer Khemir (1984); The Revolt of Mamie Stover by Raoul Walsh (1956); The Third Lover by Claude Chabrol (1962); Black Peter by Miloš Forman (1963); Close Encounters of the Third Kind by Steven Spielberg (1977); Batch ’81 by Mike De Leon (1982), and Into the Night by John Landis (1985).

The 74th Venice International Film Festival will be held at the Lido from August 30 to September 9, 2017; it is directed by Alberto Barbera and organized by the Biennale chaired by Paolo Baratta.

Since 2012, and with growing success, the Festival section Venezia Classici has been presenting the world premieres of a selection of the best restorations of classic films conducted over the previous year by film libraries, cultural institutions and productions all over the world. Curated by Alberto Barbera in collaboration with Stefano Francia di Celle, Venezia Classici also presents a selection of documentaries about cinema and its filmmakers. The Jury, chaired by Giuseppe Piccioni, is composed of 26 cinema history students – nominated by their professors – in their final year at Italian universities, DAMS performing arts courses, and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.

The list of the films selectedfor the Venezia Classici section of the 74th Festival:

Les baliseurs du désert / El-haimoune (Wanderers of the Desert)

by Nacer Khemir (Tunisie, France, 1984, 95’, COL.)

Restoration: Cinémathèque royale de Belgique

Batch ‘81

by Mike De Leon (Philippines, 1982, 108’, COL.)

Restoration: Asian Film Archive

Cerný Petr (Black Peter)

by Miloš Forman (Czechoslovakia, 1963, 89’, B/W)

Restoration: Národní filmový archiv

Chikamatsu monogatari (A Story from Chikamatsu)

by Kenji Mizoguchi (Japan, 1954, 102’, B/W)

Restoration: Kadokawa Corporation, The Film Foundation with the cooperation of The Japan Foundation

Close Encounters of the Third Kind 

by Steven Spielberg (USA, 1977, 137’, COL.)

Restoration: Sony Pictures Entertainment

Daïnah la métisse

by Jean Grémillon (France, 1932, 48’, B/W)

followed by Zéro de conduite – rushes by Jean Vigo (France, 1933, 20’, B/W)

Restoration: Gaumont with the support of Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée

Il deserto rosso (Red Desert)

by Michelangelo Antonioni (Italy, 1964, 120’, COL.)

Restoration: CSC-Cineteca Nazionale with the cooperation of RTI-Mediaset

Deux ou trois choses que je sais d’elle (Two or Three Things I Know About Her)

by Jean-Luc Godard (France, 1967, 87’, COL.)

Restoration: Argos Films with the support of Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée

La donna scimmia (The Ape Woman)

by Marco Ferreri (Italy, France, 1964, 93’, B/W)

Restoration: Cineteca di Bologna and TF1 Studio with the cooperation of Surf Film

Idi i smotri (Come and See)

by Elem Klimov (USSR, 1985, 143’, COL.)

Restoration: Mosfilm (producer of the restoration, Karen Shakhnazarov)

Into the Night

by John Landis (USA, 1985, 115’, COL.)

Restoration: Universal Pictures

Non c’è pace tra gli ulivi (Under the Olive Tree)

by Giuseppe De Santis (Italy, 1950, 107’, B/W)

Restoration: CSC-Cineteca Nazionale with the cooperation of CristaldiFilm by Zeudi Araya and Massimo Cristaldi

Novecento (1900)

by Bernardo Bertolucci (Italy, 1976, 317’, COL.)

Restoration: 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Istituto Luce - Cinecittà and Cineteca di Bologna, with the cooperation of Alberto Grimaldi and the support of Massimo Sordella

Ochazuke no Aji (Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice)

by Yasujiro Ozu (Japan, 1952, 115’, B/W)

Restoration: Shochiku Co., Ltd.

L’oeil du malin(The Third Lover)

by Claude Chabrol (France, 1962, 91’, B/W)

Restoration: Studiocanal with the support of Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée

The Old Dark House

by James Whale (USA, 1933, 72’, B/W)

Restoration: Cohen Film Collection / Cohen Media Group

The Revolt of Mamie Stover

by Raoul Walsh (USA, 1956, 93’, COL.)

Restoration: 20th Century Fox

Sansho dayu (Sansho the Bailiff)

by Kenji Mizoguchi (Japan, 1954, 126’, B/W)

Restoration: Kadokawa Corporation, The Film Foundation with the cooperation of The Japan Foundation

The Venezia Classici section will also feature the presentation of a selection of documentaries about cinema and its filmmakers. The complete list of the section will be announced during the press conference presenting the program of the Venice Film Festival, on Thursday, July 27th  at 11 am in Rome (Cinema Moderno).

Giuseppe Piccioni – Biography

Giuseppe Piccioni has directed ten movies since 1987. He has participated at many film festivals (Venice, Berlin, Moscow, Montreal, London, Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco), receiving awards in Italy and abroad, and has worked with Italy’s top actors. 

His film Not of this World (Fuori dal mondo, 1999), starring Margherita Buy and Silvio Orlando, received five David di Donatello Awards, four Golden Ciak Awards, the Golden Goblet for Best Producer, the Silver Hugo Award at the Chicago International Film Festival, Best Feature Film and the Grand Jury Prize at the AFI Fest in Los Angeles, and the Special Grand Prize of the Jury at the Montréal World Film Festival. The film was nominated to represent Italy at the Oscars.  

In 2001, he presented Light of My Eyes (Luce dei miei occhi) In Competition at the 58th Venice International Film Festival; the protagonists, Sandra Ceccarelli and Luigi Lo Cascio, each received a Volpi Cup for their performance.

In 2004, he released The Life That I Want (La vita che vorrei), once again starring the couple Lo Cascio-Ceccarelli. The movie was presented at the 2005 Berlin International Film Festival in the Panorama section. That same year, it participated In Competition at the Moscow International Film Festival, and at the film festivals in Edinburgh and San Francisco.

After Giulia Doesn’t Date at Night (Giulia non esce la sera,2009),starring Valeria Golino,and The Red and the Blue (Il rosso e il blu, 2012),starring Margherita Buy, Roberto Herlitzka and Riccardo Scamarcio, he directed These Days (Questi giorni, 2016), presented In Competition at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival in 2016. The film stars Maria Roveran, Marta Gastini, Laura Adriani, Caterina Le Caselle, and Margherita Buy.