Ennio

S a kid I grew up in the 50s watching the Academy Awards and was baffled by it. Not by the glitz or the movie stars but by why the average Joe would watch an awards ceremony that would honor film cinematographers, editors, animators, foreign films, costume designers composers and a lot more. But I cared because I loved film and watched adoringly. Especially film music where there was no recognition elsewhere at all. ENNIO: THE MAESTRO is about a film music composer so I don't expect a lot of people to share what I thought of the film.

Given that, I need to express what a monumental achievement Giuseppe Tornatore has created. Having followed all kinds of film composers over the years I have always had a passion for a small group that transcended that title and made their careers literally a musical journey through every musical byway that they were challenged with. As Morricone says in this piece film composers are asked to do anything. I have seen dozens of film composer biographies over the years like "In The Tracks of" series, BBC epics and Fred Carlin's Jerry Goldsmith piece. But Tornatore has used his ample filmic skills to pay tribute to one of the greatest, most prolific, wide ranging film composers who ever lived by relating his journey, while he was still alive, and getting him to express the passion that usually comes out only in his music. He does this by every means possible with documentary footage, home movies, old TV shows, interviews, concert footage, snapshots and mostly through Ennio's own words. It is two and a half hours long and all who I talked to (including Marshall Harvey a film editor!) wished it was longer.

Morricone himself relates everything from his childhood to the days his dad, and then he, played trumpet on a number of Italian film scores. It is astounding to watch Ennio describe in detail what he brought to his early arrangements and then compositions to make them different, to make them stand out. The interviews, old and new, are far ranging including his teachers, musicians, singers, film directors, artists he influenced, a number of fellow Italian film composers and a few American ones like Hans Zimmer and John Williams. The film is totally dense with detail to the point I HAVE to see it again. The film ends on the ultimate film music conundrum, is it as purely expressive as absolute music? Is that snobbishness that resulted justified? Morricone answers that decisively. Tornatore has created the ideal tribute/biography that I will not see the likes of again.

Lastly I saw it with a more than half full audience masked and vaccinated. I know this is not possible for many but If you can see it with an audience do so. There are a lot of laughs, emotional moments and audible reactions that will not be there seeing it at home no matter how large a screen you have.

This is a 70 year old's dream film music tribute come true. I was an emotional wreck by the end of it. Thank you Giuseppe.