Lo sguardo della musica

There's a part late in the 2.5-hour Ennio: The Maestro where a clip of Quentin Tarantino calling Morricone the great composer of all time (y'know, over Mozart, Beethoven, etc) is played, which other interviewees criticise as hyperbolic. They say maybe 200 years has to pass before Morricone's music is held to that same standard.

I'm going to similarly risk being hyperbolic by saying that this might be the best music documentary I've ever seen. I've seen a lot of great ones, tons of decent ones, and even a number of really awful ones. But director Giussepe Tornatore's love letter to his favourite composer (and Italy's most famous composer) is astoundingly good.

My expectations were high. I love Ennio Morricone's music. I knew Tornatore being the director would make it extra personal and moving. I was excited to hear it was 156 minutes long. And the list of interviewees here is to die for- Clint Eastwood, Quentin Tarantino, Bruce Springsteen, Wong Kar-Wai, Hans Zimmer, John Williams, just to name a few of the most famous ones. And so many more, some of whom give insight into surprising facts about Morricone's youth.

I learnt a lot about the first few decades of Morricone's life, as my knowledge of him only really starts with the Sergio Leone westerns. There's some amazing facts that I can't believe I didn't know about before, like how Morricone almost composed music for Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange.

This film covers all the films you'd want it to, plays so much beautiful Morricone music it's almost emotionally overwhelming, and the Maestro himself as the main interviewee is consistently engaging, insightful, and emotive.

Could've even been longer. He composed hundreds and hundreds of film scores, so I could've happily watched 10 hours of this. It's also extremely moving, especially near the end, but not because it spends a long time on his passing- in fact, it doesn't even mention it. The film argues that Morricone's music is immortal and transcends generations, and that's a powerful and emotional enough takeaway on its own.

(Sidenote- the bit where they broke down how all the different themes from The Mission intersected whilst playing clips from the movie is one of the best sequences from any film I've seen in months; maybe all year).

From the director of Cinema Paradiso comes an earnest, endearing & heartfelt tribute to one of the most popular, prolific & greatest film composers to have ever lived and whose contribution to film scores has been so immense, influential & groundbreaking that cinema will forever be indebted to him. An illuminating & well-rounded documentary, Ennio chronicles & celebrates the life & legacy of Ennio "The Maestro" Morricone.

Written & directed by Giuseppe Tornatore (The Legend of 1900 & Malèna), the film narrates the Italian composer's life story from his quiet & humble beginnings to garnering international fame & fan following with his distinguished film scores. Tornatore utilises interviews, recordings & film clips to paint a fascinating portrait of the legend whose body of work encompassed almost all styles and left an indelible mark on film, music & pop culture.

While the early years accounts are interesting, this documentary comes alive once his work on Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars comes forth. But with an oeuvre as extensive as Morricone's, even 156 mins runtime isn't enough to cover everything however it provides an insight into how his genius mind worked. And though Morricone never rated his scores for westerns as highly as the rest of the world did, he does acknowledge that he often isn't the best judge of his own music.

Overall, Ennio: The Maestro charts the unparalleled career of the legendary film composer with gripping flair but still feels rushed & uneven in its pacing as many events we would've liked seeing explored in detail are skimmed through. Nevertheless, the interest in the picture is never lost and what's included in this 2½ hour documentary is crafted with love & honesty. Serving as a strong testimony to the Maestro's profound impact which can still be felt in more art forms than one, Ennio is a definite recommend.

Wonderful documentary. Not only about Ennio's music, but also about films. Italian, French and US films of 1970s, 80s and later. I found myself wanting to rewatch or watch films mentioned in this doc, some of which I didn't even know existed. It makes me appreciate and respect more the Italian cinema of the 20th century, including the so called "spaghetti westerns" of Leone and Corbucci. The doc is masterfully edited and directed, and sound quality is also excellent. It is a bit long but absolutely worth your time, if you appreciate good music and films. I think it's important to watch it in a good cinema, because of quality of music and the images. And finally: was Morricone a genius? Yes, I think he was.

From the moment we step into Ennio Moriccone's home we become immersed in the man and his work with over 60 years of magnificent music to sample along the way. Yes, we are obviously treated to a segment on his magnificent soundtrack to Once Upon a Time in the West, my personal favourite, together with all the other best known of his cinema accompaniments, but the viewer is also treated to dozens of other snippets of fine music many of which were unknown to me and which I now need to sample. There's an array of luminaries from the world of music and cinema to sing his praises as well but arguably the most engaging feature of this is the man himself, sat at home taking us through his life's work. It's a very long film but the music is so good it doesn't drag for an instant. An impressive piece of work.

Moving, exiting, fulfilling. I ended up in tears. Go see this movie. It's a work of art, the worthy tribute for the great artist and humble man. Grazie, Giuseppe Tornatore, we owe you.