Giuseppe Tornatore, director of the beloved “Cinema Paradiso”, turns his camera on his longtime collaborator Ennio Morricone (1928-2020) in a moving and comprehensive profile of the indefatigable composer.
Tornatore’s documentary portrait explores the breadth of the maestro’s career, from his early Italian pop songs to the fistful of unforgettable film scores that he wrote, including “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”, “The Thing”, “Days of Heaven” and hundreds of others.
This examination thoughtfully captures insightful commentary from Morricone’s closest collaborators and contemporaries, featuring testimonies from artists and directors such as John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Quincy Jones, Dario Argento, Bruce Springsteen, Bernardo Bertolucci, Marco Bellocchio, Giuliano Montaldo, Dario Argento, Clint Eastwood, Joan Baez, Quentin Tarantino, and more.
“Ennio” affords the master one last chance to recount his career and deconstruct the artistic process that led him to win two Academy Awards and author over 500 unforgettable soundtracks.
“‘Ennio’ is another cinephilic paean. There’s much to see and to hear. Morricone turns out to be a total charmer, a low-key showman with a demure gaze that he works like a vamp and an impish smile that routinely punctuates one of his anecdotes.” — Manohla Dargis, New York Times Critic's Pick
“Tornatore's loving Ennio Morricone documentary suggests late composer is worthy of comparison to Mozart and Bach. A star-studded and compelling look at his musical genius.” — David Ehrlich, Indiewire