User:Colapeninsula/Maddalena (1971 film)

Maddalena or Magdalena was a 1971 feature film by the Polish director Jerzy Kawalerowicz. It was co-written by Sergio Bazzini and Jerzy Kawalerowicz. It is perhaps best known for its score, by the Italian composer Ennio Morricone.[1]

Plot

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The film focuses on Maddalena (played by Lisa Gastoni), a troubled woman who falls in love with a Catholic priest (Eric Woofe).

Production

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The film was an Italian-Yugoslav co-production.[2] The opening scene was shot at the church of San Salvatore in Vasanello.[3]

Soundtrack

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Ennio Morricone wrote the soundtrack, which includes "Chi Mai", later reused in Le Professionnel and The Life and Times of David Lloyd George.[4]

Critical reaction

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Roger Greenspun in the New York Times was critical, calling it "15 minutes of dull movie puffed out to more than an hour and a half by flashbacks, fantasy flashes, shifts of focus, pans, track, zooms, and whatever other tricks can be used to inflate cinema vocabulary and diminish the medium."[1] He criticised Gastoni in the title role as too old and lacking in her expressions of emotion.

ComingSoon.it rated it 3/5.[5] Cinema of the World claims the film is "long-forgotten" but the soundtrack is "considered by some as one of Morricone’s finest, and quite rightly so".[6] Underscores gave the soundtrack 4/5, singling out "Chi Mai".[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b Greenspun, Roger (November 20, 1971). "Maddalena (1971)". New York Times. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Obituary: Jerzy Kawalerowicz". Daily Telegraph (UK). January 1, 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  3. ^ "Antonello Ricci racconta le riprese di "Maddalena"". TusciaWeb. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Ennio Morricone: Ten Best Movie Soundtracks: Maddalena". Classic FM. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  5. ^ "Maddalena". Coming Soon. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  6. ^ "Jerzy Kawalerowicz – Maddalena (1971)". Cinema of the World. July 16, 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  7. ^ Josse, Benjamin. "Maddalena". Underscores. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
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