Background
Vittorio Taviani was born on September 20, 1929 in San Miniato, Pisa, Italy. He has a brother, Paolo Taviani, with whom they always work together, each directing alternate scenes.
Vittorio with his brother Paolo
Vittorio with his brother Paolo
Vittorio with his brother Paolo
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E81GYVG/?tag=2022091-20
1987
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/8846702298/?tag=2022091-20
1999
Vittorio Taviani was born on September 20, 1929 in San Miniato, Pisa, Italy. He has a brother, Paolo Taviani, with whom they always work together, each directing alternate scenes.
Vittorio attended University of Pisa.
Taviani began his career as a journalist. In 1960 he came to the world of cinema with his brother, directing with Joris Ivens the documentary "L'Italia non è un paese povero." They went on to direct two films with Valentino Orsini "Un uomo da bruciare" and "I fuorilegge del matrimonio."
Their first autonomous film was "I sovversivi", with which they anticipated the events of 1968. With actor Gian Maria Volontè they gained attention with "Sotto il segno dello scorpione."
Their next film "Padre padrone", taken from a novel by Gavino Ledda, speaks of the struggle of a Sardinian shepherd against the cruel rules of his patriarchal society. In "Il prato" there are nonrealistic echoes, while "La notte di San Lorenzo" narrates, in a fairy-tale tone, a marginal event in the days before the end of World War II, in Tuscany.
Successes like "Le affinità elettive", and an attempt to woo the international audiences like "Good morning Babilonia", on the pioneers of cinema history, alternate with lesser films like "Fiorile" and "Tu ridi", inspired by the characters and short stories of Pirandello.
In the 2000s, the brothers turned successfully to directing television films and miniseries such as Leo Tolstoy's "Resurrection" and Alexandre Dumas' "Luisa Sanfelice", as well as "La masseria delle allodole", presented at the Berlin Film Festival in the section 'Berlinale Special'.
Vittorio's film "Caesar Must Die", directed together with his brother, won the Golden Bear at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2012. The film was also selected as the Italian entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist.
At the Cannes Film Festival the Taviani brothers won the Palme d'Or and the FIPRESCI prize for Padre padrone in 1977 and Grand Prix du Jury for "La notte di San Lorenzo."
David Denby, writing in New York, described Vittorio Taviani as “possessed of a true folk imagination, elemental and rigorous, harsh and responsive.”
Physical Characteristics: A dry, clacking chuckle follows, like the sound of a child rattling a pocketful of pebbles. His moustache and eyebrows resemble bright white fibreglass bristles; his shirt collars frame a loosely knotted neckerchief, while a blue cap is pushed to the back of his head. His eyes are hidden by orange-tinted glasses.
