ENNIO

 

This mammoth documentary about legendary Italian composer Ennio Morricone was originally released in Europe over two years ago. An English-language version of the film is finally available for streaming in America. Why it took so long to get here is beyond me, but let's be glad it has arrived. 

ENNIO is over two and a half hours long, and it was directed by Giuseppe Tornatore (who collaborated most famously with Morricone on CINEMA PARADISO). It details Morricone's long and fruitful life, with his playing trumpet in small gigs while still a young student, to his studying classical composition, his success in the Italian pop music world as an arranger, and his groundbreaking and game-changing career as the creator of hundreds of scores for feature films. 

There's plenty of famous folks on hand to express their love and admiration for Morricone, but what makes this documentary special is that most of it is made up of the man himself on camera sharing his thoughts and ideas on his life and work. It's fascinating to hear Morricone give insight on how he created his most renowned themes. The man was nearly 90 when he took part in this project, but when discussing those scores that mean the most to him he becomes particularly energetic and vibrant, revealing his overall passion for music. 

One of the main themes in this documentary is how Morricone often felt he wasn't given enough credit as a "serious" music composer. Watching this film it's obvious this feeling still bothered him after all his many accomplishments. No matter what your definition of "serious" music may be, no one can deny that Ennio Morricone has had more impact on global popular culture than almost any other artist of his time. That is Morricone's true legacy. 

There's plenty of rare footage here not just of Morricone, but also of performances of some of the pop tunes he arranged in the early 1960s, and of course plenty of scenes from the many, many films he wrote scores for. I'm sure there's going to be someone who will view this film and say "Why didn't they talk about this film? Or that score?" All things considered, I feel ENNIO gives an effective and comprehensive overview of Morricone's career. Giuseppe Tornatore provides a good rhythm to the proceedings, and thankfully he lets Morricone himself be the true star of the show. 

I've been an unabashed Ennio Morricone fan for decades, so it's no surprise I wholeheartedly endorse this documentary. You don't even need to totally adore Morricone's work to enjoy ENNIO--a true love of cinema will be enough for anyone to appreciate it. The music selected for this film alone is enough of a reason to watch it.