Progress, exaltation of the machine, emancipation, the myths of modernity modify customs, fashion, music, lifestyles in the nascent twentieth century, creating a taste that the most up-to-date support with the enthusiastic cry of "how modern it is!", later translated into slogan “new is beautiful”.
An unconditional trust in the future, of which cinema becomes an immediate witness and soon a merciless detractor. The unconditional rush to progress and easy wealth reveals to his critical eye the alienation of industrial society and the expectation of a totally dehumanized future world: from the bitter laughter of Charlot to the prison metropolis of Lang.
The emancipation of customs opens the screen to the unconscious, revealing the disturbing side of sexuality and the black and demonic side of society, populated by real monsters, such as gangsters or maniacs, and imaginary ones, such as vampires or prehistoric creatures.
The exhibition presents some cinematic masterpieces produced in the first four decades of the twentieth century, focused on aspects of modernity and precursors of genres that have spanned a century of cinema, such as science fiction or thrillers, alongside recent works dedicated to the same topics and reflections, with some real makeovers. An exciting swing through time, which only cinema can offer so clearly, to discover what we thought we were or hoped to achieve and what we have become, to restore to cinema the role of thermometer, often premonitory, of hopes and fears of the modern era.
Programme:
November 22, 18.00 pm
Moon
by Duncan Jones. UK, 2009, 97', v. en.
Tribute to classic sci-fi and profound reflection on human loneliness: an astronaut on a lunar mission with a robot, reminiscent of 2001: Odissea nello spazio, makes a shocking discovery.
November 22, 21.00 pm
Modern times
by Charlie Chaplin. USA, 1936, 87', v. en
Beacon of film history and summit of the art of Chaplin. Through hilarious comic inventions, it offers a profound social reflection on the damnation of modernity and the ambiguous allure of mechanization.
November 24, 21.00 pm
The working class goes to heaven
by Elio Petri. Italy, 1971, 111'
The master of our civil commitment cinema enters the factory and unleashes the masterful scream of Volonté against the din of the machines, denouncing the exhausting rhythms of work and the alienation of working-class life.
November 25, 21.00 pm
T
by Peter Weir. USA, 1998, 103', v. en.
Since birth, Truman has been filmed without his knowledge by the cameras of a television show. Harsh reflection on the supremacy of the media, which have transformed the world into sets, making us all voyeurs.
November 26, 21.00 pm
Metropolis
by Fritz Lang. Germany, 1927, 150', ov subt. it. (restored edition)
A true visual symphony, this absolute masterpiece prefigures the megalopolis of the future (it's set in 2016!) as an alienating prison, where technology and magic overlap.
November 27, 21.00 pm
Blade Runner
by Ridley Scott. USA, Hong Kong, UK, 1982, 117', v. en.
Cult-movie with oppressive atmospheres that embody our concern for the future. Amidst decadent urban settings, a bounty hunter and rebellious replicants chase each other, united by the fear of death.
November 28, 21.00 pm
A chien andalou
by Luis Bunuel. France, 1929, 16', ov subt. en.
Dreamlike masterpiece by Buñuel and his friend Salvador Dalí, delirium of mental associations and visual allusions that give free rein to the unconscious. The cut eye at the beginning is one of the most famous shock images in cinema.
Blue velvet
by David Lynch. USA, 1986, 121', v. en.
The visionary talent of contemporary cinema tears up the postcard image of the American province, showing its perversions and violence. The newspaper reveals its dark side, to the hallucinated rhythm of instincts.
November 29, 21.00 pm
I will save you
by Alfred Hitchcock. USA, 1945, 118', ov subt. en
A breathtaking enigma with a psychoanalytic theme that the master of the thriller builds with the visual complicity of Salvator Dalì, who created the dreamlike images, and the irresistible charm of Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck.
2 December, 21.00pm
Scarface – The scarfaced one
by Howard Hawks, Richard Rosson. USA, 1932, 87', ov subt. en.
One of the most beautiful gangster films ever made, which has become a cinematographic model. The Hollywood master is inspired by Al Capone, as a symbol of the new amorality, bold, violent and morbid.
3 December, 21.00pm
Scarface
by Brian DePalma. USA, 1983, 170', ov subt. it.
Extraordinary remake that updates the criminal world to the reality of the 80s, between cocaine, models and disco-music. Al Pacino is the titanic anti-hero of an age of delusions of omnipotence and self-destructive excesses.
4 December, 21.00pm
Fourth power
by Orson Welles. USA, 1941, 115', ov sub-it.
In his dazzling debut, the director who changed cinema forever through surprising technical and narrative freedoms reverses the American dream in the descending parable of a publishing magnate.
5 December, 21.00pm
The Social Network
by David Fincher. USA, 2010, 120', ov subt. en
What would our daily life be like without Facebook? This extraordinary film recounts the birth of the network that revolutionized our sociality, outlining the personality of its controversial creator.
6 December, 21.00pm
King Kong
by Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack. USA, 1933, 95', v. en.
A remote island, prehistoric creatures, a colossal ape capable of feelings… An incredible adventure film that has made history and still surprises for editing, scenography and special effects.
8 December, 21.00pm
King Kong
by Peter Jackson. USA, 2005, 187', ov subt. it.
The genius of fantasy, director de The Lord of the Rings, brings back to life and humanizes the myth of the prehistoric monster in an impressive blockbuster, which has the magic of the 30s film combined with the most sophisticated technologies.
9 December, 21.00pm
I will give a million
by Mario Camerini. Italy, 1935, 79'
A millionaire disguises himself as a poor man to offer a million to anyone who will perform a spontaneous act of kindness towards him. Among the most successful comedies of our 30s, thanks to the writing of Zavattini and the hilarious grace of De Sica.
10 December, 21.00pm
An armchair for two
by John Landis. USA, 1983, 112', ov subt. en.
Two financiers reverse the fates of a manager and a poor man, betting that the environment makes the man and not vice versa. Amazing comedy with the couple Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy.
11 December, 21.00pm
M – The monster of Düsseldorf
by Fritz Lang. Germany, 1931, 115', ov subt. en.
The master of Expressionism embodies the inner demon of an entire society in a child killer and bases the genre on serial killers, combining the expressiveness of the silent with the disturbing modernity of sound.
12 December, 21.00pm
The silence of the innocent
by Jonathan Demme. USA, 1991, 118', v. en.
It is significant that one of today's decisive films, for audiences and critics (five Academy Awards), is centered on a serial killer, in symbiosis with his antagonist, a fragile rational antidote to contemporary terror.
13 December, 21.00pm
Dracula
by Tod Browning. USA, 1931, 74', ov sub-it.
Horror classic that ruined the sleep of entire generations of terrified spectators, thanks to the intense interpretation of Bela Lugosi, who transformed the bloodthirsty vampire into a dandy with ruthless charm.
16 December, 21.00pm
Dracula by Bram Stoker
by Francis Ford Coppola. USA, 1992, 125', v. en.
The master of contemporary cinema resurrects the vampire through a powerful, sumptuous, violent vision, steeped in nightmares with an expressionist flavor, reaching one of the peaks of today's gothic cinema.
17 December, 21.00pm
I want to dance with you
by Mark Sandrich. USA, 1937, 100', v. en.
The queen couple of the musical Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, sensational dance numbers, music by George Gershwin, lots of lightness, sympathy and feelings: the winning recipe of the great classic Hollywood.
18 December, 21.00pm
Moulin Rouge!
by Baz Luhrmann. USA, Australia, 2001, 127', ov subt. en.
Masterpiece of the contemporary musical, overwhelming kaleidoscope of choreography, kitsch sets, amazing songs from Elton John to Queen: great show and non-stop emotions.
19 December, 21.00pm
Fantasy fabric
produced by Walt Disney, by various authors. USA, 1940, 120', v. en.
The creative genius of Disney meets classical music: sublime animations are grafted onto famous pieces directed by Leopold Stokowski, from the Universe to the dinosaurs, from Olympus to Mickey the bungling sorcerer's apprentice.
20 December, 21.00pm
La città incantata
by Hayao Miyazaki. Japan, 2001, 125', v. en.
A masterpiece by the undisputed master of contemporary animated cinema, winner of a Golden Bear and an Oscar, it sets an inner journey of growth and loss in a stunning fairytale world.
INFORMATION
Palazzo delle Esposizioni – Cinema Hall
stairway in via Milano 9 a, Rome
FREE ENTRY UNTIL SEATS LAST
Seats will be assigned one hour before the start of each screening. Possibility of booking reserved only for membership card holders. Entry will not be allowed once the event has started.
