Pigeon Shoot

ITALIA – 1961 – colore – 114’

Direction: Giuliano Montaldo

Screenplay: Ennio De Concini, Fabrizio Onofri, Luciano Martino, Giuliano Montaldo dal romanzo omonimo di from the same novel by Giose Rimanelli

Cinematography: Carlo Di Palma

Editing: Nino Baragli

Set design: Carlo Egidi

Music: Carlo Rustichelli

Costumes: Pier Luigi Pizzi

Cast: Jacques Charrier (Marco Laudato), Eleonora Rossi Drago (Anna), Francisco Rabal (Elia), Sergio Fantoni (Nardi), Gastone Moschin (Pasquini), Franco Balducci (Garrani), Silla Bettini (Gioioso), Maria Grazia Francia (Ida), Carlo D’Angelo (Mattei), Loris Bazzocchi (Giuliani), Enzo Cerusico, Franco Lantieri, Marco Mariani, Edgardo Siroli, Enrico Glori, Franca Nuti, Franco Perucci

Producers: Alessandro Jacovoni, Tonino Cervi

Production: Ajace Compagnia Cinematografica, Euro Internationl Film

The restoration of the film Pigeon Shoot was carried out in 4K by CSC – Cineteca Nazionale at the laboratories of Istituto Luce – Cinecittà starting out with the original 35mm negative made available by Surf Film along with an optical sound positive and a preservation print held in the archives of the National Film Library. The sound restoration was supervised by Federico Savina.

synopsis

In the aftermath of September 8, 1943, young Marco joins the Republic of Salò. His initial patriotic enthusiasm is shaken by the brutal violence of comrades against other Italians, and Marco’s convictions begin to waver. Wounded, he begins an affair with Anna, an older nurse, but she later flees to Switzerland with her captain. During a guerrilla mission, the only survivor, he is annihilated and devastated by the horrors seen and he falls asleep amid the corpses of fellow soldiers.

the director: Giuliano Montaldo

He made his directorial debut with Pigeon Shoot in 1961. A skilled professional, with a solid cultural background, he alternated between socially engaged cinema and escapist works, ranging from historical reconstructions (The Fifth Day of Peace, Sacco & Vanzetti and the TV script Marco Polo), to adaptations of post-war Italian novels (The Gold Rimmed Glasses, Time to Kill). He tackled significant personalities and moments in Italian history with films such as Giordano Bruno, And Agnes Chose to Die and The Enterpreneur. For his role in F. Bruni’s Everything You Want, he won the David di Donatello Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2018. A great lover of opera, Montaldo directed numerous opera productions. In 2007 he received the special David di Donatello Lifetime Achievement Award.

festival

1961 Mostra di Venezia –  Information Section

2019 Mostra di Venezia – Venice Classics