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Gillo Pontecorvo is a Actor, Director, Scriptwriter, Assistant Director, Editor and Original Music Composer Italien born on 19 november 1919 at Pisa (Italie)

Gillo Pontecorvo

Gillo Pontecorvo
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Nationality Italie
Birth 19 november 1919 at Pisa (Italie)
Death 12 october 2006 (at 86 years) at Rome (Italie)

Gillo Pontecorvo ([ˈdʒillo ponteˈkɔrvo]; 19 November 1919 – 12 October 2006) was an Italian filmmaker. He worked as a film director for more than a decade before his best known film La battaglia di Algeri (The Battle of Algiers, 1966) was released. For this he was nominated for the Best Director Oscar in 1969 and won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in that year.

His other films include Kapò (1960), which takes place in a World War II concentration camp, and Burn! (Queimada, 1969), starring Marlon Brando and loosely based on the failed slave revolution in Guadeloupe. In 2000, he received the Pietro Bianchi Award at the Venice Film Festival. He was also a screenwriter and composer of film scores, and a close friend of the Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.

Biography

D'origine juive italienne, il est le frère de Bruno Pontecorvo, physicien nucléaire travaillant pour l'URSS, et de Guido Pontecorvo, généticien italo-britannique, ainsi que le petit-fils de l'industriel juif Pellegrino Pontecorvo. Chimiste de formation, il se tourne rapidement vers le journalisme et devient correspondant à Paris de plusieurs publications italiennes. En 1941, il rejoint le Parti communiste italien et participe à des activités antifascistes dans le nord de l'Italie. Après la répression soviétique de l'insurrection de Budapest en 1956, il rompt avec le PCI, tout en continuant à se réclamer du marxisme. Gillo Pontecorvo a trois fils : Marco (directeur de la photographie et réalisateur), Simone (peintre) et Ludovico (physicien).

Il débute au cinéma après la Seconde Guerre mondiale comme assistant d'Yves Allégret et Mario Monicelli notamment. À partir de 1953, il réalise ses premiers essais documentaires (Giovanna, MM, 1956).

En 1956, il contribue à un épisode de la Rose des vents (Die Windrose), supervisé par Alberto Cavalcanti. L'année suivante, il dirige son premier long métrage, Un dénommé Squarcio (La grande strada azzurra, co Maleno Malenatti, d'après un roman de Franco Solinas).

Puis il décrit l'univers concentrationnaire dans le film Kapò (1960), histoire d'une juive qui devient l'auxiliaire des nazis. Le film est nommé à l'Oscar du meilleur film en langue étrangère en 1961.

En 1966, il met en scène son film le plus important, La Bataille d'Alger (La Battaglia di Algeri), reconstitution de l'action policière de l'armée française pendant la bataille d'Alger qui est un épisode fondamental de la guerre d'Algérie du point de vue des combattants du FLN. Christelle Taraud qui utilise le film en 2008 comme source primaire d'étude des enfants de rue le décrit ainsi : « Le fait que La bataille d’Alger soit de plus clairement un film de propagande [...] accentue encore l’idée que le discours qui y est véhiculé procède, au même titre qu’un tract ou qu’un communiqué du FLN, de l’énoncé du projet politique et de la place que chacun doit y trouver. ». Ce film est récompensé par le Lion d'or du festival de Venise, mais demeure longtemps interdit en France et son exploitation provoque de nombreux remous.

Dans Queimada (1969), dominé par l'interprétation de Marlon Brando, il s'attaque à nouveau au colonialisme, avec une évocation des Antilles au milieu du XIX siècle.

Plus tard, il ne retrouve pas le talent de ses débuts. Il réalise un film secondaire, Ogro (1979), centré sur le terrorisme basque pendant le franquisme, et collabore au film L'addio a Enrico Berlinguer (1984).

En 1992, il a été nommé directeur du Festival de Venise.

Gillo Pontecorvo a été membre d'honneur du Club de Budapest.

Best films

The Battle of Algiers (1966)
(Director)

Usually with

Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Gillo Pontecorvo (12 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

The Stupids, 1h34
Directed by John Landis
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Adventure
Themes Children's films
Actors Tom Arnold, Jessica Lundy, Bug Hall, Alex McKenna, Scott Kraft, Mark Metcalf
Roles Talk show guest
Rating43% 2.15362.15362.15362.15362.1536
Joan and Stanley Stupid are convinced they are victims of a conspiracy that steals their garbage every week and in an attempt to uncover this, Stanley follows the garbage truck to the city dump where he stumbles across Lieutenant Neidermeyer who is selling contraband weaponry to a group of terrorists. Neidermeyer believes Stanley to be a secret agent who has uncovered their operation and orders him to be assassinated, and after several attempts on his life result in humorous dispatching of his would be assassins, Stanley narrowly escapes a carbomb and is presumed dead by Neidermeyer.
The Wide Blue Road, 1h43
Directed by Giuliano Montaldo, Gillo Pontecorvo
Origin Italie
Genres Drama, Crime, Romance
Themes Films about animals, Seafaring films, Transport films
Actors Yves Montand, Alida Valli, Francisco Rabal, Umberto Spadaro, Peter Carsten, Terence Hill
Roles (uncredited)
Rating68% 3.438163.438163.438163.438163.43816
The story follows the harsh rugged life of a poor fisherman on a small island off the Dalmatian coast of Italy. In a desperate effort to improve the lives of his family he begins to fish illegally using bombs instead of relying on nets. However this method invokes the hatred of the other fishermen and finally results in tragedy.
Outcry
Outcry (1946)
, 1h35
Directed by Aldo Vergano
Origin Italie
Genres Drama, War
Themes Political films
Actors Massimo Serato, Lea Padovani, Elli Parvo, Gillo Pontecorvo, Checco Rissone, Carlo Lizzani
Roles Pietro
Rating68% 3.449033.449033.449033.449033.44903
La vie dans un château de la plaine lombarde et son exploitation agricole, à la fin de la Deuxième Guerre mondiale. L'arrivée d'un déserteur qui s'y cache et se lie avec la fille d'un résistant, puis avec la propriétaire du domaine. À son tour, il rejoint le maquis antifasciste. On assiste à la fusillade de deux résistants : un prêtre et un communiste. Les ouvriers se rebellent et chassent les occupants allemands... Un des films essentiels sur la Résistance italienne.

Director

Burn!
Burn! (1969)
, 2h12
Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo
Origin Italie
Genres Drama, War, Action, Adventure, Historical
Themes Films about slavery, Seafaring films, Monde imaginaire, Transport films, Political films
Actors Marlon Brando, Evaristo Márquez, Renato Salvatori, Giampiero Albertini, Dana Ghia
Rating70% 3.544683.544683.544683.544683.54468
The British government sends Sir William Walker (Brando), an agent provocateur, to the fictional island of Queimada, a Portuguese possession in the Lesser Antilles. Britain seeks to open the island to exploitation by the fictional Antilles Royal Sugar Company. Walker's task is to organize an uprising of African slaves against the Portuguese regime, which the British intend to replace with a government dominated by pliable white planters.
The Battle of Algiers, 2h1
Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo
Origin Algerie
Genres Drama, War, Documentary, Historical
Themes Films set in Africa, French war films, La colonisation française, Films about religion, Films about terrorism, Algerian War films, Political films, Films about Islam, Histoire de France
Actors Jean Martin, Brahim Haggiag, Rouiched, Larbi Zekkal
Rating80% 4.0486454.0486454.0486454.0486454.048645
En 1954 à Alger, le Front de libération nationale (FLN) diffuse son premier communiqué : son but est l'indépendance nationale vis-à-vis de la France, et la restauration de l'État algérien. Ali la Pointe propose des parties de bonneteau. Repéré par la police, il s'enfuit mais se fait agresser par un passant, il réplique et se fait tabasser par le reste du groupe. Rattrapé par la police, il se fait arrêter. Emprisonné, il assiste par la fenêtre de sa cellule à l'exécution d'une peine de mort par guillotine sur un nationaliste. Le FLN le contacte.
Kapo
Kapo (1960)
, 1h52
Directed by Giuliano Montaldo, Gillo Pontecorvo
Origin Italie
Genres Drama, War, Historical
Themes Films about religion, Political films, Films about Jews and Judaism
Actors Susan Strasberg, Didi Perego, Laurent Terzieff, Emmanuelle Riva, Gianni Garko, Paola Pitagora
Rating75% 3.7866353.7866353.7866353.7866353.786635
Naive fourteen-year-old Edith (Susan Strasberg) and her Jewish parents are sent to a concentration camp, where the latter are killed. Sofia (Didi Perego), an older, political prisoner, and a kindly camp doctor save her from a similar fate by giving her a new, non-Jewish identity, that of the newly dead Nichole Niepas.
The Wide Blue Road, 1h43
Directed by Giuliano Montaldo, Gillo Pontecorvo
Origin Italie
Genres Drama, Crime, Romance
Themes Films about animals, Seafaring films, Transport films
Actors Yves Montand, Alida Valli, Francisco Rabal, Umberto Spadaro, Peter Carsten, Terence Hill
Rating68% 3.438163.438163.438163.438163.43816
The story follows the harsh rugged life of a poor fisherman on a small island off the Dalmatian coast of Italy. In a desperate effort to improve the lives of his family he begins to fish illegally using bombs instead of relying on nets. However this method invokes the hatred of the other fishermen and finally results in tragedy.

Scriptwriter

Burn!
Burn! (1969)
, 2h12
Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo
Origin Italie
Genres Drama, War, Action, Adventure, Historical
Themes Films about slavery, Seafaring films, Monde imaginaire, Transport films, Political films
Actors Marlon Brando, Evaristo Márquez, Renato Salvatori, Giampiero Albertini, Dana Ghia
Roles Story
Rating70% 3.544683.544683.544683.544683.54468
The British government sends Sir William Walker (Brando), an agent provocateur, to the fictional island of Queimada, a Portuguese possession in the Lesser Antilles. Britain seeks to open the island to exploitation by the fictional Antilles Royal Sugar Company. Walker's task is to organize an uprising of African slaves against the Portuguese regime, which the British intend to replace with a government dominated by pliable white planters.
The Battle of Algiers, 2h1
Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo
Origin Algerie
Genres Drama, War, Documentary, Historical
Themes Films set in Africa, French war films, La colonisation française, Films about religion, Films about terrorism, Algerian War films, Political films, Films about Islam, Histoire de France
Actors Jean Martin, Brahim Haggiag, Rouiched, Larbi Zekkal
Roles Writer
Rating80% 4.0486454.0486454.0486454.0486454.048645
En 1954 à Alger, le Front de libération nationale (FLN) diffuse son premier communiqué : son but est l'indépendance nationale vis-à-vis de la France, et la restauration de l'État algérien. Ali la Pointe propose des parties de bonneteau. Repéré par la police, il s'enfuit mais se fait agresser par un passant, il réplique et se fait tabasser par le reste du groupe. Rattrapé par la police, il se fait arrêter. Emprisonné, il assiste par la fenêtre de sa cellule à l'exécution d'une peine de mort par guillotine sur un nationaliste. Le FLN le contacte.
Kapo
Kapo (1960)
, 1h52
Directed by Giuliano Montaldo, Gillo Pontecorvo
Origin Italie
Genres Drama, War, Historical
Themes Films about religion, Political films, Films about Jews and Judaism
Actors Susan Strasberg, Didi Perego, Laurent Terzieff, Emmanuelle Riva, Gianni Garko, Paola Pitagora
Roles Ecrivain
Rating75% 3.7866353.7866353.7866353.7866353.786635
Naive fourteen-year-old Edith (Susan Strasberg) and her Jewish parents are sent to a concentration camp, where the latter are killed. Sofia (Didi Perego), an older, political prisoner, and a kindly camp doctor save her from a similar fate by giving her a new, non-Jewish identity, that of the newly dead Nichole Niepas.
The Wide Blue Road, 1h43
Directed by Giuliano Montaldo, Gillo Pontecorvo
Origin Italie
Genres Drama, Crime, Romance
Themes Films about animals, Seafaring films, Transport films
Actors Yves Montand, Alida Valli, Francisco Rabal, Umberto Spadaro, Peter Carsten, Terence Hill
Rating68% 3.438163.438163.438163.438163.43816
The story follows the harsh rugged life of a poor fisherman on a small island off the Dalmatian coast of Italy. In a desperate effort to improve the lives of his family he begins to fish illegally using bombs instead of relying on nets. However this method invokes the hatred of the other fishermen and finally results in tragedy.

Director

Toto and Carolina, 1h25
Directed by Mario Monicelli
Genres Comedy, Romance
Actors Totò, Anna Maria Ferrero, Arnoldo Foà, Maurizio Arena, Tina Pica, Rosita Pisano
Roles First Assistant Director
Rating69% 3.4653853.4653853.4653853.4653853.465385
During a police raid at Villa Borghese, the agent Antonio Caccavallo, a widower with dependent child and parent, stops along with other women of life even Carolina. In fact, the girl is just ran away from home because she was pregnant. The poor Caccavallo so by the Commissioner is obliged to give back to the country of origin, and give it to a relative. But the task of arranging Carolina will prove to be more complicated than expected, partly because of the reluctance of the girl who does not want to set foot where she had fled. Nevertheless Carolina somehow manages to confide in and bond with the policeman, which includes professional obligations, and despite a few troubles do not go (try to escape, and even suicide) does not grudge. In the end, lying to his superiors about the success of the mission, it will load Caccavallo welcoming her to his house, where for a long time lacked a female presence.
Love in the City, 1h45
Directed by Alberto Lattuada, Carlo Lizzani, Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini, Francesco Maselli, Dino Risi, Roberto Rossellini, Cesare Zavattini
Origin Italie
Genres Drama, Anthology film, Romance
Actors Ugo Tognazzi, Luisella Boni, Mara Berni, Antonio Cifariello, Marco Ferreri, Raimondo Vianello
Roles Assistant Director
Rating64% 3.246843.246843.246843.246843.24684
Sous l’égide de Cesare Zavattini, précurseur et théoricien du néoréalisme, les différents auteurs de ce film à sketches tentent de reconstituer d’après les témoignages des protagonistes eux-mêmes différents aspects, drôles ou tragiques, de l’amour en ville.