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Source: Cinoteca Nazionale

‘The Night’

Venice Classics will screen restorations of Michelangelo Antonioni’s The Night and Vittorio De Sica’s The Gold Of Naples as part of an 18-film programme at the 81st Venice Film Festival (August 28-Septemer 7).

The Night, a 1961 black-and-white drama depicted a day and night in the life of a disillusioned novelist and his alienated wife, will play in the 100th anniversary year of the birth of its lead actor Marcello Mastroianni.

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De Sica’s 1954 The Gold Of Naples is formed of six episodes inspired by Giovanni Marotta’s short stories, and plays 50 years after the death of its esteemed Italian director.

Italian filmmakers are well-represented, including Swept Away By An Unusual Destiny In The Blue Sea by Lina Wertmuller – the one woman director from the 18 filmmakers.

English-language selections include Peter Brook’s 1989 feature The Mahabharata, a Channel 4 Television production, and Howard Hawks’ 1940 comedy His Girl Friday starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell.

Among the more recent inclusions are a restoration of Nicolas Winding Refn’s 1996 debut feature Pusher.

The Venice Classics section has been part of the festival since 2012, and awards prizes for best restored film and best documentary about cinema, chosen by a student jury.

Venice Classics 2024

The Night (It-Fr) dir. Michelangelo Antonioni

The Mahabharata (Fr-UK-US) dir. Peter Brook

Forbidden Games (Fr) dir. Rene Clement

The Gold Of Naples (It) dir. Vittorio De Sica

His Girl Friday (US) dir. Howard Hawks

The Ritual (India) dir. Girish Kasaravalli

The Big Heat (US) dir. Fritz Lang

Blood And Sand (US) dir. Rouben Mamoulian

Bend Of The River (US) dir. Anthony Mann

All Mixed Up (Jap) dir. Yasuzo Masumura

Ecce Bombo (It) dir. Nanni Moretti

The Man Who Left His Will On Film (Jap) dir. Nagisa Oshima

The Time And The Change Of Augusto Matraga (Brazil) dir. Roberto Santos

Goldflakes (Ger-Fr) dir. Werner Schroeter

Soft Skin (Fr) dir. Francois Truffaut

Swept Away By An Unusual Destiny In The Blue Sea Of August (It) dir. Lina Wertmuller

Pusher (Den) dir. Nicolas Winding Refn

Model (US) dir. Frederick Wiseman