Showing posts with label Il Pentamerone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Il Pentamerone. Show all posts

Friday, September 9, 2016

"Tale of Tales" Comes to DVD & Blu-ray in the US

I'm always astonished at how much fairy tale news there is to report so, forgive us if we miss the exact release date of things as they happen. We are just back-logged with fairy tale awesome in our newsroom!

This last Tuesday, a movie we have been very much looking forward to seeing, Tale of Tales, was released on DVD and Blu-ray. We still await our copy, so won't be able to review for some time yet, but we have unearthed some additional video footage which will give you a good idea of the tone of the movie, especially if you've been following the promotion we covered as the movie was originally released in Italy.

A quick refresher: this movie was an independent film, though it stars many luminary actors (including Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel, and John C. Reilly along with many other familiar faces) and has a well known director, Matteo Garrone. It was a passion project, filmed in remote locations around the director's home country of Italy in English. (No subtitle reading required.) The film is based on the oldest known written collection of fairy tales by Giambattista Basile, Il Pentamerone or The Tale of Tales, Or Entertainment for Little Ones (aka Lo cunto de li cunti overo lo trattenemiento de peccerille or Il racconto dei racconti), focusing on 3 of the tales. And yes, this film, is not for children, though are definitely sections a child would very much enjoy (giant flea anyone?).

Description:
Discover a grim, gorgeous, grown-up fairy tale full of princes and princesses, sorcerers and fairies, and monsters and ogres in the epic fantasy horror film Tale of Tales. Based on three spellbinding stories of magic and the macabre by 17th-century folklorist Giambattista Basile, Tale of Tales unleashes a barrage of mind-bogglingly exquisite and fantastical imagery as it brings to life the misadventures of three kings. 
Starring Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel, John C. Reilly, Toby Jones, and Shirley Henderson, this captivating film makes its Blu-ray and DVD debut on September 6, 2016, from Shout! Factory and Sundance Selects. This critically acclaimed film from celebrated director Matteo Garrone also includes the featurette “The Making of Tale of Tales” and the theatrical trailer as bonus features. 
A rich sensory experience featuring exquisite cinematography and a score by Academy Award-winning composer Alexandre Desplat, Tale of Tales interweaves three enchanting sagas about universal themes of life, death, and love. Overflowing with surreal, dazzling surprises, this intoxicating cinematic spectacle is a delirious excursion into the dark heart of fairy tales.
The three new clips available touch on three of the stories in the film:
  • the barren queen (and king) find out an unusual way they could finally have a child
  • a king obsessed with a giant flea offers the hand of his daughter in an ill-advised way
  • a woman is not quite what she seems (which the sex-obsessed, love struck ruler of Strongcliff will rue)
Be intrigued:
#1: "A Life for a Life"
 #2" "The Flea"
#3: "The Flayed Old Lady"
While there is nothing which isn't rated 'G' in the clips, you may be surprised at what is implied, so perhaps view away from any children for a first look.

I can see how this movie is polarizing viewers - some are a little freaked while others hail it a masterpiece. We guess that we will lean toward the latter, though without a proper viewing we can't say that definitively. However, we are very familiar with the source material so are unlikely to be bothered by any of the aspects that those giving negative reviews focus on.

We are only disappointed that we can't view it on the big screen as it was intended to be seen.

In the meantime, please enjoy these alternate posters, including a couple of foreign language variations. I'm surprised I hadn't seen some of these before - they're quite striking.

We hope to bring you a review in the coming weeks.

Monday, May 11, 2015

Giambattista Basile’s "Pentamerone" illustrated by Franz von Bayros


Since Matteo Garrone's Tale of Tales film is really beefing up the promotional material for Cannes, I thought you might like to see something a little older regarding The Pentamerone. Although Basile's book contains fifty tales the film is only (reportedly) using five (and I don't have my own copy - YET! - to check which exactly sorry! My library isn't being cooperative for copied either, sadly.)
These illustrations are by Austrian illustrator and painter Franz von Bayros from 1909. I don't recommend you look him up if you have delicate sensibilities. He is best known for his very lewd and explicit illustrations and paintings and that's putting it mildly (totally NSFW or kids). Perhaps because of this, he is, however, a master at the human form.

Anyway - these are quite lovely though and considering the source material, I'm sort of amazed they are as family friendly as they are... I haven't included all ten. You can see the rest on the Tumblr site HERE if you'd like.

Saturday, April 18, 2015

International Trailer for "Tale Of Tales" Released (Embedded video NSFW)

It's here, it's beautiful, it's NOT for kids (but hopefully you knew that already). Expect both lush, gorgeous scenes and also a good serving of gruesome - still beautifully shot but it's intended to remind you we are dealing with fairly primal fears and desires as well. There's dirt, blood, sex, beauty, beasts and the fantastic all rolled together. Even with all this, it's still clear this is a fairy tale - or a small collection of them put together. It's just for adults.
News you may have seen the last week is that the film is an initial selection for the Cannes festival competition this year too. And I tracked down the Italian poster (as you can see at the top of the post). I don't know what I was expecting but this is wonderfully intriguing and I can see how it reflects the film - and the source - already.
This reminds me of an Annie Leibovitz shoot from a few years ago, but I think she was referencing classic paintings herself so it's not too surprising
International distribution is apparently still under negotiation so no word yet on when it will be seen outside Italy but it will be.
Here's a summary for "Il racconto dei racconti - Tale of Tales":
Inspired and loosely based on Giambattista Basile’s Pentamerone, a 17th-century fairytale collection compiled by the Italian poet, Tale of Tales tells the stories of king and queens, princes and princesses, woods and castles, ogres and fantastic beasts, dragons, witches, elderly laundresses and circus performers. 
The cast features Salma HayekVincent CasselToby Jones, Shirley Henderson, Hayley Carmichael, Bebe Cave, Stacy Martin, Christian Lees and Jonah Lees, Guillaume Delaunay, Alba Rohrwacher, Massimo Ceccherini and John C. Reilly.
The trailer is mostly without dialogue and instead has a lovely soundtrack but the visuals are mildly not safe for work (and definitely not for kids) - please consider yourself cautioned:
(In case you're wondering, the lovely music is Fauré Pavane - Op 50.)

And now we wait and see what the reaction is. Outside the US, people seem excited and thrilled but then they're probably more familiar with Giambattista Basile's Il Pentamerone and know what sort of range of themes to expect, especially in combination with Matteo Garrone's directing sensibilities.

To me this is reminiscent of Pan's Labyrinth in some ways but also completely different. What do you think?

Monday, April 13, 2015

"The Tale Of Tales" Gets A Trailer!

First image from Matteo Garrone's "The Tale of Tales"
And it's quite stunning and shows the film will have elements of 'the fantastic' as well.

If you're a regular reader you know I've been excited about this film ever since it was announced, so  I couldn't wait to share the trailer with you.

Although the film was made in English, it's a big deal for Italy to see this get made so its no surprise the trailer first aired on Italian TV and will premiere there first. The only real problem with this teaser preview via Italian media is, it's not your typical trailer as we've come to expect them: no title, no announcement of when it premieres, etc and it looks sort of cut off at the end.
And, OH YEAH, there's a really prominent Italian voiceover, talking over the whole thing! Ugh. I will forgive him his enthusiasm though, because it is pretty great.

Despite the sound, it's a great preview of what's to come. (Don't be put off by the trailer screen image - remember it's Basile.)
Featuring a great array of ensemble talent including Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel, John C. Reilly, Toby Jones, Stacy Martin, Alba Rohrwacherand Massimo Ceccherini, the film is a loose screen adaptation of the fairy tales by Italian poet Giambattista Basile.  
"The Tale Of Tales" opens in Italy on May 14th. (source)
By the way, this fairy tale film, in case you had any doubts: definitely not for kids.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

What To Expect From Matteo Garrone’s "Tale of Tales" by "The Thinker's Garden" Custodian (& Film Update via FTNH)

Maxfield Parrish, "Romance," 1992
Reposted in full with kind permission by Andrew Manns, Founding Editor of a wonder-filled place on the web called The Thinker's Garden


Film Preview:
What to expect from Matteo Garrone’s Tale of Tales

Matteo Garrone, the same director who made the graphic and telling Gomorrah crime film in 2008, is now hard at work on Tale of Tales, a fantasy film based on Giambattista Basile’s PentameroneProduction is taking place in various locations around Italy, and the cast reportedly includes A-listers John C. Reilly, Vincent Cassel, and Salma Hayek.
First published between 1634 and 1636, The Pentamerone, also known as The Tale of Tales, or Entertainment for Little Ones, is one of the earliest written collection of fairytales and one of the source texts for the Brothers Grimm. Its author Basile was a Neapolitan soldier, courtier, and poet who was influenced by Italian oral folktales and elements of his own adventures. New Sparta Films released a statement saying the film is a ‘fantastic journey through the Baroque era’, but what else can we expect from Garrone’s interpretation?
1. Dark Fantasy
The Bacchante, Jean-Léon Gérôme 1853. A woman transforms into a goat-creature in Basile's tale, 'The Goat-Face'
The Bacchante, Jean-Léon Gérôme 1853. A woman transforms into a goat-creature in Basile’s tale, ‘The Goat-Face’
Giambattista Basile’s tales are full of magic and funny moments, but there are also a few stories with dark and disturbing themes; much like in Greco-Roman myths.  Sun, Moon, and Talia (an early version of Sleeping Beauty) casually depicts the sexual assault of a slumbering princess, Penta with the Chopped-off Hands details the incestuous intentions of a king, and The Myrtle  illustrates the violent murder and dismembering of a fairy princess. Garrone may not try to recreate these particularly explicit scenes, but it’s not difficult to imagine his film exploring the corruptive and decadent aspects of the human psyche within the larger background of Southern Italy in the 17th century. At the time, Naples was full of elite literati but it also had its fair share of revolts, superstitions, religious upheavals, feudalistic petty nobles, wandering bandits, and disease. Perhaps this is why Garrone revealed in a recent Variety interview that he conceives of his movie as a ‘fantasy film with horror elements’.
2. On-Location Wonders 
Interior of Castello Sammezzano
Interior of Castello Sammezzano
Basile’s fables often unfold in crystal tunnels, subterranean palaces, enchanted woods, or among families of ogres. Garrone’s scouting team is maintaining Basile’s aesthetic of mystique by using lesser known locations in rural Italy for the film sets. So far the cast and crew have been spotted at places such as Castello Sammezano, a peculiar estate built in the Moorish Revival style, Castel del Monte in Apulia, the spooky Bosco del Sasseto near Torre Alfina in Viterbo, and the Etruscan Necropolis and network of ruined roads in Sovana and Sorano.
3. Neapolitan Early Modern culture
Giambattista Basile

Giambattista Basile
The film will be made in English, but that doesn’t mean Garrone will leave out all the Neapolitan colloquialisms and vernacular cultures which originally made Basile’s work famous in the first place. One of the most hilarious verbal exchanges takes place in the first chapter of The Pentameronewhen an old woman and young boy level insults at each other:
One day while Zoza was sitting at the window as sourly as a pickle an old woman chanced to pass by. She began to fill a jar she had brought with her, sopping up the oil with a sponge, and as she was busily going about her task a certain devil of a court page threw a stone at her with such precision that it hit the jar and broke to pieces.
The old woman, who Basile reminds the reader, ‘let no one ride on her back’ then gives the prankster a piece of her mind :
Ah you worthless thing, you dope, shithead, bed pisser, leaping goat, diaper ass, hangman’s noose, bastard mule! Just look even fleas can cough now! Go on, may paralysis seize you, may your mother get bad news, may you not live to see the first of May!…Scoundrel, beggar, son of a taxed woman, rogue!
The boy counters with:
Why don’t you shut that sewer hole, you bogeyman’s grandmother, blood-sucking witch, baby drowner, rag shitter, fart gatherer?
The old woman then responds by lifting up her skirt and revealing her ‘woodsy scene’.
Garrone may not take the obscenities that far, but his other Neapolitan films have featured  bawdy dialogue and it’s possible that he may attempt to retain some level of plain-speech and traditional Campanian humour in Tale of Tales.

If you’d like to catch up on Basile’s Pentamerone before the movie comes out in 2015, the best and most recent version is Nancy Canepa’s 2007 edition.
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Thank you Custodian!

The Thinker's Garden is full of mythical and wonderful posts! This article was originally published on August 14, 2014 by The Thinker's Garden Custodian. If you liked this, you're sure to find other articles you'll like too, so go have a visit! Click HERE.

And now a film update on Matteo Garrone's Tale of Tales
from your Fairy Tale News Hound:
The following update on Tale of Tales was posted on an Italian film website. According to a variety of foreign film and entertainment review sites, Tale of Tales is one of the most anticipated films in Europe for 2015, although it's difficult to find out much more than the following with such a closed set:
 Great expectations for Matteo Garrone that, surrounded by the greatest secrecy, has created a personal version de Pentamerone of Giambattista Basile . Tale of Tales - Tale of Tales (May 14) was filmed in English and starring international stars such as Salma Hayek , Vincent Cassel , Toby Jones , John C. Reilly , along with Italian Alba Rohrwacher .  (Auto-translated from Italian, source)

The only release information currently available is for Italy, UK and France, with May 14, 2015 set as the date for opening in theaters. There are no posters, teasers, promotional shots or trailers yet (that I am aware of). The latest update reported from movieplayer.it, discusses the visual impact (apparently "stunning") though I am, unfortunately,  unable to find any of said images online (yet!):

The first images of the much mountedTale of Tales , Tale of Tales , the new film by Matteo Garrone . Extraordinary images - says the Director of 01 Luigi Lonigro - after seeing them we realized that we could not open our convention in a different way . " And in fact it is amazing images: you recognize some of the characters, from Vincent Cassel to Salma Hayek , Toby Jones and John C. Reilly , the setting is fabulous and baroque-inspired collection of seventeenth-century fairy tales Pentamerone The element of fantasy is pregnant, the effect is stunning.

A little more from a previous article while shooting from taking place reveals a smidge more information about what we might see:

The shooting, which will last about four months, will affect different regions of Italy, showing mysterious landscapes and still secret places, among castles, villas and gardens still unknown. 
The subject of the film is inspired by and loosely based Pentamerone of Giambattista Basile , genial Neapolitan author of the seventeenth century whose tales are universally recognized as forerunners of the whole fairytale literature of later centuries. The project, whose development has participated in the same Matteo Garrone, collaborating in the writing of the story and screenplay with Edward Albinati , Ugo Chiti and Massimo Gaudioso , is proposed as a large fresco in fantastic Baroque period, told through the stories of three kingdoms and their respective sovereigns. "I chose to approach the world of Basile for I have found in his fairy tales that mixture between reality and fantasy that has always characterized my artistic research. The stories told in The story of the stories describe a world in which are summarized opposites of life: the ordinary and the extraordinary, the magical and the everyday, the royal and the scurrilous, the terrible and the suave " says Garrone. (auto-translated from Italian, source)

It's also been described by the director as "...a fantasy set in 1600..". Here's a bit more from a what seems to be the only press given during filming, while Garrone was on set at "Castel de Monte" for Tale of Tales during July of 2014 (all pictures are from this location and this day):


Beyond the time, then, what really away The Tale of Tales from the rest of the film Garrone is a component that you can very well define the supernatural:
The element fairytale I think it's a bit 'in all my films, but this is the first time I'm telling stories related to supernatural elements, a magical tales. It is a completely new adventure.
"The King Is Dead" (scene)
An adventure that promises to be particularly spectacular, especially from the visual point of view:

I come from painting, my training is pictorial and this is a movie where the visual aspect is predominant. The tales of Basile born as a form of entertainment, lend themselves to a dramatic development, film and I hope that this film has also a component of spectacle and entertainment. In fact I am the first to be curious to see it. 
It is a film that tell three stories that intertwine, a bit 'on the structure of Gomorrah. Salma Hayek is the protagonist of a story, Vincent Cassel another and Toby Jones is the protagonist of the story that will develop in Puglia. The main casting was done in London, then there are secondary roles that involve some Italian actors and then there is the participation of Alba Rohrwacher and Massimo Ceccherini, which will play an important enough. 

There is an Italian news video HERE in which you can see a little more of the castle and "props" from that day.

What do you think? Are you excited? I am. A grownup, European-made, diversely cast, fairy tale with a large visual fantasy element? (And in English so we can see all this as the director originally conceived?) Yes please!

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Breaking News: "The Tale of Tales" In Production (That's Right - We're About to Get Basile's Tales On Film. In English!)

Grannonia and the Fox from The Serpent by Warwick Goble
UPDATE 9pm 5-15-14:
I've updated the cast members announced today, as well as added a description & brief synopsis.

From earlier in the year we learned this from Variety:
Salma Hayek and Vincent Cassel are set to topline Italian helmer Matteo Garrone’s “The Tale of Tales,” the helmer’s follow up to “Reality,” which won a Grand Prize at Cannes.
The English-language film will shoot in Italy during the spring. Garrone’s most ambitious project to date, the period fantasy is based on three tales from Giambattista Basile’s “Lo cunto de li cunti.”
(It would seem Vincent Cassel is on a fairy tale kick, no? We totally approve. And at least this one we will get to see!)
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UPDATED 9pm 5-15-14: Just today it was announced that John C. Reilly (Chicago) and Toby Jones (Frost/Nixon) have also joined the cast. 
And a description & brief synopsis from The Hollywood Reporter
The film is described as an Italian baroque era fantasy story.It is inspired by and loosely based on Tale of Tales by Giambattista Basile, a 17th century Neapolitan author whose fairytales are recognized as the forerunners of worldwide fantasy literature.
Garrone co-wrote the story and screenplay with Edoardo Albinati, Ugo Chiti and Massimo Gaudioso, with the script billed as a “fantastic journey through the baroque era, narrating the stories of three different kingdoms and their respective sovereigns.” 
SHORT SYNOPSIS:
From the bitter quest of a jealous queen (Hayek) who forfeits the life of her husband (Reilly), to two mysterious sisters yearning for youth in order to provoke the passion of a king (Cassel), to a king (Jones) obsessed with a giant flea leading to heartbreak for his young daughter, the stories weave the beautiful with the grotesque. 
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Well it's now in production in Sicily and there's a little more news about this English language (yes!) fairy tale film.
The Prince and Filadoro with the snails from The Dove by Warwick Goble

(I cannot believe how excited I am about this!)

Excerpted from the exclusive Variety interview:

Q: The movie you are about to shoot is based on “The Tale of Tales,” a collection of fairy tales by 17th century Italian author Giambattista Basile which, among other stories, contains the earliest versions of famous fables like “Rapunzel,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “Sleeping Beauty” and “Cinderella.” What made you want to work with this book?  A: I chose to enter Basile’s world and make it my own because when I read them I immediately felt these stories were something familiar. I really connected with their spirit,  their irony and also with their dark aspects. In his fables I found that mix of real and unreal that has always characterized what I strive for as an artist. This project could seem far-removed from the rest of my work to date. But actually I think it pretty much fits in with what I’ve done so far. 
Rita riding on the dolphin
from The Three Enchanted Princes by Warwick Goble

Q: How so?  A: Among my movies, “The Embalmer,” or “First Love” or even “Gomorra,” and also “Reality” all had fable-like elements. Perhaps in those cases I took my cue from reality to transfigure it into a fantasy-like, or dreamlike, dimension. Whereas this time I’m doing the reverse, I’ve taken fable-like situations and turned them into something more realistic and believable. However, it’s the first time I’m venturing into supernatural territory and playing with magic.  
Q: In terms of genre how would you describe it?  A: I would call it a fantasy film with horror elements.  
Q: What are some of the themes in “Tale of Tales”?  A: The stories we chose to work with are amazing because they are so modern, so contemporary. They comprise a yearning for youth and physical beauty, the suffering of a woman willing to do anything to have a child, generational conflict, the struggle for power.
Parmetella gathering the golden leaves from The Golden Root by Warwick Goble

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Added from The Hollywood Reporter today:

Garrone said: “I chose to enter Basile's world because I found in his fables the mix between reality and fantasy that has always defined my artistic research. The stories described in Tale of Tales form a world in which all the opposites of life are exposed: the ordinary and the extraordinary, the magical and the mundane, the real and the surreal, the simple and artificial, the sublime and the filthy, the terrible and the pleasing.”

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Interestingly, while many places shoot on set to look like it's set in a real place, Garrone has taken the opposite approach. They spent seven moths location scouting throughout Italy, looking for real and complete places that looked as if they might actually be a set.

According to IMDB (which isn't exactly the best source, but the only one I could find with a date) the film is set to be released sometime during 2014 in Italy at least. That will be some quick post production if they do! Maybe Christmas..?

I already like the sound of how this is going to look and what it's about. I hope it's stunning and draws a lot of people in. I was just thinking at the beginning of the year that there aren't enough beautiful looking volumes of Basile's tales. Other than the versions with Warwick Goble's illustrations and the one with George Cruikshank's, they all look old, outdated, cheaply printed and not at all precious or important, which is not how they should be presented at all. We need some Il Pentamerone volumes that look like the gorgeous - and loved - collections available of Grimm's andAndersen's tales. Then people might actually pic them up and read them again. Hopefully this film will do that too.
The Lizard showing Goat-Face the palace by Warwick Goble
Click on the image below to go to a simple overview of The Pentamerone:
And once you have the overview, head over to SurLaLune to do some in depth reading, starting HERE.