Giuseppe Tornatore

Directing

Giuseppe Tornatore

Born 1956-05-27 · Bagheria, Sicilia, Italia

Giuseppe Tornatore (born 27 May 1956) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. Born in Bagheria near Palermo, Tornatore developed an interest in acting and the theatre from at least the age of 16 and put on works by Luigi Pirandello and Eduardo De Filippo. He worked initially as a freelance photographer. Then, switching to cinema, he made his debut with Le minoranze etniche in Sicilia (The Ethnic Minorities in Sicily), a collaborative documentary film which won a Salerno Festival prize. He then worked for RAI before releasing his first full-length film, Il Camorrista, in 1985. This evoked a positive response from audience and critics alike and Tornatore was awarded the Silver Ribbon for best new director. Tornatore's best known screen work was released in 1988: Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, a film narrating the life of a successful film director who has returned to his native town in Sicily for the funeral of his mentor. This obtained worldwide success and won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Subsequently Tornatore released several other films. In 2007 he won the Silver George for Best Director at the 29th Moscow International Film Festival for The Unknown Woman.

Acting credits

Cinema Paradiso poster
8.4

A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.

Cinema Paradiso

1988

Ennio poster
8.3

A portrait of Ennio Morricone, the most popular and prolific film composer of the 20th century, the one most loved by the international public, a two-time Oscar winner and the author of over five hundred unforgettable scores.

Ennio

2022

Cinque mondi poster
6.5

Roberto Benigni, Bernardo Bertolucci, Gabriele Salvatores, Paolo Sorrentino and Giuseppe Tornatore talk about their idea of cinema.

Cinque mondi

2016

Sergio Leone: The Italian Who Invented America poster
7.4

To mark the recent thirtieth anniversary of Sergio Leone’s death, this documentary sets out to pay tribute to one of the great legends of world cinema. The singular artistic vision of Sergio Leone has transcended national borders, creating the Spaghetti Western genre and transforming the international cinematic panorama forever with his innovative stylistic and narrative solutions, which have now become part of the language of the movies. The film, which is enriched with precious archive footage from the Cineteca di Bologna, including rare audio recordings and film clips shot behind the scenes, sees for the first time the direct participation of the Leone family and has interviews both with Leone’s longtime collaborators and with icons of Hollywood who have been profoundly influenced by his work.

Sergio Leone: The Italian Who Invented America

2022

Aldeas, the Final Dream of Pope Francis poster
NR

A documentary built around Pope Francis’s final in-depth interviews, following Scholas Occurrentes’ cinema initiative as it brings together education, filmmaking, and community building.

Aldeas, the Final Dream of Pope Francis

2026

Steno poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Steno

2022

Franco Cristaldi e il suo cinema Paradiso poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Franco Cristaldi e il suo cinema Paradiso

2009

Giuseppe Tornatore - Ogni film un'opera prima poster
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

Giuseppe Tornatore - Ogni film un'opera prima

2014

Sartoria Tirelli - Vestire il cinema poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Sartoria Tirelli - Vestire il cinema

2006

L'ultimo gattopardo - Ritratto di Goffredo Lombardo poster
5.0

No synopsis available yet.

L'ultimo gattopardo - Ritratto di Goffredo Lombardo

2010

Enrico Lucherini - Ne ho fatte di tutti i colori poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Enrico Lucherini - Ne ho fatte di tutti i colori

2014

Marcello, una vita dolce poster
5.2

After shooting to fame with Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” (1960), actor Marcello Mastroianni (1924-1996) starred in more than 160 films in his nearly half-a-century career. Directors Mario Canale and Annarosa Morri look into the melancholic charm of one of the most famous Italian actors through interviews with his two daughters, Barbara and Chiara; directors Fellini and Luchino Visconti; actresses Claudia Cardinale and Anouk Aimee; and in archival footage of Mastroianni himself. The subject matter ranges from Mastroianni’s passion for kidney-bean pasta and his addiction to the telephone to his famous laziness, humility and talent. Shown in black-and-white, Mastroianni — elegantly holding a cigarette in between his fingers — is undeniably the dandy.

Marcello, una vita dolce

2006

Carlo Vanzina - Il cinema è una cosa meravigliosa poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Carlo Vanzina - Il cinema è una cosa meravigliosa

2019

Dante Ferretti: Production Designer poster
6.3

The Documentary Dante Ferretti – Production Designer retraces the life and the career of Dante Ferretti, the famous Italian Artist and Production Designer.

Dante Ferretti: Production Designer

2010

Titanus 1904 poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Titanus 1904

2024

Ennio Morricone poster
6.8

From his quirky compositions for the spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone to his sublime musical contributions to director Roland Joffé's acclaimed 1986 drama The Mission, film composer Ennio Morricone has crafted more than 500 scores over the course of his enduring career in film. Now fans can take a look back at the life and career of one of cinema's most prolific composers through interviews with both the composer himself and many of his longtime collaborators. From his Italian efforts to his work in America, this documentary covers every aspect of Morricone's career as few have, offering insight into his childhood, his longtime association with Leone, and his ultimate disenchantment with the American studio system.

Ennio Morricone

1995

All Star - Ritorno al cinema poster
7.6

A short movie about coming back to the cinema after lockdowns.

All Star - Ritorno al cinema

2021

The Magic of Fellini poster
3.5

Documentary with interviews and clips of Fellini's movies.

The Magic of Fellini

2002

The Man with the Cigar in His Mouth poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

The Man with the Cigar in His Mouth

1997

Citizen Rosi poster
7.8

The narrative wanders through Rosi’s films, not in the order they were shot but following the chronology of the historical facts they deal with. The documentary therefore not only narrates Rosi’s work, but also portrays half a century of Italian history.

Citizen Rosi

2019

Ferdinando Scianna - Il fotografo dell'ombra poster
NR

Perennially hungry for life, Ferdinando Scianna is now a gentleman in his eighties, with a vibrant mind full of incredible stories. He even has had a few brushes with death. Being let into his life means retracing an existence marked by encounters with some of the giants of twentieth-century culture, interwoven with friendships and questions about the meaning of photography as a practice, the significance that producing images can still have today.

Ferdinando Scianna - Il fotografo dell'ombra

2025

Cecchi Gori - Una famiglia italiana poster
7.6

No synopsis available yet.

Cecchi Gori - Una famiglia italiana

2019

No artwork available
NR

"I was the highest paid director in Italy'. Filming in Paris for Giuseppe Tornatore's ‘Four Talks with Freda’ (prod. Cristiano Bortone - Orisa Film)-

Intervista a Riccardo Freda sul suo cinema

2007

Cinema Italiano: Moments of Truth poster
NR

Documentary about Italian cinema.

Cinema Italiano: Moments of Truth

2014

Behind the camera

Malena poster
7.6

12-year-old Renato experiences three significant events on the same day: the beginning of the Second World War, getting a bike, and witnessing the arrival of the gorgeous Malèna. Through his eyes, we see the curse of beauty and loneliness of Malena, whose husband is presumed dead, and, through his soul, we see his love for her.

Malena

2000

Malena poster
7.6

12-year-old Renato experiences three significant events on the same day: the beginning of the Second World War, getting a bike, and witnessing the arrival of the gorgeous Malèna. Through his eyes, we see the curse of beauty and loneliness of Malena, whose husband is presumed dead, and, through his soul, we see his love for her.

Malena

2000

Cinema Paradiso poster
8.4

A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.

Cinema Paradiso

1988

Cinema Paradiso poster
8.4

A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.

Cinema Paradiso

1988

Ennio poster
8.3

A portrait of Ennio Morricone, the most popular and prolific film composer of the 20th century, the one most loved by the international public, a two-time Oscar winner and the author of over five hundred unforgettable scores.

Ennio

2022

Ennio poster
8.3

A portrait of Ennio Morricone, the most popular and prolific film composer of the 20th century, the one most loved by the international public, a two-time Oscar winner and the author of over five hundred unforgettable scores.

Ennio

2022

The Legend of 1900 poster
8.2

Musician Max Tooney goes to sell his prized Conn trumpet to a music shop, where he plays the instrument one last time. The shopkeeper recognises the song as one on a record matrix he found and asks who the piece is by. Tooney tells the story of an infant found abandoned in the first class dining room of the four-stacker ocean-liner SS Virginian on 1 January 1900. Danny Boodman, a coal-man from the boiler room, names the boy Danny Boodman T. D. Lemon 1900, after himself, the fruit crate the boy was found in, and the year, and raises him as his own.

The Legend of 1900

1998

The Legend of 1900 poster
8.2

Musician Max Tooney goes to sell his prized Conn trumpet to a music shop, where he plays the instrument one last time. The shopkeeper recognises the song as one on a record matrix he found and asks who the piece is by. Tooney tells the story of an infant found abandoned in the first class dining room of the four-stacker ocean-liner SS Virginian on 1 January 1900. Danny Boodman, a coal-man from the boiler room, names the boy Danny Boodman T. D. Lemon 1900, after himself, the fruit crate the boy was found in, and the year, and raises him as his own.

The Legend of 1900

1998

The Legend of 1900 poster
8.2

Musician Max Tooney goes to sell his prized Conn trumpet to a music shop, where he plays the instrument one last time. The shopkeeper recognises the song as one on a record matrix he found and asks who the piece is by. Tooney tells the story of an infant found abandoned in the first class dining room of the four-stacker ocean-liner SS Virginian on 1 January 1900. Danny Boodman, a coal-man from the boiler room, names the boy Danny Boodman T. D. Lemon 1900, after himself, the fruit crate the boy was found in, and the year, and raises him as his own.

The Legend of 1900

1998

The Best Offer poster
7.8

Virgil Oldman is a world renowned antiques expert and auctioneer. An eccentric genius, he leads a solitary life, going to extreme lengths to keep his distance from the messiness of human relationships. When appointed by the beautiful but emotionally damaged Claire to oversee the valuation and sale of her family’s priceless art collection, Virgil allows himself to form an attachment to her – and soon he is engulfed by a passion which will rock his bland existence to the core.

The Best Offer

2013

The Best Offer poster
7.8

Virgil Oldman is a world renowned antiques expert and auctioneer. An eccentric genius, he leads a solitary life, going to extreme lengths to keep his distance from the messiness of human relationships. When appointed by the beautiful but emotionally damaged Claire to oversee the valuation and sale of her family’s priceless art collection, Virgil allows himself to form an attachment to her – and soon he is engulfed by a passion which will rock his bland existence to the core.

The Best Offer

2013

The King of Ads poster
4.3

A collection of European T.V. commercials directed by a variety of well-known directors from across Europe and the U.S. Compiled and produced by Jean-Marie Boursicot.

The King of Ads

1991

The Unknown Woman poster
7.2

A Ukrainian woman named Irena calculatedly insinuates herself into the lives of a young, affluent Italian family. Stopping at nothing to become the couple's trusted maid and the beloved nanny to their fragile young daughter, Irena risks everything in her quest to uncover the truth about the family.

The Unknown Woman

2006

The Unknown Woman poster
7.2

A Ukrainian woman named Irena calculatedly insinuates herself into the lives of a young, affluent Italian family. Stopping at nothing to become the couple's trusted maid and the beloved nanny to their fragile young daughter, Irena risks everything in her quest to uncover the truth about the family.

The Unknown Woman

2006

Baaria poster
7.2

In 1920s Bagheria, Giuseppe 'Peppino' Torrenuova works as a shepherd to financially help his poor family. Over the next fifty years, Giuseppe's life, as well as the life of the village, is observed. Giuseppe grows up, joins the Communist Party, marries a local girl, has children, and forges a political career for himself.

Baaria

2009

Baaria poster
7.2

In 1920s Bagheria, Giuseppe 'Peppino' Torrenuova works as a shepherd to financially help his poor family. Over the next fifty years, Giuseppe's life, as well as the life of the village, is observed. Giuseppe grows up, joins the Communist Party, marries a local girl, has children, and forges a political career for himself.

Baaria

2009

The Professor poster
7.1

Young Franco is imprisoned for murder and rises to become the feared and powerful 'Professor', taking control of Naples' underworld from behind bars.

The Professor

1986

The Professor poster
7.1

Young Franco is imprisoned for murder and rises to become the feared and powerful 'Professor', taking control of Naples' underworld from behind bars.

The Professor

1986

A Pure Formality poster
7.4

Famous writer Onoff is now a recluse. The Inspector is suspicious when Onoff is brought into the station one night, disoriented and suffering a kind of amnesia. In an isolated, rural police station, the Inspector tries to establish the events surrounding a killing, to reach a startling resolution.

A Pure Formality

1994

A Pure Formality poster
7.4

Famous writer Onoff is now a recluse. The Inspector is suspicious when Onoff is brought into the station one night, disoriented and suffering a kind of amnesia. In an isolated, rural police station, the Inspector tries to establish the events surrounding a killing, to reach a startling resolution.

A Pure Formality

1994

Correspondence poster
6.4

The relationship between Ed, a married astronomer and Amy, his lover, who spend their years apart, is based only on phone calls and texts. One day Amy begins noticing something strange in Ed's messages.

Correspondence

2016

Correspondence poster
6.4

The relationship between Ed, a married astronomer and Amy, his lover, who spend their years apart, is based only on phone calls and texts. One day Amy begins noticing something strange in Ed's messages.

Correspondence

2016

Everybody's Fine poster
7.3

Matteo Scuro is a retired Sicilian bureaucrat, a widower with five children, all of whom live on the mainland and hold responsible jobs. He decides to surprise each with a visit and finds none as he imagined.

Everybody's Fine

1990

Everybody's Fine poster
7.3

Matteo Scuro is a retired Sicilian bureaucrat, a widower with five children, all of whom live on the mainland and hold responsible jobs. He decides to surprise each with a visit and finds none as he imagined.

Everybody's Fine

1990