Giuseppe Tornatore

Directing

Giuseppe Tornatore

Born

1956-05-27 (70)

Place of birth

Bagheria, Sicilia, Italia

Known for

Directing

Credits

76 titles

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 f…

Known for

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

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

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 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

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

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Quelli che il cinema

2025

Film credits

2020s · 9 titles

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

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

Juso per ferie poster
NR

Juso per ferie is an affectionate, ironic, and unbridled documentary that traces the human and cinematic journey of Galliano Juso, an unconventional producer, tireless seeker of stories, talent scout, and visionary pioneer of Italian genre cinema.

Juso per ferie

2026

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

Steno poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Steno

2022

Titanus 1904 poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Titanus 1904

2024

Good Morning, the Wind Blows poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Good Morning, the Wind Blows

2020

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

2010s · 14 titles

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

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

L'ultimo gattopardo - Ritratto di Goffredo Lombardo poster
5.0

No synopsis available yet.

L'ultimo gattopardo - Ritratto di Goffredo Lombardo

2010

C'era una volta il prossimamente poster
NR

A passionate cavalcade through decades of "coming attractions"

C'era una volta il prossimamente

2014

Carlo Vanzina - Il cinema è una cosa meravigliosa poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Carlo Vanzina - Il cinema è una cosa meravigliosa

2019

Cinema Italiano: Moments of Truth poster
NR

Documentary about Italian cinema.

Cinema Italiano: Moments of Truth

2014

Giuseppe Tornatore - Ogni film un'opera prima poster
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

Giuseppe Tornatore - Ogni film un'opera prima

2014

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

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

24/25 Il fotogramma in più poster
6.0

A documentary on how cinema and television influence each other and their close relationship.

24/25 Il fotogramma in più

2018

Tutte le storie di Piera poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Tutte le storie di Piera

2014

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Born in the U.S.E. - Nato negli Stati Uniti d'Europa

2015

Cecchi Gori - Una famiglia italiana poster
7.6

No synopsis available yet.

Cecchi Gori - Una famiglia italiana

2019

I Don't Know the Men of this City poster
8.5

Franco scaldati - died in 2013 - was one of the most important autors of italian theatre plays, Maresco describes his role in the cultural and social field. Through his opera we can observe Italy from another point of view.

I Don't Know the Men of this City

2015

2000s · 8 titles

Franco Cristaldi e il suo cinema Paradiso poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Franco Cristaldi e il suo cinema Paradiso

2009

The Magic of Fellini poster
3.5

Documentary with interviews and clips of Fellini's movies.

The Magic of Fellini

2002

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

Sartoria Tirelli - Vestire il cinema poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Sartoria Tirelli - Vestire il cinema

2006

The Filmmaker and the Labyrinth poster
9.0

A documentary looking at the life and films of Francesco Rosi.

The Filmmaker and the Labyrinth

2004

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

A Bear and a Mouse in Paradise poster
NR

The making of Cinema Paradiso and the characters of Toto and Alfredo

A Bear and a Mouse in Paradise

2006

A Dream of Sicily poster
NR

A 52-minute documentary profile of Giuseppe Tornatore featuring interviews with director and extracts from his early home movies as well as interviews with director Francesco Rosi and painter Peppino Ducato, set to music by the legendary Ennio Morricone.

A Dream of Sicily

2000

1990s · 2 titles

Series credits

Behind the camera

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

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

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 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

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 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

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

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

Brunello: The Gracious Visionary poster
6.1

A farmer's son transforms into a fashion mogul, building a billion-dollar luxury empire while staying true to his humanistic values and commitment to ethical business practices and fine craftsmanship.

Brunello: The Gracious Visionary

2025

Brunello: The Gracious Visionary poster
6.1

A farmer's son transforms into a fashion mogul, building a billion-dollar luxury empire while staying true to his humanistic values and commitment to ethical business practices and fine craftsmanship.

Brunello: The Gracious Visionary

2025

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

One Hundred Days in Palermo poster
6.9

In the late 1970s and early 80s, assassinations in Sicily get the attention of Communist deputy, Pio La Torre, who appeals to General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa to become prefect in Palermo and take on the Mafia. Dalla Chiesa approaches the job with the same focus and methods he used in hunting down the Red Brigade.

One Hundred Days in Palermo

1984

The Star Maker poster
7.0

In 1950s Sicily, con artist Joe Moretti does screen tests for the big studios, accepting money or favours for his efforts. A young illiterate novitiate named Beata desperately wants to change her life and falls for him; belatedly, he realizes his feelings for her. However, their love affair is doomed when he's arrested.

The Star Maker

1995

The Star Maker poster
7.0

In 1950s Sicily, con artist Joe Moretti does screen tests for the big studios, accepting money or favours for his efforts. A young illiterate novitiate named Beata desperately wants to change her life and falls for him; belatedly, he realizes his feelings for her. However, their love affair is doomed when he's arrested.

The Star Maker

1995

Everybody's Fine poster
7.2

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
7.2

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

The Prince's Manuscript poster
8.2

A solitary, disappointed, proud and educated old man meets and becomes the teacher of an intelligent, clumsy, middle-class, young would-be writer.

The Prince's Manuscript

2000

L'ultimo gattopardo - Ritratto di Goffredo Lombardo poster
5.0

No synopsis available yet.

L'ultimo gattopardo - Ritratto di Goffredo Lombardo

2010

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

Especially on Sunday poster
6.2

Four lighthearted stories set in the idyllic Italian countryside: an old grouch is befriended by a stray dog; a lonely widow spies on her newly-wed son and daughter-in-law; a German tourist tries to seduce a younger nurse. The fourth segment was cut in the US by its distributor Miramax.

Especially on Sunday

1991

Bakunin's Son poster
7.0

Based on a novel of Segio Atzeni. By a lot of interviews, usualy contradictory, it discovers the many lifes of Tullio Saba, a Sardinian miner, thief, singer, union organizer, rebel...

Bakunin's Son

1997

Il Mago di Esselunga poster
2.5

The young Sardino and his parents are shopping at Esselunga when it becomes an adventurous voyage.

Il Mago di Esselunga

2011

Il Mago di Esselunga poster
2.5

The young Sardino and his parents are shopping at Esselunga when it becomes an adventurous voyage.

Il Mago di Esselunga

2011

No artwork available
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Lo schermo a tre punte

1995

No artwork available
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Lo schermo a tre punte

1995

Devotion poster
NR

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana draw on the suggestions of Sicilian popular culture and the great iconic heritage of Italian Neorealist cinema, reinventing these twin sources of inspiration in a perpetually renewed code of endless stylistic contamination.

Devotion

2020

No artwork available
NR

A biopic of Bank of America founder Amedeo Peter Giannini who, besides pioneering modern banking, supported Hollywood’s emerging film industry.

The First Dollar

—

No artwork available
NR

A biopic of Bank of America founder Amedeo Peter Giannini who, besides pioneering modern banking, supported Hollywood’s emerging film industry.

The First Dollar

—