Il Pentito / Rappresaglia

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IL PENTITO (THE PENITENT) 1985

An ambitious mafia film by director Pasquale Squitieri that was made in 1985 about the murder of Ambrosoli and mafia corruption in the USA, where the Sindona scandal took down the Franklin Bank. It is a fictional story based on real events and is well directed by Squitieri with a tight scenario that does keep pace in it. It helps to see the film if you are familiar with the scandal that shook the financial centre of Milan and New York. Starring Max von Sydow as Spinola, Franco Nero as Judge Falco and Tony Musante as Vanni Ragusa (the repentant / Il pentito). Ennio Morricone wrote a great number of film scores for the Sicilian problems with the mafia. A few famous film titles are GENTE DI RISPETTO, DIMENTICARE PALERMO and for television GIOVANNI FALCONE and LA PIOVRA. Ennio Morricone did two more film scores for Pasquale Squitieri before IL PENTITO, both mafia films. IL PREFETTO DI FERRO (1977) and CORLEONE (1978). The score for IL PENTITO is full of tension and action, but the cd starts with a lovely romantic theme for strings orchestrated in a typical Morricone style. And there are more nice themes as there is in track 4, Il pentito - (Colloqui discreti) a theme for guitar and flute and track 6 Addio al Padre (for guitar and oboe). The track Arrivo a New York is a mambo for big band orchestration. The track Renata that comes in various versions on the cd is orchestrated in the style of LA PIOVRA but all compositions are new for IL PENTITO. Ennio Morricone is original as usual as he always comes up with new music and create new fascinating orchestrations. For this fascinating score he is also the conductor of the orchestra.

RAPPRESAGLIA (REPRISAL) 1973

The movie reconstructs through the book by Robert Katz Morte a Roma (Death in Rome) the events regarding the attack in via Rasella in Rome in 1944, where 32 German soldiers were killed by some partisans. In retaliation, the German command decided that they had to be executed 10 Italians for every killed German. Richard Burton plays Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Kappler commissioned to command the firing squad. Marcello Mastroianni plays the convincing role of father Pietro Antonelli, a priest after having vainly begged Kappler save the prisoners, at the end he follows the condemned ones within the Fosse Ardeatine, where he is killed along with everyone else, in a massacre that will remain in history. This war drama was directed by George Pan Cosmatos in 1973 and has had a limited release in 1975. The music of Ennio Morricone follows the drama of the film, the maestro knows where to put the music as he also knows where gaps. There are only a few melodious themes in the score, most of the score creates a feeling of unease. A military march is composed in a staccato way and sounds frightening. Eerie strings, cellos, a drum, timpani and a few notes on a piano do most of the job. Bruno Nicolai conducts the orchestra in a masterly way. The music of Ennio Morricone is recognizable from the first notes, even when it is difficult. Listening to the CD will return to the images of the film.