Giuliano Montaldo
Italian film director (1930–2023)
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Key Takeaways
- Giuliano Montaldo OMRI (22 February 1930 – 6 September 2023) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor.
- He served as the 5th President of the Accademia del Cinema Italiano.
- He had his first acting experiences in "mass theatre" productions conducted by the Italian Communist Party.
- Following this experience he began an apprenticeship as an assistant director of Lizzani, Elio Petri, and Gillo Pontecorvo, as well as appearing in Abandoned (1955).
- The director originally wanted him to play the part of Colonel Mathieu, leader of the French Army paratroopers and principal antagonist of the film.
Giuliano Montaldo OMRI (22 February 1930 – 6 September 2023) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He was known internationally for his biographical docudrama Sacco & Vanzetti (1971), which was nominated for the Palme d'Or, and the historical miniseries Marco Polo (1982), which won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series. He served as the 5th President of the Accademia del Cinema Italiano.
Biography
Early life and career
Montaldo was born in Genoa in 1930. He had his first acting experiences in "mass theatre" productions conducted by the Italian Communist Party. While he was still a young student, Montaldo was recruited by the director Carlo Lizzani for a role in the war drama Attention! Bandits! (1951). Following this experience he began an apprenticeship as an assistant director of Lizzani, Elio Petri, and Gillo Pontecorvo, as well as appearing in Abandoned (1955).
He was Pontecorvo's second unit director for The Battle of Algiers (1966). The director originally wanted him to play the part of Colonel Mathieu, leader of the French Army paratroopers and principal antagonist of the film. Montaldo talked him out of it, believing audiences wouldn't take the film seriously with him in the role.
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