ITALY

74th Venice Film Festival a prompt for retrospective of 1932 classics

August 30, 2017

The Venice International Film Festival started 85 years ago. It survived a few missing years and the early taint of Fascism to become one of the top events of its kind. Screenings for the 74th festival take place at the historic Palazzo del Cinema on the Lungomare Marconi.

They will be followed by the award ceremonies on the final night. American actress Annette Bening chairs the jury that will choose the winners of the Golden Lion for Best Film, Silver Lion for the Grand Jury Prize, Silver Lion for Best Director and the Best Actor and Best Actress awards.

The opening of the then-called 1st International Film Festival of the Art Biennial preceded the period when it was interrupted for several years and co-opted for political purposes. The line-up of films and stars introduced dazzle at a level seldom seen since. The first film in the festival, screened on Aug 6, 1932, was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Rouben Mamoulian. Some of the greatest stars of the pre-war era were present, including Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Fredric March, Wallace Beery, Norma Shearer, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Loretta Young, John Barrymore, and Joan Crawford, not forgetting Italian idol Vittorio De Sica and the great Boris Karloff, remembered for his role as the monster in the first Frankenstein.

The 85th anniversary of the event recognized as the world’s first film festival invites a retrospective of the 1932 classics. They included: Forbidden, by American director Frank Capra; Grand Hotel, by Edmund Goulding; The Champ, by King Vidor, and the first and unmatched Frankenstein, by James Whale.

#22234 Published: July 7, 2017