L.A. Times Trio of Great Film Critics of Yore on the Trio of Taviani Classics at the Ahrya Fine Arts

Today begins our one-week mini-retrospective, A Taviani Trio, which features three of the Italian brothers’ best-loved films, Kaos, The Night of the Shooting Stars, and Padre Padrone. Today, the L.A. Times published excerpts from their original, glowing reviews:

“”Padre Padrone” (“My Father, My Master”) is a work of art, a poetically realized piece of social realism that stands in the same relation to conventional movie entertainments as Picasso’s “Guernica” to a war bond poster.” (Charles Champlin, 1978)

“”The Night of the Shooting Stars” is a jagged, amazing film, both breathtaking and satisfying at times…the Tavianis seem to have transcended their own material…to create an extraordinary film, both as harsh as that sunlit battlefield and as fanciful as a child’s imagination.” (Sheila Benson, 1983)

“In “Kaos,” Paolo and Vittorio Taviani make us feel that they have revealed the very soul of Sicily in their superb rendering of several tales by Luigi Pirandello…In collaboration not only with Guerra but also composer Nicola Piovani and cameraman Giuseppe Lanci, who contributed such glorious and stirring images and music, the Tavianis have revived the timeless pleasure of storytelling for its own sake.” (Kevin Thomas, 1986)