Galileo (also known as Galileo Galilei) is a 1968 Italian–Bulgarian biographical drama film directed by Liliana Cavani. It depicts the life of Galileo Galilei and particularly his conflicts with the Catholic Church over his scientific theories.[1][2][3]

Galileo
Directed byLiliana Cavani
Written byLiliana Cavani
Tullio Pinelli
Fabrizio Onofri
Produced byLeo Pescarolo
StarringCyril Cusack
Georgi Kaloyanchev
Piero Vida
CinematographyAlfio Contini
Edited byNino Baragli
Music byEnnio Morricone
Production
companies
Rizzoli Film
Fenice Cinematografica
Kinozenter
Distributed byCineriz
Release date
  • 1968 (1968)
Running time
105/92 minutes
CountriesItaly
Bulgaria
LanguageItalian

Plot

edit

Astronomer Galileo Galilei teaches at the University of Padua. While he questions the ideas of Ptolemy and Aristotle, the official scientific dogmas imposed by the Catholic Church, he remains secretive about his doubts. His more candid friend, philosopher Giordano Bruno, is reported to the Inquisition for his revolutionary ideas and later executed as a heretic. Still, Galileo continues his studies with a telescope constructed by Dutch technicians and perfected by him, and comes to the conclusion that Copernico's heliocentric system is valid. He publishes his discoveries in a book, which leads to a series of interrogations by the Inquisition. Facing a possible death sentence, Galileo publicly recants his theories.

Cast

edit

Production and release

edit

Originally intended as a miniseries co-produced by Italian and Bulgarian film companies, radio and television company RAI refused to broadcast the finished film and sold the distribution rights to Cineriz, who trimmed the originally 105 minutes long film to 92 minutes running time.[4]

Galileo was shown in competition at the 1968 Venice International Film Festival.[2][3]

Home media

edit

Galileo was released in 2010 as a Region 2 DVD.[5]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Roberto Chiti; Roberto Poppi; Enrico Lancia; Mario Pecorari. Dizionario del cinema italiano. I film. Gremese Editore, 1992. ISBN 8876055932.
  2. ^ a b "Galileo". La biennale di Venezia (in Italian). Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Galileo". lilianacavani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  4. ^ Marrone, Gaetana (2000). The Gaze and the Labyrinth: The Cinema of Liliana Cavani. Princeton University Press. p. 206. ISBN 9780691008738.
  5. ^ Galileo (DVD). Medusa. 2010. OCLC 701711998. In Italian with English subtitles.
edit