Ennio: Il Maestro is the full-fledged portrait of Ennio Morricone, the most popular and prolific musician of the twentieth century, the most loved by the international audience, two-time Oscar winner, author of over 500 unforgettable soundtracks. The documentary tells it through a long interview by Tornatore with the Maestro, testimonies of artists and directors, such as Bertolucci, Montaldo, Bellocchio, Argento, the Taviani, Verdone, Barry Levinson, Roland Joffè, Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino - fictional scenes, music and archival images.

Fans of film music have probably been waiting for a documentary about the great soundtrack composer Ennio Morricone, who died on July 6, 2020. This documentary is directed by Giuseppe TORNATORE, who worked with Morricone on many masterpieces such as Cinema Paradiso, The Legend of 1990, Malena, and The Star Maker. As you might expect, TORNATORE’s respectful and affectionate tribute to Morricone offers a fascinating look at the composer’s life, creative process, and the many masterpieces of the soundtrack he produced. The list of directors who have worked with Morricone, including Sergio Leone, Bernardo Bertolucci, Brian De Palma, Terrence Malick, Roland Joffé, and Quentin Tarantino is literally a ‘history of world cinema’. Interviews with Joan Baez and Hans Zimmer, retrospectives from the musicians who performed with, rare archival footage, and some great performance make the 157-minute runtime feel like a short one. Before watching this film, I was a little worried if the director Giuseppe TORNATORE included a lot of his own works, but it’s worth mentioning that I was wrong. (CHUN Jinsu)