''Galileo'' (also known as ''Galileo Galilei'') is a 1968 Italian-Bulgarian

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Liliana Cavani Liliana Cavani (born 12 January 1933, Carpi, Italy) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. She belongs to a generation of Italian filmmakers from Emilia-Romagna that came into prominence in the 1970s, including Bernardo Bertolucci, Pier Pa ...

. It depicts the life of

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

and particularly his clash with the Catholic Church regarding the interpretation of his astronomical observations with the newly invented telescope.

Plot

In 1597, the scientist

meets the philosopher

Giordano Bruno Giordano Bruno (; ; la, Iordanus Brunus Nolanus; born Filippo Bruno, January or February 1548 – 17 February 1600) was an Italian philosopher, mathematician, poet, cosmological theorist, and Hermetic occultist. He is known for his cosmologic ...

, author of treatises that upset the Church for their extreme accuracy on the nature of the world. In fact the period is that of the oppressor and the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

and Bruno having worsened his relations with the Church, is unjustly tried and condemned to the stake. Meanwhile, Galileo receives a gift of a telescope from a friend, and perfects its potential. Thanks to it, therefore the scientist makes his first experiments on the stars and began to write his treatises. But the new Pope Urbano VIII and his beloved cardinal discover these theories, find them heretical and order the scientist to recant publicly.

Cast

Cyril Cusack Cyril James Cusack (26 November 1910 – 7 October 1993) was an Irish stage and screen actor with a career that spanned more than 70 years. During his lifetime, he was considered one of Ireland’s finest thespians, and was renowned for his int ...

Georgi Kaloyanchev Georgi Todorov Kaloyanchev ( bg, Георги Калоянчев; January 13, 1925 – December 18, 2012) was a Bulgarian actor. He was born in the city of Burgas. He studied in the former theatrical school in Sofia. Immediately after graduati ...

Nevena Kokanova Nevena Kokanova ( bg, Невена Коканова) (12 December 1938 – 3 June 2000) was a Bulgarian film actress. She was known as the "first lady of Bulgarian cinema." Her mother was from a well-known Austrian aristocratic family, and he ...

as Marina * Nikolay Doychev as Cardinal Bellarmino * Gheorghi Cerkelov as

Paolo Sarpi Paolo Sarpi (14 August 1552 – 15 January 1623) was a Venetian historian, prelate, scientist, canon lawyer, and statesman active on behalf of the Venetian Republic during the period of its successful defiance of the papal interdict (1605–16 ...

Piero Vida Piero Vida (5 August 1938 – 1987) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 52 films between 1959 and 1987. He was born in Venice, Italy and died in Rome, Italy. Partial filmography * ''Il raccomandato di ferro'' (1959) * ''Katarsis'' ( ...

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...

Gigi Ballista Gigi Ballista (1 December 1918 – 2 August 1980) was an Italian film and television actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1961 and 1980. Life and career Born in Florence, Ballista graduated in Law, then he started working as a PR consulta ...

as Dominican Commissioner *

Paolo Graziosi Paolo Graziosi (25 January 1940 – 1 February 2022) was an Italian stage and film actor. Biography Born in Rimini, Graziosi was rejected for the admission exams at the Academy of Dramatic Arts Silvio D'Amico in 1961. He then enrolled at the C ...

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, , ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 159828 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his ...

* Maia Dragomaska as the Galilei's daughter *

Lou Castel Lou Castel (born Ulv Quarzell; 28 May 1943) is a Swedish actor who became known through his work in Italian films. Life and career The son of a Swedish father and an Irish mother, Castel was born Ulv Quarzell in Bogotá, Colombia, where his fa ...

as the young monk of the Vatican *

Giulio Brogi Giulio Brogi (3 May 1935 – 19 February 2019)

as Sagredo

Home media

''Galileo'' was released in 2010 as a Region 2

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

. A Region 1 DVD has not been released.

References

External links

* 1968 films 1960s biographical drama films 1960s historical drama films 1960s multilingual films Bulgarian biographical drama films 1960s Italian-language films English-language Italian films English-language Bulgarian films 1960s English-language films Italian multilingual films Bulgarian multilingual films Bulgarian historical drama films Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films directed by Liliana Cavani Italian biographical drama films Italian historical drama films Films shot in Bulgaria Films set in the 1590s Films set in Rome Cultural depictions of Galileo Galilei Cultural depictions of Giordano Bruno 1968 drama films 1960s Italian films {{bio-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Home media

See also

References

External links