''Good Morning, Babylon'' ( it, Buongiorno Babilonia) is a 1987

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 ...

written and directed by

Paolo and Vittorio Taviani Paolo Taviani (; born 8 November 1931) and Vittorio Taviani (; 20 September 1929 – 15 April 2018), collectively referred to as the Taviani brothers, were Italian film directors and screenwriters who collaborated on film productions. At the C ...

, starring

Vincent Spano Vincent M. Spano Jr. (born October 18, 1962) is an American film, stage and television actor; he is also a film director and producer. Early life Spano was born in Brooklyn, New York to Italian-American parents Vincent Sr. and Theresa. Career ...

Joaquim de Almeida Joaquim António Portugal Baptista de Almeida (born 15 March 1957) is a Portuguese actor. Almeida began his acting career in theatre during the 1980s, he started his film career appearing on the 1982 action film ''The Soldier (1982 film), The ...

Greta Scacchi Greta Scacchi, OMRI (; born 18 February 1960) is an Italian-Australian actress. She holds dual Italian and Australian citizenship. She is best known for her roles in the films '' White Mischief'' (1987), '' Presumed Innocent'' (1990), '' The Pl ...

, Désirée Nosbusch,

Omero Antonutti Omero Antonutti (3 August 1935 – 5 November 2019) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Basiliano, in the province of Udine (in the Northeastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia), after having worked in shipyards Ant ...

, and

Charles Dance Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters and villains. His most notable film roles include Sardo Numspa in '' The Golden Child'' (1986), Dr. Jonathan Clemens in '' ...

. The film follows the story of two Italian brothers who emigrate to America and find work as set designers for

D.W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the n ...

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

epic ''

Intolerance Intolerance may refer to: * Hypersensitivity or intolerance, undesirable reactions produced by the immune system * ''Intolerance'' (film), a 1916 film by D. W. Griffith * ''Intolerance'' (album), the first solo album from Grant Hart, formerly o ...

'' (1916). The French-Italian co-production was screened out of competition at the

1987 Cannes Film Festival The 40th Cannes Film Festival was held from 7 to 19 May 1987. The Palme d'Or went to the '' Sous le soleil de Satan'' by Maurice Pialat, a choice which was considered "highly controversial" and the prize was given under the jeers of the public. Pi ...

. It was a critical and financial hit in its native country, winning a

Nastro d'Argento The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italian ...

for Best Costume Design with an additional nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Plot

Two Tuscan brothers, Nicola and Andrea Bonanno, come from a long line of artisans and church restorers. In 1911, they find themselves out of work without any real prospects. Hoping to find their fortunes elsewhere, they emigrate to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Initially forced into precarious jobs, the two young man manage to find work in the Italian emigrant neighborhood of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. Thanks to their talent and with a bit of luck, they find themselves in the employ of film director

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the na ...

, who is overseeing preproduction of his historical epic ''Intolerance'' and is looking for Italian-born set designers. The brothers find themselves working on the film's elaborate

Babylonian Babylonian may refer to: * Babylon, a Semitic Akkadian city/state of ancient Mesopotamia founded in 1894 BC * Babylonia, an ancient Akkadian-speaking Semitic nation-state and cultural region based in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) ...

period setpieces, while falling in love with two young extras; Edna and Mabel, whom they eventually marry. Life, however, soon turns bitter for the brothers after Edna dies in childbirth. Rather than uniting the brothers, the tragedy only divides them. Later on in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Nicola and Andrea will meet and the camera, used by the army for military purposes, will be the dramatic witness of the epilogue of their lives.

Cast

as Nicola Bonanno *

as Andrea Bonanno *

as Edna Bonanno * Désirée Nosbusch as Mabel Bonanno *

as Bonanno "Babbo" * Bérangère Bonvoisin as Mrs. Griffith * David Brandon as Mr. Grass, Griffith's Production Manager * Brian Freilino as Mr. Thompson, Griffith's Assistant *

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the na ...

Margarita Lozano Margarita de las Flores Lozano Jiménez (14 February 1931 – 7 February 2022) was a Spanish actress known for her career in Italian films. She worked for Luis Buñuel in '' Viridiana'', Sergio Leone in ''A Fistful of Dollars'', Pier Paolo Pas ...

as The Venetian * Massimo Venturiello as Duccio Bonanno *

Andrea Prodan Andrea Prodan (born 16 November 1961) is an Italian-Argentinian film actor, composer and musician. He is the younger brother of rock star Luca Prodan, notable for his musical career in Argentina, leading the rock band Sumo. Biography The Pro ...

Billy Bitzer Gottfried Wilhelm Bitzer (April 21, 1872 – April 29, 1944) was an American cinematographer, notable for his close association and pioneering work with D. W. Griffith. Biography Prior to his career as a cameraman, working as a motion picture pro ...

References

External links

* * * 1987 films 1980s English-language films English-language Italian films 1980s Italian-language films 1987 drama films Films directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani Films about filmmaking Films set in the 1910s Films scored by Nicola Piovani D. W. Griffith 1987 multilingual films French multilingual films Italian multilingual films 1980s Italian films {{1980s-Italy-film-stub