''Open Doors'' ( it, Porte aperte) is a 1990 Italian film directed by

Gianni Amelio Gianni Amelio (born 20 January 1945) is an Italian film director. Early life Amelio was born in San Pietro di Magisano, province of Catanzaro, Calabria. His father moved to Argentina soon after his birth. He spent his youth and adolescence with ...

. Set in Palermo in the 1930s, a judge who is morally against the death penalty is confronted with the case of a man who has murdered his wife and two colleagues in cold blood. Opposed by both the fascist government - endorsing death penalty since it allows people to be safe to the point of "sleeping at night with open doors" - and public opinion, he struggles to do what he believes is right. Based on a 1987 novel, " Porte Aperte", by

Leonardo Sciascia Leonardo Sciascia (; 8 January 1921 – 20 November 1989) was an Italian writer, novelist, essayist, playwright, and politician. Some of his works have been made into films, including '' Porte Aperte'' (1990; ''Open Doors''), '' Cadaveri Eccellen ...

. The film was selected as the Italian entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

63rd Academy Awards The 63rd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 25, 1991, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the cer ...

Plot

The film opens with a Fascist bureaucrat, recently fired, killing the man who fired him, the man who replaced him, and his wife.

Cast

Gian Maria Volonté Gian Maria Volonté (9 April 1933 – 6 December 1994) was an Italian actor, including roles in four Spaghetti Western films: Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone's ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964) and El Indio in Leone's '' For a Few Dollars More'' ( ...

as Judge Vito di Francesco *

Ennio Fantastichini Ennio Fantastichini (20 February 1955 – 1 December 2018) was an Italian actor. Life and career Born in Gallese, province of Viterbo, Fantastichini studied acting at the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico. His breakout role wa ...

as Tommasco Scalia *

Renato Carpentieri Renato Carpentieri (born 2 April 1943) is an Italian actor, stage director and playwright. Life and career Born in Savignano Irpino, Avellino, Carpentieri studied architecture in Naples, where from 1965 to 1974 he was engaged in the organizatio ...

as Consolo *

Tuccio Musumeci Tuccio Musumeci (born 20 April 1934) is an Italian actor and comedian. Life and career Born in Catania, Musumeci started his career in the 1960s, performing in local cabarets and avanspettacolo companies.Santino Mirabella. ''In scena - conversa ...

as Spatafora *

Silverio Blasi Silverio Blasi (17 November 1921 – 27 April 1995) was an Italian television and stage director, actor and screenwriter. Born in Rome, Blasi was co-founder, together with Giorgio De Lullo, Goliarda Sapienza and Mario Landi, of the avant ...

as Attorney *

Vitalba Andrea ''Clematis vitalba'' (also known as old man's beard and traveller's joy) is a shrub of the family Ranunculaceae. Description ''Clematis vitalba'' is a climbing shrub with branched, grooved stems, deciduous leaves, and scented greeny-white flo ...

as Rosa Scalia *

Giacomo Piperno Giacomo is an Italian name. It is the Italian version of the Hebrew name Jacob. People * Giacomo (name), including a list of people with the name Other uses * Giacomo (horse), a race horse, winner of the 2005 Kentucky Derby * ''Giácomo'' (film) ...

as Prosecutor *

Lydia Alfonsi Lydia Alfonsi (28 April 1928 – 21 September 2022) was an Italian actress. Life and career Born Lidia Alfonsi in Parma into a wealthy middle-class family, Alfonsi interrupted her accounting studies at a young age to pursue a career in theate ...

as Marchesa Anna Pironti *

Renzo Giovampietro Renzo Giovampietro (23 June 1924 – 10 March 2006) was an Italian actor, theatre director and playwright. Life and career Born in Velletri, Rome, the son of a carpenter and of a cook, in 1944 Giovampietro enrolled at the Silvio d’Amic ...

as President Sanna

Awards

Won

* 1991

David di Donatello The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema). There are 26 award cat ...

: **Best Actor -

**Best Costume Design -

Gianna Gissi Gianna is a female Italian given name, a diminutive form of Giovanna. In English, it is translated as Joann, Joanne or Joanna. These names mean "God is gracious". See also "John" for the origin. Variations *Feminine: Giana, Gia, Giovanna *Mascu ...

**Best Film **Best Sound -

Remo Ugolinelli Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumheads, drums, and hardware. History Drummer and founder Remo ...

3rd European Film Awards The 3rd Annual European Film Awards were given out in 1990. Winners and nominees Bold indicates winner in the category. European Film * '' Porte aperte'' (''Open Doors'') * ''Cyrano de Bergerac'' * '' Matj'' (''Mother'') * ''Przesluchani ...

: **Best Cinematography **Best Film **Discovery of the Year Award -

*Italian Golden Globes: **Best Actor - Gian Maria Volonté **Best Film **Best Screenplay *

Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists 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 Italiani ...

**Best Director **Best Supporting Actor - Ennio Fantastichini *Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival **Critics Award - Gianni Amelio **Golden Antigone - Gianni Amelio

Nominated

: **Best Foreign Language Film *1991

: **Best Cinematography -

Tonino Nardi Tonino Nardi (25 September 1939 – 24 October 1993) was an Italian film cinematographer. Life and career Born in Pisa Nardi debuted as a cinematographer in 1973, for the Gianni Amelio's debut film ''La città del sole'', and since then he was ...

**Best Director -

**Best Editing - Simona Paggi **Best Producer - Angelo Rizzoli Jr. **Best Production Design -

Amedeo Fago Amedeo is an Italian given name meaning "lover of God", "loves God", or more correctly "for the love of God" and cognate to the Latin name Amadeus and the Spanish and Portuguese Amadeo. People with this name include: * A number of rulers and noble ...

Franco Velchi Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when re ...

**Best Screenplay -

Vincenzo Cerami Vincenzo Cerami (2 November 1940 – 17 July 2013) was an Italian screenwriter, novelist and poet. Biography From 1967, he contributed or wrote screenplays or adapted screenplays for more than 40 films. In 1996, he was a member of the jury ...

**Best Supporting Actor -

: **Special Prize of the Jury - Gian Maria Volonté *

**Best Actor - Gian Maria Volonté **Best Screenplay

References

External links

* * 1990 films 1990 drama films Courtroom films Films about capital punishment Films based on Italian novels European Film Awards winners (films) Films based on works by Leonardo Sciascia Films directed by Gianni Amelio Films set in Sicily Films set in the 1930s Italian drama films 1990s Italian-language films Films with screenplays by Vincenzo Cerami 1990s Italian films {{1990s-Italy-film-stub