''Good Morning, Babylon'' () 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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written and directed by

Paolo and Vittorio Taviani Paolo Taviani (; 8 November 1931 – 29 February 2024) 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 numerous fi ...

, starring Vincent Spano, Joaquim de Almeida,

Greta Scacchi Greta Scacchi ( , ; born 18 February 1960) is an actress. Born in Italy to a British-Italian couple, she was raised in Britain and finally settled in Australia, becoming a naturalized citizen. Scacchi had her first leading role in the romanti ...

Désirée Nosbusch Désirée Nosbusch (born 14 January 1965) also known as Désirée Becker, is a Luxembourgish actress and television presenter. She was the host of the Eurovision Song Contest 1984. Early and personal life Nosbusch was born in Esch-sur-Alzette ...

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, ...

, and Charles Dance. The film follows the story of two Italian brothers who emigrate to America and find work as set designers for D.W. Griffith's

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized 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) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

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 ...

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

1987 Cannes Film Festival The 40th Cannes Film Festival took place from 7 to 19 May 1987. French-Italian actor Yves Montand served as jury president for the main competition. French filmmaker Maurice Pialat won the ''Palme d'Or'', the festival's top prize, for the drama ...

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

Nastro d'Argento The (plural: ''Nastri d'Argento''; English: Silver Ribbon) is an Italian film award, held since 1946 by the ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani'' (Italian National Union of Film Journalists). Awards are given annually in ...

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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. 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 n ...

, 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

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

ian 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, 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

* Vincent Spano as Nicola Bonanno * Joaquim de Almeida as Andrea Bonanno *

as Edna Bonanno *

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 * Charles Dance as

* Margarita Lozano as The Venetian * Massimo Venturiello as Duccio Bonanno * Andrea Prodan as

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 p ...

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 Italian-language French films {{1980s-Italy-film-stub