Each summer, the Cineteca di Bologna, one of Europe’s most renowned archives for film restoration and preservation, organizes one of the world’s most unique film festivals, Il Cinema Ritrovato (“Rediscovered cinema”). Eight memorable days to dive into cinema’s past, Cinema Ritrovato also offers opportunities to meet renowned experts on film history as well as celebrated filmmakers. More than 360 titles are presented annually in six cinemas and on a giant screen in Bologna’s Piazza Maggiore. In the words of the former Artistic Director, the late Peter von Bagh, Il Cinema Ritrovato is pure heaven for cinéphiles. Our Cinematheque series highlights international feature films that all screened at the 2024 edition of the festival, including an Academy Film Archive and Cineteca di Bologna restoration of the original release version of Amadeus and selections from the Festival’s extensive retrospective tributes to actress Delphine Seyrig and director Anatole Litvak.
SAT., 2/1, 7 p.m.
MURDERING THE DEVIL (VRAZDA ING. CERTA)
Czechoslovakia | 1970 | DCP | 87 min. | Czech with English subtitles
Director: Ester Krumbachová
Cast: Jirina Bohdalová, Vladimír Mensík, Ljuba Hermanová
In this absurdist, allegorical comedy, a lonely woman entertains an insatiable gentleman caller who devours her food and sanity with equal gusto. As he leaves behind a trail of destruction and chicken bones, she clings to the hope that her chaotic visitor might rescue her from monotony—if only she can keep him out of her forbidden Pandora’s box, aka her refrigerator. Murdering the Devil is the only film directed by Ester Krumbachová, co-screenwriter of a number of Czech new-wave classics like Daisies and Valerie and Her Week of Wonders. A new 4K restoration will be screened. Preceded by Tex Avery’s Billy Boy (1954, 6 min.). Presented with the support of the Center for Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia (CREECA) at UW-Madison.
FRI., 3/21, 7 p.m.
LA VISITA
Italy | 1963 | DCP | 112 min. | Italy with English subtitles
Director: Antonio Pietrangeli
Cast: Sandra Milo, François Périer, Gastone Moschin
Pina (Milo), a beautiful and dignified woman in her 30s from a provincial Italian village, meets Adolfo (Périer), a seemingly promising suitor from Rome, after placing a personal ad. Through flashbacks and the unfolding of their meeting, Adolfo’s superficiality and self-centeredness are revealed, while Pina’s quiet resilience and yearning for happiness—rooted in memories of a passionate affair—paint a bittersweet portrait of her enduring strength amidst the mediocrity and prejudices of her time. Echoing themes from Pietrangeli’s acclaimed I Knew Her Well, La Visita is a poignant exploration of loneliness, societal expectations, and the human longing for connection. A new 4K DCP, restored by Italy’s Cineteca Nazionale in Rome, will be screened.
SAT., 4/26, 7 p.m.
BLUES IN THE NIGHT
USA | 1941 | DCP | 88 min.
Director: Anatole Litvak
Cast: Priscilla Lane, Jack Carson, Elia Kazan
Chasing a dream of pure musical expression, a scrappy band of musicians gets tangled in the smoky allure of a roadhouse run by a fugitive, where illegal gambling and a sultry femme fatale threaten to tear the band apart. Anchored by its Oscar-nominated title track with lyrics by Johnny Mercer (“My momma done tol’ me…”), this crime-infused musical is one of Warner Bros. finest entertainments from the early 1940s, thanks to director Litvak’s fast-paced direction, a jazzy script by Robert Rossen, and deliriously expressive montages from director-in-the-making Don Siegel. A DCP derived from a 16mm print at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research will be screened.
FRI., 4/25, 7 p.m.
GOLDEN EIGHTIES
Belgium, France, Switzerland | 1986 | DCP | 96 min. | French with English subtitles
Director: Chantal Akerman
Cast: Myriam Boyer, Delphine Seyrig, John Berry
Set in a bustling Brussels shopping mall, Golden Eighties follows a tapestry of characters—led by Seyrig’s Jeanne, a serene shopkeeper whose joyful façade hides the trauma of the past—as they navigate a whirl of romantic entanglements and heartfelt longing, expressed through vibrant song and dance. Balancing the candy-colored allure of pop spectacle with a profound meditation on survival and hope, Akerman crafts a bittersweet serenade to human connection in an age of consumerism.