Sinergie generazionali. La musica nei film dei "nuovi comici" degli anni '80

Alessandro Cecchi

Alessandro Cecchi Università di Pisa

Abstract

The article addresses the role of music in the films of the "new Italian comedians" who arrived in the early 1980s, after their success in theater and television, to the role of film directors. Thanks to the crisis in Italian cinema, producers invest in these actors and authors, transforming them into directors with the support of screenwriters, assistant directors, tutors and supervisors. In many cases these are successful films that sometimes compete with the international blockbusters at the national box office. The article focuses attention to the launch (1980-1983) and emancipation/consolidation (1984-1989) phases of the new comedians as directors. Some of them reached international consecration in the following decade. In addition to the musical choices of the individual films, the article addresses the individual parables of the film directors considered (Carlo Verdone, Massimo Troisi, Roberto Benigni, Alessandro Benvenuti, Francesco Nuti). Among the options used, three stand out: the synergy with singer-songwriters emerged during the 1970s (Paolo Conte, Pino Daniele, Antonello Venditti) and emergent rock bands (Stadio), the direct participation of the director-actors in the creation of the music (Benvenuti, Nuti), and the use of new generation film composers, closer to the field of singer-songwriters (Fabio Liberatori, Pino Donaggio, Evan Lurie). Rarer is the involvement Italian specialized composers (Ennio Morricone for Verdone), according to the tradition of film music, or the use of large compilation soundtracks (Verdone again). The new comedians consider all these musical options in dialogue with their audience, taking important steps in unexpected directions.

Keywords: Italian film music, Italian singer-songwriters, Italian rock bands, Italian cinema of the new comedians, Italian 1980s actors, generational aspects

Author Biography

Alessandro Cecchi, Università di Pisa

Alessandro Cecchi is associate professor of musicology and music history at the University of Pisa, where he teaches Music history and Film music. He has worked on musical aesthetics and music theory, as well as twentieth-century music, including film music and the media circulation of musical performance. Among his recent publications is the collection of partly unpublished sources – commented on by an introductory essay, annotated and accompanied by an extensive biography – Angelo Francesco Lavagnino, Il difficile mestiere del compositore cinematografico. Scritti, conferenze, interviste (1950-1984) (NeoClassica 2022). He is also the (co-)editor of the volumes La musica fra testo, performance e media. Forme e concetti dell’esperienza musicali(NeoClassica 2020) and Investigating musical performance: theoretical models and intersections (with Gianmario Borio, Giovanni Giuriati and Marco Lutzu, Routledge 2020). His articles on film music have appeared in «Journal of Film Music», «Music, Sound, and the Moving Image», «Musica/Tecnologia», «Biblioteca Teatrale», «Schermi». He created and is the series editor of the interdisciplinary series of music studies «musica.performance.media» (NeoClassica). He is member of the Editorial Board of the scientific journals «Archival Notes» and «Sound, Stage, Screen», of the Advisory Board of the Gustav Mahler Research Centre, and of the group of collaborators of Centro Studi Luciano Berio.