HENRY IV
7:30
Monday, January 16
(1984, Marco Bellocchio) Delusional aristo Marcello Mastroianni has lived as the 11th century emperor since a 20-year-old concussion, but old flame Claudio Cardinale and shrink Leopoldo Trieste try for an intervention – with startling results. From the director of Fists in the Pocket and China is Near. DCP courtesy Luce Cinecittà.
Reviews
“Asserts the Pirandellian theme of the terrifying power of imagination, and of the ability of narrative to shape one’s own reality. And the film’s lush style brings a pleasing solidity to the playwright’s metaphors, helping to anchor his conceits in something that feels like the real world. But Bellocchio takes things a step further: This Henry isn't so much a man afraid of modernity as he is an artist, a man living in the midst of his own creation.”
– Bilge Ebiri, The Village Voice
“STRIKING CINEMATIC EFFECTS… Mr. Mastroianni is very fine in the title role, somehow managing to give the effect of a grandly theatrical performance in terms that do not break the conventions of the screen.”
– Vincent Canby, The New York Times