Francis of Assisi

Francis of Assisi (1966)

Francesco d'Assisi

A 1966 biopic of Francis of Assisi presents him as a troubled rebel and champion of radical brotherhood, reflecting the spirit of 1968 student protests. Praised and condemned, the film sparked controversy for its bold, dissenting portrayal of faith.

Date of release
1966-09-01
TMDB
6.2 / 10 (5)
Runtime
2h 14m
Genres
History, Drama, TV Movie
Director
Liliana Cavani

Casting

Interesting facts

Francesco di Assisi, English title Francis of Assisi, is a 1966 Italian drama television film by Liliana Cavani. It was Cavani's first non-fiction feature-length film, with a screenplay written by her and Tullio Pinelli. It follows the life of Saint Francis of Assisi from 1205 until his death in 1226.

Production and release

Cavani, who, in her own words, had not had a Catholic upbringing, was drawn to the character of Francis of Assisi because of Paul Sabatier's biography, regarding him a "protestor" and his venture "existential and poetic" and "revolutionary". Francesco di Assisi was her first feature film after directing a series of documentary films for television station RAI, and also the first film produced by RAI and Leo Pescarolo.

Francesco di Assisi was shot on 16 mm film and aired in two parts on RAI on 6 and 8 May 1966, reaching an audience of approx. 20 million viewers. It was shown out of competition at the 27th Venice International Film Festival the same year and eventually saw a limited cinema release in 1972.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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