Luciano Emmer

The panorama of human affairs encounters the “man with a movie camera”. His playground has no boundaries, his curiosity no limits. Characters, situations and places pitch camp in the life of a humanity that is at once the viewer and the thing viewed. But what are the last days of this humanity? Have they already passed? Are they now or still to come?

In 2009, shortly before his death, Luciano Emmer made this film, which is a revival of the one he made in 1950. All the views of paintings are replaced by color reproductions, but the rest of the film is identical.

A film inspired by Piranesi's etchings.

Collective film for the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with 30 directors each helming a segment about one of the 30 articles of the Declaration.

Documentary

The film tells the true story of a poor peasant woman in the 1600s who lived in an isolated cave in the Val di Non. Accused of witchcraft by the townspeople, the woman is taken to Palazzo Nero, where under torture she admits her guilt and implicates her accusers in revenge for their wickedness. Condemned to death, she refuses to repent, and for this reason is burnt at the stake in the town’s square.

The film tells the true story of a poor peasant woman in the 1600s who lived in an isolated cave in the Val di Non. Accused of witchcraft by the townspeople, the woman is taken to Palazzo Nero, where under torture she admits her guilt and implicates her accusers in revenge for their wickedness. Condemned to death, she refuses to repent, and for this reason is burnt at the stake in the town’s square.

The color of an eternal city, Naples, it's people, it's sounds and its volcano.

The color of an eternal city, Naples, it's people, it's sounds and its volcano.

It is the story of three women in three different places: Turin, Paris and Luxembourg City. Stefania, whose husband has left her for a younger woman, lives alone and types fiction teleplays for a living... until the day she decides to open a new chapter of her life. Elena tries to commit suicide by jumping into the River Seine. She is saved by Bernard, a tramp who, after attempting to reanimate her, takes her to the emergency ward. Later on, they meet again. Stella tries to wake up her drunk companion so that he can become again Diabolique, the fire-eater of a small circus. She more or less manages to but her man is wounded while performing his act and finishes the night in a hospital room.

It is the story of three women in three different places: Turin, Paris and Luxembourg City. Stefania, whose husband has left her for a younger woman, lives alone and types fiction teleplays for a living... until the day she decides to open a new chapter of her life. Elena tries to commit suicide by jumping into the River Seine. She is saved by Bernard, a tramp who, after attempting to reanimate her, takes her to the emergency ward. Later on, they meet again. Stella tries to wake up her drunk companion so that he can become again Diabolique, the fire-eater of a small circus. She more or less manages to but her man is wounded while performing his act and finishes the night in a hospital room.

Art documentary on the paintings of the French artist Balthus.

Reporter Marcello has a brief encounter with Irene while waiting for a train. A young woman who has lost her sight finds herself falling for the voice of a ship's captain she hears over a radio broadcast. Egle, a massage therapist who is soon to be married, finds herself pursuing one last fling with Gabriele -- though the odds are not in her favor, since he happens to be gay. Elena is a young woman with a child who wants to abandon her husband. And Carla wonders if she has any future at all with her lover -- who is married to someone else.

The friendship between two high school friends is tested when they are forced to separate because of university.

Luciano Emmer reconstructs the dawn of Italian TV advertising, in two parts: "Gli anni ruggenti" (The Roaring Years) and "Ma chi l'ha ucciso?" (Who Killed Him?).

Deals with the works of the artist Giotto, contrasting the hieratic mood of his predecessors with his innovations. Shows the major cycles of his frescoes, including those at the Upper and Lower Church of San Francesco, Assisi, the Scrovegni family Arena Chapel in Padua, and St. Croce in Florence.

A short art history lesson on Michelangelo.

A romantic drama partially set in Amsterdam, this standard tale starts out in a mining area in Holland where conditions are about as rough as they get. Two of the miners, Italians Federico and Vincenzo take off together for the city's red-light district, where the women pose in windows for prospective customers. There the duo meet Else and Carrel who are willing to leave their windows to spend a weekend at a resort with the two men. Soon Else has fallen in love with Vincenzo and the future of the two hookers, as well as the miners, seems to look brighter.

A romantic drama partially set in Amsterdam, this standard tale starts out in a mining area in Holland where conditions are about as rough as they get. Two of the miners, Italians Federico and Vincenzo take off together for the city's red-light district, where the women pose in windows for prospective customers. There the duo meet Else and Carrel who are willing to leave their windows to spend a weekend at a resort with the two men. Soon Else has fallen in love with Vincenzo and the future of the two hookers, as well as the miners, seems to look brighter.

Pietro is in love with a nurse; they keep their affair secret until she falls pregnant. Worried that marriage will affect his career, she prepares for the upcoming childbirth

A traveling salesman is sent to prison after being accused of bigamy, while his wife and son are forced to consider leaving him permanently.

A documentary made up of 16-mm footage shot by explorers/filmmakers, originally shown to audiences during lectures organized by Connaissance du Monde.

Camilla, a middle-aged Venetian widow, arrives in Rome to take up service as a maid for the Rossetti family, who are not prosperous. With her discreet presence, she is an element of cohesion for them thru tensions and misfortunes.

Camilla, a middle-aged Venetian widow, arrives in Rome to take up service as a maid for the Rossetti family, who are not prosperous. With her discreet presence, she is an element of cohesion for them thru tensions and misfortunes.

Camilla, a middle-aged Venetian widow, arrives in Rome to take up service as a maid for the Rossetti family, who are not prosperous. With her discreet presence, she is an element of cohesion for them thru tensions and misfortunes.

The evolution of Picasso's painting up to his “pink phase.”

The evolution of Picasso's painting up to his “pink phase.”

It's the last year of highschool of a group of teenagers, and now they have to face their final exam, and the loves, happy or not, that sprung during those years of school.

It's the last year of highschool of a group of teenagers, and now they have to face their final exam, and the loves, happy or not, that sprung during those years of school.

Three gorgeous seamstresses meet on the historic steps of the Piazza de Spagna in Rome to discuss one another's love lives.

A group of Italian soccer fans arrive in Paris for a match, but most of them go their separate ways to explore the sights, have a bit of an adventure, and maybe even find some romance.

A group of Italian soccer fans arrive in Paris for a match, but most of them go their separate ways to explore the sights, have a bit of an adventure, and maybe even find some romance.

A group of Italian soccer fans arrive in Paris for a match, but most of them go their separate ways to explore the sights, have a bit of an adventure, and maybe even find some romance.

Pictura is a documentary film directed by seven famous directors, and narrated by several famous Hollywood actors. The film attempts to give the general filmgoing public a taste of art history and art appreciation.

Presents life in 18th century Spain as the painter Francisco de Goya showed it to us.

Presents life in 18th century Spain as the painter Francisco de Goya showed it to us.

The plot weaves several episodes with several groups of people, Roman families, youth gangs and young love couples, who spend a Sunday at the beach of Ostia.

The plot weaves several episodes with several groups of people, Roman families, youth gangs and young love couples, who spend a Sunday at the beach of Ostia.

The elegant allegories of Botticelli are our guides as we explore a universe in which mysticism and paganism meet.

The elegant allegories of Botticelli are our guides as we explore a universe in which mysticism and paganism meet.

A text read by the narrator traces the vicissitudes of the crucifixion of Jesus, while the objective of the two directors investigates the style of Piero della Francesca by exploring his frescoes in the Arezzo church of San Francesco.

The documentary focuses on Giotto's frescoes in Padua.

Reflection on Vittore Carpaccio's paintings in Venice, Italy.

A documentary about the Venetian lagoon, with the words of Diego Fabbri narrating scenes of strips of land swallowed up by the sea, of small boats sailing on the water, of men and women concentrating on their work in a world which is “a false sea and a false land”.

The Legend of the Miraculous brothers according to the paintings of Beato Angelico.

This is a documentary film on the romantic and decadent atmosphere of Venice at the end of the 18th century. A vigorous comment by Jean Cocteau tells us of the sick souls and the sorrows of literary characters and musicians who lived the dream of this city. It is the Venice of Lord Byron, Alfred de Musset, George Sand, d'Annunzio; a Venice made of precious images, palaces reflected in the water, mysterious moonlights, little squares where unhappy lovers wander under the music of Richard Wagner.

Short documentary on art

A short Italian film from Luciano Emmer & Enrico Gras using paintings to tell a story of warriors.

A film comprising of numerous sentimental depictions of love.

A documentary on the paintings of Gerolamo Bosch.

A documentary on the paintings of Gerolamo Bosch.

The first art film by Emmer and Gras dedicated to Giotto's frescos in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. By capturing the humanity of the figures that populate the story of the life of Jesus, the two Directors treat the series of paintings like a true canvas, isolating the single scenes from the context of the work, and then re-composing them in a new synthesis. The film was re-edited in 1946 and entitled Il dramma di Cristo.