The famous singer-songwriter loved cinema: he directed many movies and participated in many soundtracks. Here are the titles and where to find them in streaming.
“And it’s beautiful to get lost in this spell”: this is not only one of the many verses written by Franco Battiato, but it is also the feeling you get listening to his songs, perennial soundtrack in the lives of many people. On the other hand, those of Battiato, are not simply songs, but real works of art and each of us has sung at least one in his life.
The Sicilian singer-songwriter died today, May 18, 2021, after a long illness, at the age of 76 years in his residence in Milo, Sicily. From today we will listen to his songs with a knot in our throats, but grateful for the musical legacy he left us. We can discover it not only through his records, but also thanks to the soundtracks of many films. The songs have enriched several films by Nanni Moretti, Carlo Verdone, up to the recent Chiamami col tuo nome by Luca Guadagnino. But Franco Battiato has also worked as a director for several films and documentaries, some of which are available online.
Franco Battiato director: films and documentaries directed by the maestro
Franco Battiato, besides being an excellent songwriter, also had a passion for cinema. Since 1979 he began to direct all his video clips, which were then collected in a single collector’s DVD “Dal cinghiale al cammello – The Video Collection”.
But it was in 2003 that he wrote and directed his first film Perdutoamor, which was recognized as being of national cultural interest by the General Directorate for Cinema of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, as well as having won several awards.
His second film arrived in 2005 and was presented at the 62nd Venice Film Festival. The title is Musikanten. It tells about the last years of Ludwig van Beethoven’s life, played by Alejandro Jodorowsky. Both films are available on Youtube.
Subsequently he worked on Niente è come sembra, starring Giulio Brogi and where we also find Sonia Bergamasco and Alejandro Jodorowsky. While in 2007 he signs the direction of La sua figura, a docu-film dedicated to Giuni Russo. To this genre also belong Auguri Don Gesualdo (2010), Viaggio nel Regno del Ritorno and Attraverso il Bardo.
Franco Battiato’s songs in the cinema: where we find them
Battiato’s songs have enriched many Italian and international films. In particular, the director Nanni Moretti has chosen them to accompany many cult scenes. In Bianca, 1983 film, we can hear the song Scalo a Grado in the exhilarating scene on the beach. In Palombella Rossa (available on Youtube on demand) it is Moretti, who is also the interpreter of the film, who sings a verse of the song E ti vengo a cercare, while in the 1985 film La messa è finita we can hear the song I treni di Tozeur.
Director Alfonso Cuarón is a great admirer of Franco Battiato: he included his cover of Ruby Tuesday by the Rolling Stones in the soundtrack of the film Children of Men.
But the songs also appear in some recent films: in Call Me by Your Name (available on Amazon Prime Video) directed by Luca Guadagnino we can hear Radio Varsavia, while in a scene of the film Benedetta Follia (Amazon Prime Video) by Carlo Verdone echoes La stagione dell’amore.