Bertolt Brecht's Galileo

Director: Joseph Losey Joseph Losey

Overview

"Filmed in England, Galileo is based on Charles Laughton's 1947 adaptation of the play by Bertolt Brecht, which, like this 1975 film, was directed by Joseph Losey. Israeli film-star Topol plays the 17th-century Italian astronomer, whose theories run contrary to the edicts of the Catholic Church. Forced to renounce his ideas about planetary movement, Galileo nonetheless holds fast to those beliefs to the end of his days, certain that time will vindicate him. Brecht's trademarked ""alienation"" technique, wherein the audience is constantly reminded that it is watching a play, is muted by Losey's cerebral direction. Galileo was one of producer Ely Landau's American Film Theatre presentations."

Product Details

Release Date:	11/11/2003
UPC:	0738329029227
Original Release:	1975
Rating:	PG
Source:	Kino Lorber
Presentation:	[Letterbox]
Language:	English
Time:	2:18:00
Sales rank:	52,053

Special Features

An interview with Topol; Theatrical trailer; "Bertolt Brecht and Galileo" - an essay by Michael Feingold, Chief Theatre Critic, The Village Voice; The AFT Cinebill for Galileo; Ely Landau: In Front of the Camera - AFT promotional reel - 1974; The American Film Theatre trailer gallery - includes a complete list of the AFT films; The American Film Theatre Scrapbook; Enhanced for 16x9 TVs

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Topol	Galileo Galilei
Edward Fox	Cardinal Inquisitor
Colin Blakely	Priuli
Michel Lonsdale	Cardinal Barberini
Georgia Brown	Ballad Singer's Wife
Clive Revill	Ballad Singer
Margaret Leighton	Court Lady
John Gielgud	Old Cardinal
Michael Gough	Sagredo
Richard O'Callaghan	Fulganzio
Tim Woodward	Ludovico
Judy Parfitt	Angelica Sarti
John McEnery	Federzoni
Patrick Magee	Cardinal Bellarrnin
Mary Larkin	Virginia
Ian Travers	Andrea as a Boy
Tom Conti	Andrea as a Man
James Aubrey	Actor

Technical Credits

Ely Landau	Producer
Joseph Losey	Director
Otto Plaschkes	Executive Producer

Editorial Reviews

Bertolt Brecht's treatise on the responsibilities of scientists to the societies in which they operate and upon which their work can have uplifting or devastating consequences receives a decent, but muted, adaptation under Joseph Losey's direction. Brecht's theater-of-alienation techniques didn't survive the translation to the screen, which is probably a plus, and Losey does a fairly good job of making the material work as cinema (something which is not always true of other titles in the American Film Theatre series). Still, there's an almost inevitable talkiness to the affair which causes the film to drag in places. In the title role, Topol is good, but the part demands much more than good. Possibly wishing to instill audience sympathy, Topol fudges Brecht's view of Galileo as a weak traitor who betrays both himself and the larger society, opting instead to go the route of the unappreciated and misunderstood man of science. Still, Topol does deliver the goods in his big scenes, and the supporting cast, especially Georgia Brown, John Gielgud, and Clive Revill, is outstanding. Though less than perfect, Galileo still captures enough of the play's strengths to be worth viewing.