Fantas Classics with The Best of Fantasporto 40 Years

BLADE RUNNER OPENS FANTASPORTO’2020 DRACULA AND RAGING BULL ALSO NOT TO BE MISSED

The Fantas Classics section of the 40^th edition of Fantasporto begins February 25^th with THE FILM OF THE FESTIVAL. It was in 1983 that open in Europe and Fantasporto, in his third edition was screening perhaps the best film of the era: Blade Runner of Ridley Scott. 10 years later it was time for the European première of the Director´s Cut. Before the competitions this Fantas Classics section, is a success of audiences in the Festival. It will bring also one of the highlights of the festival, Bram´s Stoker Dracula of Francis Ford Coppola and to finish this 3 days of classic films,  Fantasporto will celebrate the 40 years of the production of Raging Bull by Martin Scorsese, considered by Sight and Sound and Variety the best film of the cinema history.

Blade Runner by Ridley Scott- EUA- 117’- 1982

One of the most visionary films in Cinema History, “Blade Runner” gave Ridley Scott a place among the greatest in the fantasy genre. This story about a policeman/blade runner whose mission is to capture and kill  a few replicants, machines that are hardly distinctive from humans, after they stole a spaceship, having returned to Earth to meet their maker, has a Shakespearean scope, and gave Harrison Ford in the leading role and especially Dutch actor  Rutger Hauer  who plays one of the replicants and whose death is one of the most impressive seen on a feature film, two high profile roles.

 Also in the memory of those who saw the film is the impressive initial sequence overview of the city, created by master Douglas Trumbull, a city filled with smoke, rain and densely populated with all kind of languages and races. Although the first reception was not very generous from film reviewers from “Variety” , for example, the fact is that the film gained impact over three decades as one of the key visions of our future. It was nominated only for two Oscars, best art direction- set decoration and best visual effects, which shows the little appreciation by the Academy  of genre films at the time.  A most waited for, and better welcomed, sequel came with “Blade Runner 2049” in 2017, directed by “Arrival” ’s director, the Canadian Denis Villeneuve.

“Blade Runner” had its European Première in Fantasporto 1983, in its third edition. The festival also had the European Première of “Blade Runner: Director’s Cut” in 1993.

Ridley Scott

Born in Great Britain in 1937, and mostly known for his work as a director, screenwriter and producer of more than 140 features and TV series, Ridley Scott became famous for always being diversified. His knack for variety shows easily in a career with films that soon become essential for his approach to its theme. A characteristic that began with his first feature, “The Duellists” (1977), followed by “Alien” (1979), “Blade Runner” (1982), “Thelma &Louise” (1991), “1492: Conquest of Paradise” (1992), “Gladiator” (2000) or  even “The Martian” (2015).  

 Today, he is preparing the sequel to “Gladiator”. His last two features came out both in the same year, “All the Money in the World” (2017) and “Alien: The Covenant” (2017).

Bram Stoker’s Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola- EUA - 1992

When I was a distributor (running Sony) i had the priviledge of working on the film and meeting the master. Among many things we did (premiere at Grand Rex Theatre, fake snow, carriage with black horses to drive away Coppola, gathering with Christopher Lee...I also organized these 3D volume creations moulded after the poster, they were exhibited in some key theatres in France, one of them stayed a long time in my office, not to impress my visitors anyhow, but more as a token of my passion for the masterpiece

The film is based on the great classic written by Bram Stoker in 1897 which soon was converted into more than a hundred films, namely by Murnau, due to its charismatic protagonist. Also Coppola, a master of cinema, did not escape, building a sumptuous version of the aristocratic vampire and giving an unforgettable role to versatile actor Gary Oldman, later a Oscar winner with “The Darkest Hour” in 2018.

A fervent admirer of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, Francis Ford Coppola always fuses in his best films, ideas of grandeur, beauty and magic. Usually “bigger than life” , Coppola built here a sophisticated version of Count Dracula, who, long before, had already been rather successful in films by Tod Browning or Terence Fisher and his leading actor, Christopher Lee.

Coppola created an undoubted epic of terror from the Bram Stoker’s book and with it won three Oscars (Best Costume Design, Visual and Sound Effects and Make Up), which shows well the Academy mistrust of genre films at the time.  Apart from the magnificent role played by Gary Oldman, the film also counts with Keanu Reeves, long before his Matrix fame, and Anthony Hopkins who later also would be connected with terror for his role in “Silence of the Lambs”.

The original version by Coppola had 155 minutes with scenes that later were cut by Fox for nudity and sex.

Fantasporto is proud to have presented the Portuguese Premiere in 1993, in a last minute, barely announced and super reserved screening, per wish of the distributor, a gift to its audience  since it was the most waited  film at that moment, after its premiere in November 1992 in the States and having acquired since then a significant buzz. It was the first public screening in Europe.

Francis Ford Coppola

Born in 1939, in Detroit, USA, the son of a family of Italian origin, already with numerous members famous for their work in cinema and music. He was assistant to Roger Corman and his first feature was “Dementia 13” (1963). For Patton” (1970) he won his first Oscar for Original Screenplay, followed by “THX 1138” (1971). He was the producer of George Lucas’s “American Graffiti” and soon became one of the greatest with “The Godfather” trilogy, having received two Best Film Oscars for the first and second films and 7 nominations for the third. “Apocalypse Now” (1979) became a landmark in the History of Cinema. In one of the most successful careers, mostly as writer, director and producer, recently he has dedicated his time to the project “Megalopolis”, his latest feature being “Distant Vision” in 2016. He already holds 5 Oscars.

CELEBRATION OF THE 40 YEARS OF THE PRODUCTION OF

Raging Bull by Martin Scorsese - EUA – 1980

The true story of a famous boxer, Jake La Motta, by the hand of one of the greatest directors alive, Martin Scorsese. With Robert de Niro in a role that made him gain 30 kilos, he guaranteed his status as one of the best actors in cinema.

About “Raging Bull”, Scorsese admits he did not want to make the film but Robert de Niro convinced him. Says the director, “I know nothing about boxing. For me it was a kind of human chess game”. All boxing scenes were shot first, after being all drawn on paper. As for the final scene of “Raging Bull”, where Jake La Motta looks at himself in the mirror, Scorsese considers that “finally there is peace for him. He has stopped the aggression against himself. He has found peace.” A reflection on self and outside aggression, as in many films by Scorsese, “Rgging Bull” had eight nominations including Best Film, Best Direction and Best Actor, the latter won by Robert de Niro.

With this screening, Fantasporto celebrates the 40^th anniversary of its opening.

Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese was born in 1942, in Queens, New York, from a family of Italian origin. An admirer of Michael Powell and John Ford, and of films such as “The Leopard” by Visconti, the director grew watching the classics, becoming today one of the greatest film directors of all times.   He was the President of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival. S founder of The Film Foundation, with other directors, he has helped restore and recuperate many old films. So far, has only received an Oscar for Best Direction (2017) although his films have regularly many nominations and awards.

Since his first feature “Who’s That Knocking on My Door?” (1967), Scorsese has many memorable films, present in many film archives, such as “Mean Streets” (1973), “Taxi Driver” (1976).  Recently, he directed “The Irishman” (2019),  is preparing “Killers of The Flower Moon” and a film about Roosevelt.  He also produced a TV series, “Boardwalk Empire”, between 2010 and 2014.

The official sections began February 28^th with a selection of the latest film production that usually brings many International and World Premieres which attracts to Porto many cinema and media people who want to see new films in first hand.  The Industry Screenings are also a means of connecting the festival with the distributors. In 2020, the festival pays a Tribute to British producer - director Julian Richards, who after working in Amblin, resumed a successful career and has played an important role as the head of Jinga Films. Also Taiwan is present as a special partner of Fantasporto with the program The Wheels of Fortune.  And more to come.

Welcome to the World of the Visual Arts, to Porto, twice Best European Destination, to the 40^th Fantasporto