Those classics of the 1970s

Let’s face it: the fact that Venezia Classici has Nanni Moretti’s Ecce Bombo among its highlights (just as Cannes Classic had Sbatti il mostro in prima pagina as its event, both films from the 1970s) says a lot about how the very concept of ‘classic’ has definitively changed. And it is not just a question of time. Today, the demand to breathe new life into even recent films is not just the result of a particular cinephile focus. It is something different that certainly has to do with a passion for cinema but simultaneously outlines a precise market demand. The audience discovered that watching a film in a theatre is an event. Then they flock to see even films widely available on platforms: Harry Potter, Sapore di Mare, Profondo Rosso, and The Lord of the Rings. Such market demand (relatively recent in Italy. France unveiled the secret thirty years ago) requires new, perfect, finely crafted copies. The model here has undoubtedly been the work of the Cineteca di Bologna, which, starting with Il Cinema ritrovato, has become an important distributor for movies from the past. So Venezia Classic is transforming: it is no longer (only) a space for cinephiles; it is increasingly becoming a market segment. And this cannot but make us happy.