75
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Little White LiesSaskia Lloyd GaigerLittle White LiesSaskia Lloyd GaigerAlthough it celebrates Morricone’s particular genius, this documentary is not greedy with the nostalgia it generates as it casts light on so many parts of 20th century culture.
- 80The GuardianLeslie FelperinThe GuardianLeslie FelperinIt’s not so much the running time of 156 minutes that will tire you out as the incredible sonic, visual and emotional overload generated by the work itself; perhaps this is ideally seen first in a cinema for maximum impact and then again in small, digestible chunks at home.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeHappily, the film is more than a greatest-hits rundown (and at nearly three hours, it had better be): In addition to nuts-and-bolts musicology, it offers real engagement with a complicated character, endearingly stubborn and self-effacing, whose inventiveness changed both his chosen field (“absolute” music) and the one, film scoring, he entered only reluctantly.
- 80The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisOne of the movie’s nice surprises is that Morricone turns out to be a total charmer, a low-key showman with a demure gaze that he works like a vamp and an impish smile that routinely punctuates one of his anecdotes.
- 80Wall Street JournalKyle SmithWall Street JournalKyle SmithThe bad news about the Ennio Morricone documentary Ennio is its length: 2 1/2 hours. Far too short!
- 75IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichThere’s no doubt that Tornatore could have created a more artistically self-possessed homage to his most iconic collaborator, but then again, didn’t he already do that with “Cinema Paradiso?”
- 60The Irish TimesTara BradyThe Irish TimesTara BradyIn common with Edgar Wright’s recent portrait of Sparks, Tornatore’s film largely eschews such niceties as documentary structure in favour of enthusiastic chronology. And then Ennio worked with Pasolini; and then he worked with Dario Argento. And so on. It’s an interesting biography, nonetheless.
- 60A career of such breadth and note deserves deep exploration, certainly, but so much of the greatness of Morricone’s music speaks for itself that exposing the workings rarely enhances the piece.
- 50The New YorkerAnthony LaneThe New YorkerAnthony LaneEnnio turns out to be overlong, overblown, and larded with such praises that Morricone, a modest if determined soul, would blush to hear them.