Cannes Festival: Bertolucci's Epic "1900" Premieres, Oshima's "Empire of Passion" Stuns

The Cannes Film Festival has seen the premiere of Bernardo Bertolucci's epic film "1900" (Novecento), a work that has been long-awaited. The Italian director, who gained international fame with "Last Tango in Paris," has created a sprawling historical panorama. The film's runtime is an extraordinary 5 hours and 20 minutes, comparable to the original intended length of Mikko Niskanen's "The Shot of Death."

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Bertolucci made his grand portrayal of the era without compromise, and its length exceeded the usual, approximately the same dimensions as Mikko Niskanen's The Shot of Death originally, 5 hours and 20 minutes.

Robert De Niro, who plays a central role in "1900," has also been showcased at Cannes for his performance in Martin Scorsese's gritty New York depiction, "Taxi Driver." De Niro's powerful acting persona has been evident in various roles over the past year, making his presence at the festival notable.

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The central role is played by Robert De Niro, whose exceptionally strong acting personality has already given us many good examples in the past year.

Beyond these major productions, many well-known actors have made appearances at Cannes, some simply for leisure. The article mentions Glenda Jackson, American film producer George Barry, Faye Dunaway, and Helmut Berger, who is primarily known for his work with Visconti, as among the celebrities enjoying a break at the festival.

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Champlin even calls the film an artistic shock and also a pioneering work in the area of individual erotic feelings, sensations, and actions.

Charles Champlin, a correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, shares a similar view to Finnish director-analyst Aito Mäkinen regarding the festival's offerings. Both consider Japanese director Nagisa Oshima's new film, "Empire of Passion" (Ai no Corrida), to be the most significant and "hottest" film shown so far. Champlin describes the film as an "artistic shock" and a pioneering work in exploring the realm of individual erotic feelings, sensations, and actions with unprecedented candor and truthfulness.

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Until now, no artistically ambitious film director, working accordingly, has revealed these areas of human behavior as unflinchingly and truthfully as in this.