Joan Lui Explained

Joan Lui
Director:Adriano Celentano
Music:Adriano Celentano
Pinuccio Pirazzoli
Ronny Jackson
Gino Santercole
Cinematography:Alfio Contini
Editing:Adriano Celentano
Producer:Mario & Vittorio Cecchi Gori
Language:Italian
Country:Italy
Distributor:Variety Distribution
Runtime:163 min
133 min (cut edition)
125 min (Home Video cut)

Joan Lui (also known as Joan Lui - Ma un giorno nel paese arrivo io di lunedì) is a 1985 Italian musical comedy film by Adriano Celentano. It was the fourth and the last films Celentano wrote, starred in and directed.

Plot

Joan Lui is a singer who has come from another world to condemn the hypocrisy and atrocities of the Western culture. When he arrives in Italy, he seeks to create a band composed of young and inexperienced musicians to better spread his message. After having exposed the deception of a major musical producer, Joan Lui disappears into thin air. Meanwhile, the world is plunged into a terrible apocalypse.

Cast

Joan Lui

Tina Foster

Judy Johnson

Emanuela Carboni

Cap. Arthur

Winston

Musico

Temple singer

Jarak

Franky

Prime Minister

Frank

Bartender

Journalist

Assassin

Soundtrack

  1. L'uomo perfetto
  2. Sex without Love
  3. Il tempio
  4. Mistero
  5. Lunedì
  6. Qualcosa nascerà
  7. Splendida e nuda
  8. L'ora è guinta
  9. La prima stella

Production

The film was the center of a dispute between Mario and Vittorio Cecchi Gori and Celentano as the producers decided, a month after theatrical release, to replace the original cut with another version with a different editing and 30 minutes shorter.[1] [2]

Reception

The film was a box office bomb, grossing 7.3 billion lire at the Italian box office in spite of a budget of about 20 billion lire.

The film also received generally bad reviews. Morando Morandini described it as "an enormous music video based on visual shock, jam-packed with music, with some monumental sets and elaborate editing. A true festival of kitsch also on an ideological level".[3] According to Paolo Mereghetti the film, "a personal reading of Christianity in musicals", "a personal delusion of omnipotence", and "a mock-apocalyptic madness that is just able to list the worst clichés of indifference".[4]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Poppi, Roberto. I film - 5: Dal 1980 al 1989. 1, A-L. Dizionario del cinema italiano. Rome. Gremese. 2000. it. 88-7742-423-0.
  2. Book: Giusti, Marco. Dizionario dei film italiani stracult. 1999. Milan. Sperling & Kupfer. it. 88-200-2919-7.
  3. Book: Morandini. Laura. Morandini. Morando. Morandini. Luisa. Il Morandini: dizionario dei film 2000. Bologna. Zanichelli. 1999. it. 88-08-02037-1.
  4. Book: Mereghetti, Paolo. Il Mereghetti: dizionario dei film 2011. Milan. Baldini Castoldi Dalai. 2010. it. 978-88-6073-626-0.