''Open Doors'' ( it, Porte aperte) is a 1990 Italian film directed by Gianni Amelio. Set in Palermo in the 1930s, a judge who is morally against the death penalty is confronted with the case of a man who has murdered his wife and two colleagues in cold blood. Opposed by both the fascist government - endorsing death penalty since it allows people to be safe to the point of "sleeping at night with open doors" - and public opinion, he struggles to do what he believes is right. Based on a 1987 novel, "

Porte Aperte ''Open Doors'' ( it, Porte aperte) is a 1990 Italian film directed by Gianni Amelio. Set in Palermo in the 1930s, a judge who is morally against the death penalty is confronted with the case of a man who has murdered his wife and two colleagues in ...

", by Leonardo Sciascia. The film was selected as the Italian entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

63rd Academy Awards The 63rd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 25, 1991, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ce ...

Plot

The film opens with a Fascist bureaucrat, recently fired, killing the man who fired him, the man who replaced him, and his wife.

Cast

Gian Maria Volonté Gian Maria Volonté (9 April 1933 – 6 December 1994) was an Italian actor, including roles in four Spaghetti Western films: Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone's ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964) and El Indio in Leone's '' For a Few Dollars More'' (19 ...

as Judge Vito di Francesco *

Ennio Fantastichini Ennio Fantastichini (20 February 1955 – 1 December 2018) was an Italian actor. Life and career Born in Gallese, province of Viterbo, Fantastichini studied acting at the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico. His breakout role ...

as Tommasco Scalia *

Renato Carpentieri Renato Carpentieri (born 2 April 1943) is an Italian actor, stage director and playwright. Life and career Born in Savignano Irpino, Avellino, Carpentieri studied architecture in Naples, where from 1965 to 1974 he was engaged in the organizatio ...

as Consolo *

Tuccio Musumeci Tuccio Musumeci (born 20 April 1934) is an Italian actor and comedian. Life and career Born in Catania, Musumeci started his career in the 1960s, performing in local cabarets and avanspettacolo companies.Santino Mirabella. ''In scena - convers ...

as Spatafora * Silverio Blasi as Attorney *

Vitalba Andrea ''Clematis vitalba'' (also known as old man's beard and traveller's joy) is a shrub of the family Ranunculaceae. Description ''Clematis vitalba'' is a climbing shrub with branched, grooved stems, deciduous leaves, and scented greeny-white flo ...

as Rosa Scalia * Giacomo Piperno as Prosecutor *

Lydia Alfonsi Lydia Alfonsi (28 April 1928 – 21 September 2022) was an Italian actress. Life and career Born Lidia Alfonsi in Parma into a wealthy middle-class family, Alfonsi interrupted her accounting studies at a young age to pursue a career in theat ...

as Marchesa Anna Pironti * Renzo Giovampietro as President Sanna

Awards

Won

* 1991

David di Donatello The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema). There are 26 award cat ...

: **Best Actor -

**Best Costume Design -

Gianna Gissi Gianna is a female Italian given name, a diminutive form of Giovanna. In English, it is translated as Joann, Joanne or Joanna. These names mean "God is gracious". See also "John" for the origin. Variations *Feminine: Giana, Gia, Giovanna *Mascu ...

**Best Film **Best Sound -

Remo Ugolinelli Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumheads, drums, and hardware. History Drummer and founder Remo ...

* 3rd European Film Awards: **Best Cinematography **Best Film **Discovery of the Year Award -

*Italian Golden Globes: **Best Actor - Gian Maria Volonté **Best Film **Best Screenplay * Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists **Best Director **Best Supporting Actor - Ennio Fantastichini *Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival **Critics Award - Gianni Amelio **Golden Antigone - Gianni Amelio

Nominated

: **Best Foreign Language Film *1991

: **Best Cinematography -

Tonino Nardi Tonino Nardi (25 September 1939 – 24 October 1993) was an Italian film cinematographer. Life and career Born in Pisa Nardi debuted as a cinematographer in 1973, for the Gianni Amelio's debut film ''La città del sole'', and since then he was ...

**Best Director - Gianni Amelio **Best Editing -

Simona Paggi Simona Paggi (born 29 December 1962) is an Italian film editor. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for her work in the film ''Life Is Beautiful'' (1997) and won the David di Donatello for Best Editing for her work in ' ...

**Best Producer - Angelo Rizzoli Jr. **Best Production Design -

Amedeo Fago Amedeo is an Italian given name meaning "lover of God", "loves God", or more correctly "for the love of God" and cognate to the Latin name Amadeus and the Spanish and Portuguese Amadeo. People with this name include: * A number of rulers and nob ...

Franco Velchi Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

**Best Screenplay - Gianni Amelio,

Vincenzo Cerami Vincenzo Cerami (2 November 1940 – 17 July 2013) was an Italian screenwriter, novelist and poet. Biography From 1967, he contributed or wrote screenplays or adapted screenplays for more than 40 films. In 1996, he was a member of the jury ...

**Best Supporting Actor -

* 3rd European Film Awards: **Special Prize of the Jury - Gian Maria Volonté * Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists **Best Actor - Gian Maria Volonté **Best Screenplay

References

External links

* * 1990 films 1990 drama films Courtroom films Films about capital punishment Films based on Italian novels European Film Awards winners (films) Films based on works by Leonardo Sciascia Films directed by Gianni Amelio Films set in Sicily Films set in the 1930s Italian drama films 1990s Italian-language films Films with screenplays by Vincenzo Cerami 1990s Italian films {{1990s-Italy-film-stub