Joan Lui

Joan Lui
Joan Lui
	Italian theatrical release poster by Renato Casaro
Directed by	Adriano Celentano
Written by	Adriano Celentano
Produced by	Mario & Vittorio Cecchi Gori
Starring	Adriano Celentano; Claudia Mori; Federica Moro; Gian Fabio Bosco; Mirko Setaro; Haruhiko Yamanouchi; Marthe Keller;
Cinematography	Alfio Contini
Edited by	Adriano Celentano
Music by	Adriano Celentano; Pinuccio Pirazzoli; Ronny Jackson; Gino Santercole
Distributed by	Variety Distribution
Release date	1985;
Running time	163 min; 133 min (cut edition); 125 min (Home Video cut)
Country	Italy
Language	Italian

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

Adriano Celentano: Joan Lui
Claudia Mori: Tina Foster
Marthe Keller: Judy Johnson
Federica Moro: Emanuela Carboni
Edwin Marian: Cap. Arthur
Gian Fabio Bosco: Winston
Mirko Setaro: Musico
Rita Rusic: Temple singer
Haruhiko Yamanouchi: Jarak
Piero Nuti: Franky
Edoardo Romano: Prime Minister
Sal Borgese: Frank
Gino Cogliandro: Bartender
Francesco Salvi: Journalist
Romano Puppo: Assassin

Soundtrack

L'uomo perfetto
Sex without Love
Il tempio
Mistero
Lunedì
Qualcosa nascerà
Splendida e nuda
L'ora è guinta
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]

References

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

External links

Joan Lui at IMDb
Joan Lui at Variety Distribution

[80dl-1] Poppi, Roberto (2000). I film - 5: Dal 1980 al 1989. 1, A-L. Dizionario del cinema italiano (in Italian). Rome: Gremese. ISBN 88-7742-423-0.

[stracult-2] Giusti, Marco (1999). Dizionario dei film italiani stracult (in Italian). Milan: Sperling & Kupfer. ISBN 88-200-2919-7.

[3] Morandini, Laura; Morandini, Morando; Morandini, Luisa (1999). Il Morandini: dizionario dei film 2000 (in Italian). Bologna: Zanichelli. ISBN 88-08-02037-1.

[4] Mereghetti, Paolo (2010). Il Mereghetti: dizionario dei film 2011 (in Italian). Milan: Baldini Castoldi Dalai. ISBN 978-88-6073-626-0.

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