00:00At the time of its release, La Cage aux Fals became the highest-grossing foreign film ever
00:05released in the U.S., holding the title as the most financially successful French film
00:10in the States until it was dethroned by Amelie in 2001. La Cage aux Fals spawned a couple of
00:16sequels released in 1980 and 85, and between those came a smash-hit 1983 Broadway musical
00:23that ran for 1,761 performances. Then, in 1996, it was remade in the U.S. as The Birdcage,
00:32a critically and commercially successful reimagination starring Robin Williams, Nathan
00:37Lane, Gene Hackman, and Diane Wiest. Ennio Morricone dutifully scored both sequels,
00:44though he was not involved in the musical. He continued composing, arranging, and conducting
00:49live performances of his work, often internationally well into his 80s. He was nominated for five
00:55Oscars without a win to show for it. To make up for that, in 2007, the Academy gave him an
01:01Honorary
01:02Academy Award for his magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music,
01:08introduced by, who else? Clint Eastwood. But then, in 2016, at the age of 87, Morricone won his first
01:17competitive Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Hateful Eight, an underappreciated
01:23western written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Coming up, our night with the Maestro continues.
01:29We'll hear Morricone's score for a masterpiece that stands as not only one of the great war films
01:34of all time, but one of the great political films. From 1966, directed by Gillo Pontecorvo,
01:41The Battle of Algiers, is next on Turner Classic Movies.
01:47Next on TCM, The Battle of Algiers, then Ineo, and later, A Day in the Country. Get off the grid
01:56with TCM tonight.
