Martin Scorsese And George Lucas Are Teaming Up
Industry legends Martin Scorsese and George Lucas are joining forces on a major project that will thrill international film buffs. The Hollywood veterans are collaborating with the Film Heritage Foundation to help restore the epic 1977 Indian film Ghatashraddha. The film (whose title in English is The Ritual) has long since been considered a cinematic masterpiece, and it was responsible for jumpstarting a long and successful career for director Girish Kasaravalli.
Scorsese And Lucas Are Restoring Classic Indian Film The Ritual
The National Film Development Corporation-National Film Archive of India maintained an original negative of the film, making it possible for industry giants like George Lucas and Martin Scorsese to jump in and help provide the needed funding for this massive undertaking. India’s Film Heritage Foundation will be in charge of the actual restoration, which will occur at the L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, Italy. How the two Hollywood filmmakers are helping involves separate film foundations they had chartered.
Both Directors Have Film Restoration Foundations
The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, founded by Martin Scorsese, is being credited for supporting India’s Film Heritage Foundation’s efforts. This will mark the 55th film that Scorsese’s foundation has helped to restore. Film restorations are costly, making it necessary for George Lucas and his wife, Melody Hobson, to become involved.
George Lucas and Melody Hobson created the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, which provides grants to various organizations. With over $1 billion in assets on hand, this not-for-profit brings the needed resources necessary for a film restoration of this magnitude. According to Martin Scorsese’s foundation, restoration of a film in its entirety can cost upward of $400,000.
The Ritual Depicts Indian Society Of The 1970s
For those who have never viewed Ghatashraddha, the full restoration will be well worth the wait. Based on the novella by U. R. Ananthamurthy, the film follows the story’s plot line with heartbreaking accuracy. It’s a tale that gives a realistic look at the unfortunate consequences a young woman in southern India must face when she deviates from the social/sexual norms of her culture.
A Deep Appreciation For World Cinema
While the production itself isn’t necessarily in the typical vein of what you’d expect to view when you see names like Martin Scorsese or George Lucas attached to it, Ghatashraddha and the Hollywood filmmakers’ efforts to restore and preserve it show just how deep their appreciation for cinema is. While there are no space monsters or mafia killings in Ghatashraddha, the film itself is as riveting and complex as anything either of the film legends behind its restoration could have conceived on their own.
Two Directors From Two Different Genres
George Lucas made famous for writing and directing the epic Star Wars franchise, has seen multiple successes behind the scenes as an executive producer. Lucas has molded dozens of successful films in this role, including Labyrinth, The Land Before Time, and the Indiana Jones franchise. While Lucas’s endeavors mostly involve science fiction and fantasy, Martin Scorsese has given film lovers entries that are much grittier and more violent.
Lucas And Scorsese Are Pure Cinephiles
Mostly associated with mobster movies like Casino and Goodfellas, Martin Scorsese has worked outside of the organized crime plot devices and directed film classics like Taxi Driver and The Aviator. Though the world is lucky to have Martin Scorsese and George Lucas collaborate on restoring a film, the news has some film buffs imagining what the two brains could conjure up if they worked together on a film someday.
Source: Variety
