Author Topic: First Public Screening of Brokeback Mountain.  (Read 5738 times)

Offline chowhound

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First Public Screening of Brokeback Mountain.
« on: Sep 23, 2010, 12:48 PM »
A friend has recently asked me whether or not the first public viewing of Brokeback Mountain was on Monday September 5, 2005, at the Venice Film Festival. I've always assumed that Venice was where the public saw the movie first - she kindly supplied the Monday, Sept 5 date - and that its first North American showing was at The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) about ten days later. However, confirmation of all of this wold be most welcome.

Offline rdx

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Re: First Public Screening of Brokeback Mountain.
« Reply #1 on: Sep 23, 2010, 01:08 PM »
See here.

The information there is slightly different: Venice September 2nd and Telluride September 3rd. I don't know about how public those viewings were.
"I'm spurrin' his guts out! Wavin' to the girls in the stands! He's kickin' me to high heaven, but he don't jackboard me! No!" Jack

Offline chowhound

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Re: First Public Screening of Brokeback Mountain.
« Reply #2 on: Sep 23, 2010, 05:01 PM »
See here.

The information there is slightly different: Venice September 2nd and Telluride September 3rd. I don't know about how public those viewings were.

Hi rdx,
   Monday, Sept 5 is undoubtedly the correct date for Venice:

http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/FixedPages/IT/Eventi.php/L/IT/DD/10/MM/09/YY/05/IDC/-1/P/15

The Telluride Film Festival is new to me so I was glad to know about that.

I was using a "public" screening to distinguish it from a "private" screening. I remember that Michelle and Heath went together to a private screening which presumably predated the public screening in Venice. I've never been to the Venice Film Festival so don't know how difficult it is to get into one of the Festival's screenings. Here, in Toronto, all  TIFF screenings are open to the public but you have get organized well ahead of time if you want a ticket for some of the screenings.

Offline lancecowboy

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Re: First Public Screening of Brokeback Mountain.
« Reply #3 on: Sep 23, 2010, 05:36 PM »
Hi rdx,
   Monday, Sept 5 is undoubtedly the correct date for Venice:

http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/FixedPages/IT/Eventi.php/L/IT/DD/10/MM/09/YY/05/IDC/-1/P/15

The Telluride Film Festival is new to me so I was glad to know about that.

I was using a "public" screening to distinguish it from a "private" screening. I remember that Michelle and Heath went together to a private screening which presumably predated the public screening in Venice. I've never been to the Venice Film Festival so don't know how difficult it is to get into one of the Festival's screenings. Here, in Toronto, all  TIFF screenings are open to the public but you have get organized well ahead of time if you want a ticket for some of the screenings.

 ~) *o) You are from Toronto?! Howdy, fellow Canadian, eh!  $)

Heath, you are loved, like this, always.

Offline rdx

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Re: First Public Screening of Brokeback Mountain.
« Reply #4 on: Sep 24, 2010, 12:51 AM »
Yup, but how about this one:
http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/FixedPages/IT/Eventi.php/L/IT/DD/2/MM/9/YY/2005/IDC/-1/P/13
September 3rd? Pubblico o no ? I have a vague memory that I've seen this date somewhere before.

It seems that the best information is always somewhere else than on the 'official' site: Città di Venezia vs. La Biennale di Venezia.
"I'm spurrin' his guts out! Wavin' to the girls in the stands! He's kickin' me to high heaven, but he don't jackboard me! No!" Jack

Offline chowhound

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Re: First Public Screening of Brokeback Mountain.
« Reply #5 on: Sep 24, 2010, 09:21 PM »
~) *o) You are from Toronto?! Howdy, fellow Canadian, eh!  $)


Hi there, Lancecowboy. I've lived in Toronto for many years now but which part of the country is fortunate enough to have you?

Offline chowhound

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Re: First Public Screening of Brokeback Mountain.
« Reply #6 on: Sep 24, 2010, 09:55 PM »
Yup, but how about this one:
http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/FixedPages/IT/Eventi.php/L/IT/DD/2/MM/9/YY/2005/IDC/-1/P/13
September 3rd? Pubblico o no ? I have a vague memory that I've seen this date somewhere before.

It seems that the best information is always somewhere else than on the 'official' site: Città di Venezia vs. La Biennale di Venezia.

Hi there, rdx,
  This is getting murkier and murkier. Your evidence for Sept 3 as the date for the premiere is solid, so why does IMDb give Sept 2 as the premiere date? Have you come across any evidence to support this? So far I haven't but I'll keep looking. I've found in La Repubblica an account or "review" of Brokeback which is dated Sept 2 but that reads to me more like advance publicity rather than a review from someone who has just seen the film. Anyway, here in a Google translation, is what appeared in La Repubblica dated Sept 2, 2005. I assume that when the correspondent writes that Heath and Jake were "accepted as two real stars on their arrival at the place of exhibition", she is describing their arrival at the premiere of the movie. As her piece is dated Sept 2 , this may provide some weight for Sept 2, not 3, being the date of the movies premiere. The other dates I can only assume are repeats. What do you think?

From our correspondent CLAUDIA MORGOGLIONE
VENEZIA - Finalmente un vero film d'amore. VENICE - Finally, a true romantic movie. Una di quelle love story forti, tradizionali (in senso buono), che parlano di una comunione totale tra due corpi e due anime. One of those strong love story, traditional (in a good way), who speak a total communion of two bodies and two souls. Ci voleva, in questa Mostra del cinema, un po' di sentimento: a portarlo qui sul Lido, in concorso, è Ang Lee, col suo "Brokeback mountain". We wanted to show this film, a bit 'of feeling, to bring him here on the Lido, in competition, is Ang Lee, with his "Brokeback Mountain." Che racconta il legame impossibile, eppure inevitabile, tra due cowboy (segretamente) gay: Heath Ledger e Jake Gyllenhall. That tells the link impossible, but inevitable between two cowboys (secretly) gay: Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhall.

Due giovani attori popolarissimi, negli Stati Uniti, un po' meno da noi. Two popular young actors in the United States, a little 'less of us. Ma anche qui in Italia i loro volti sono molto noti: Ledger ha già interpretato film come "Destino di un cavaliere" e "Le quattro piume", oltre al kolssal "Casanova" che proprio domani sbarca qui a Venezia; ed è anche considerato un sex-symbol, dalle ragazzine di mezzo mondo. But even here in Italy, their faces are well known: Ledger has played in films like "A Knight's Tale" and "The Four Feathers" in addition to kolssal "Casanova", which arrives tomorrow right here in Venice, and it is also considered a sex symbol, from girls all over the world. Quanto a Gyllenhall, è stato protagonista, tra gli altri, del cult giovanile "Donnie Darko", oltre che di filmoni hollywoodiani come "L'alba del giorno dopo". As Gyllenhall, was featured, among others, the youth cult "Donnie Darko" as well as Filmon Hollywood as "The Day After Tomorrow."

E così non sorprende che oggi, qui al Lido, gli eroi della mattinata siano proprio loro, Heath e Jake. And so it is not surprising that today, here on the Lido, the heroes of the morning are the real ones, Heath and Jake. Applauditissimi e vezzeggiatissimi dagli addetti ai lavori, accolti come due veri divi al loro arrivo nei luoghi della Mostra. Vezzeggiatissimi and applauded by experts, accepted as two real stars on their arrival at the place of the exhibition. E anche coraggiosi, a Hollywood, nell'accettare ruoli che prevedono, come ovvio, scene di sesso omosex. And even courageous in Hollywood to accept roles that provide, obviously, homosexual sex scenes. Una scelta che Ledger rivendica con forza: "E' una storia bellissima - racconta oggi, qui al Lido - una splendida rappresentazione dell'amore. Tutte le cose che parlano d'amore di solito mi sembrano piuttosto stanche, questa invece mi è parsa subito fresca. E poi finalmente ho potuto girare una vera love -story, cosa che finora non mi era capitato di fare". A choice that Ledger claims forcefully: "It 's a beautiful story - told here today at the Lido - a beautiful representation of love. All things that speak of love I usually look pretty tired, but this seemed to me now cool. And then finally I could ride a real love story, which until now I had not to do. " Altrettanto convinto Gyllenhall: "Sapevo che per Ang Lee il tema forte era l'amore, non un cliché. Per questo ho immediatamente accettato di fare il film". Gyllenhall equally convinced: "I knew that Ang Lee for the strong theme was love, not a cliché.'s Why I immediately agreed to do the film."

Tratto dall'omonimo racconto di Annie Proulx (vincitore di un Pulitzer), accolto con favore dal pubblico della Mostra, "Brokeback Mountain" comincia nel '63, in Wyoming, e va avanti per circa vent'anni. Based on the story by Annie Proulx (who won a Pulitzer), which was welcomed by visitors to the Show, "Brokeback Mountain" begins in '63, in Wyoming, and goes on for about twenty years. I due protagonisti, Ennis (Ledger) e Jack (Gyllenhall) si incontrano già nella prima scena: entrambi cercano lavoro da un allevatore di pecore. The two main characters, Ennis (Ledger) and Jack (Gyllenhall) meet in the first scene: both are seeking employment by a sheep farmer. Che li spedisce entrambi sulla Brokeback Mountain, a guardare il bestiame. That sends them both on Brokeback Mountain, watching the cattle. Nel corso dell'estate che i due trascorrono insieme, nasce prima un'amicizia, poi un'intimità sempre più profonda e alla fine, inevitabile, la passione fisica. During the summer the two spend together, a friendship was born first, then an ever more profound and ultimately inescapable, physical passion.

Ma nel mondo dei mandriani del West, all'inizio degli anni Sessanta, certo non c'è spazio per un sentimento del genere; così i due si separano, si sposano, hanno figli. But in the world of cowboys of the West in the early sixties, of course there is no room for a feeling like that, so the two split up, get married, have kids. Si incontrano solo quattro anni dopo, e il loro sentimento riesplode. They meet only four years later, and their sense explodes. Continuano a incontrarsi (anche se raramente) nel corso degli anni: Ennis più deciso a mantenere la facciata di "normalità", Jack disposto a rischiare una convivenza tra uomini. Continue to meet (although rarely) over the years: Ennis more determined to maintain the facade of "normalcy," Jack prepared to risk a coexistence of men. Ma si tratta di un sogno difficile, se non impossibile, da realizzare. But this is a difficult dream, if not impossible to achieve.

Insomma una vicenda a tinte forti, una sorta di "Ponti di Madison County" in salsa gay. In short, a story with strong colors, a sort of "Bridges of Madison County" in gay sauce. Una storia che ha conquistato il cuore del regista, Ang Lee, autore di successi come "La tigre e il dragone": "Quando ho letto il racconto - dichiara, a bordo della piscina del lussuoso hotel Des Bains - mi è venuto un nodo alla gola. Io credo che sia una grande love story romantica. E poi credo che ognuno di noi, a modo suo, abbia la sua Brokeback Mountain: qualcosa che ha il sapore, il gusto dell'amore. Qualcosa di privato, di intimo. E il fatto che in questo caso tutto accada nel West dell'epoca rende tutto più interessante: maggiore è l'ostacolo, più appassionante è la storia". A story that has captured the imagination of the director, Ang Lee, author of hits such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "When I read the story - says, the pool of the luxurious Hotel Des Bains - I had a lump in groove. I think it's a great romantic love story. And then I think all of us, in his own way, has his Brokeback Mountain: something that has the taste, the taste of love. Something private, intimate setting. And the fact that in this case, everything happens in the West makes it more interesting era: the greater the obstacle, the more exciting is the story. "

Lee nega, però, che ad attrarlo sia stato specificamente il lato omosex della faccenda: "Girando questo film - prosegue - non ho pensato alla comunità gay, a come lo avrebbe accolto. Mi interessava il tipo di affetto che lega i due protagonisti, al di là del fatto che fossero due uomini". Lee denies, however, that he was specifically to attract the homosexual side of the story: "Turning this film - he continued - I did not think the gay community, how he would have accepted. I was interested in the kind of affection that binds the two leading characters, the Apart from the fact that they were two men. "

L'autore nega anche di aver ripreso sequenze di sesso più esplicite tra Ledger e Gyllenhall, rispetto a quelle - tutto sommato sobrie - che vediamo nel film: "Tutto cio' che ho girato lo vedete sul grande schermo", assicura. The author also denies having taken over sequences of more explicit sex between Ledger and Gyllenhall, compared to those - all in all simple - we see in the film: "All this' I shot you see on the big screen," assures.

Un po' di preoccupazione, anche se condita dall'ironia, traspare quando invece quando l'autore parla di come un'altra comunità - quella dei cowboy e dei frequentatori dei rodeo, ancora presente in molte zone degli Usa - accoglierà la pellicola. A bit 'of concern, though seasoned with irony, when in fact transpires when the author talks about how another community - that of the cowboy and rodeo goers, still present in many areas of the U.S. - will host the film. "Ho detto al marketing, scherzando - conclude Lee - che voglio distribuire il film solo negli stati democratici, nelle città con oltre 50 mila abitanti, e dove tutti hanno votato John Kerry... così almeno posso stare tranquillo!". "I told the marketing, joking - he concludes Lee - I want to distribute the film only in democratic states, in cities with more than 50 000 inhabitants, and where everyone voted for John Kerry ... so at least I feel comfortable."

( ( 2 settembre 2005 September 2, 2005 ) )

« Last Edit: Sep 24, 2010, 10:14 PM by chowhound »

Offline rdx

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Re: First Public Screening of Brokeback Mountain.
« Reply #7 on: Sep 25, 2010, 11:12 AM »

Thanks CH: molto interessante.

Could it be that the very first screening took place September 2nd and it was a (semi-)private one. The first public screening took place the next day.

See here.

"I'm spurrin' his guts out! Wavin' to the girls in the stands! He's kickin' me to high heaven, but he don't jackboard me! No!" Jack

Offline chowhound

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Re: First Public Screening of Brokeback Mountain.
« Reply #8 on: Sep 25, 2010, 06:53 PM »
Thanks CH: molto interessante.

Could it be that the very first screening took place September 2nd and it was a (semi-)private one. The first public screening took place the next day.

See here.



Some fine detective work, rdx. Interesting to know that there are screenings of movies with the audience limited to those in the industry and it looks as though some first saw Brokeback that way but, being a night owl myself, I wouldn't have welcomed an invitation to see it at 8.00am!

However, it was the full public premiere -and the World premiere too, come to that - with everybody all dressed up that I wanted to date. I'm now convinced that IMDb is correct and that the premiere took place at the Palazzo del Cinema on Sept 2, 2005. This is chiefly because, in hunting around, I found this item on a site called "The Fashion Spot":

Old  02-09-2005         #39
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"Brokeback Mountain" premiere (photos by Lionel Hahn/Abaca)

Anne Hathaway, Maggie & Jake Gyllenhaal


Read more: 62nd Venice Film Festival - Page 3 - the Fashion Spot http://forums.thefashionspot.com/f50/62nd-venice-film-festival-31192-3.html#ixzz10aSMjniu

I wasn't able to actually see the photos but the occasion is identified as the "premiere" and the date is Sept. 2. That's good enough for me.

I also found a firsthand account written by somebody who had been there. This is dated Sept 3 so presumably it was written the day after. The 2 Sept date for that piece in La Repubblica now makes sense. Presumably the reporter was on the scene that day even if she didn't actually attend the premiere itself.