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Outlook: The actor who preferred to die rather than stop filming

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The actor who preferred to die rather than stop filming

30/04/2020 GMT

BBC World Service - Outlook, The actor who preferred to die rather than stop filming

Massimo Troisi  delayed heart surgery to make 'Il Postino'. He died before filming ended.

Massimo Troisi delayed heart surgery to make 'Il Postino'. He died before production finished, and the director, Michael Radford, had to end filming without his star

Il Postino: The Postman, was a hugely successful Italian film made in 1994, but behind the scenes tragedy had played out during production. The lead, Massimo Troisi was plagued by heart problems relating to a childhood illness. The film’s British director, Michael Radford, was faced with a difficult decision, to finish the film or stop, as Massimo’s health deteriorated on set. He opted to push on with the production, but Massimo didn’t quite make it. He died the day after principle filming ended. Michael went on to complete the film, wanting to make it something that Massimo would have been proud of. 

Godzilla was the creation of a Japanese film studio - a prehistoric sea monster that had received a dose of nuclear radiation and become furiously powerful. He stomped his way through a series of massively popular films, terrifying humans and fighting a succession of equally fearsome creatures. We meet Kenpachiro Satsuma, the man inside the monster’s costume.  

For decades mobile cinemas have visited remote rural areas in India to put on films for people who otherwise wouldn't get to see them. Modern technology is making them redundant, so film-maker Amit Madheshiya recorded them before they disappeared altogether.

Scott Duggan lives in a terraced house, in Cork in Ireland. He knows a handful of people in the street, but not many - everyone's busy. Or at least they were until Covid 19 meant they all had to stay home. That gave Scott an idea, to project films on a wall for the whole neighbourhood.

Photo: Massimo Troisi
Credit Getty Images/Michael Ochs Archives

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