GULP! GOAL! CIAK! The National Museum of Cinema tells the story of what went on between comics and movies.
The National Museum of Cinema (NMC) presents Gulp! Goal! Ciak! Cinema e Fumetti (Gulp! Goal! Action! Movies and comics) an exhibition on movies and comics held from February 9 to May 20, 2019, from an idea by Gaetano Renda, curated by Luca Raffaelli, one of Italy’s foremost experts in comics. The exhibition is organised in cooperation with the Juventus Museum, that will be presenting Gulp! Goal! Ciak! Calcio e Fumetti (GULP, GOAL, ACTIONS: FOOTBALL AND COMICS) also curated by Luca Raffaelli.
Cinema and comics, a double act to fulfil a human dream: to be able to tell a story with more than just words. The dream has come true for both languages towards the end of the 19th century after a long teething period: first, the creation of comics and the theoretical framework by Rodolphe Töpffer from Geneva in the early 1800s, and secondly, Emile Reynaud’s screenings in Paris from 1892 with him drawing directly on film. This is the strongest link between the two before their official births.
Cinema and cartoon languages have grown side by side, close yet totally different, a long standing cooperation where all sorts of things happened in the ongoing exchange of roles and styles.
The tour starts from the Temple Hall, the heart of the Mole Antonelliana, and continues along the helicoidal ramp with over 200 films and as many comic strips, 54 original plates, 60 screens for more than 90 metres of linear projections, as well as Catwoman’s and Batman’s busts and 5 original posters, from the NMC Collections. Visitors are led on a path to discovery, through original illustrations, artefacts, in between screenings and interactive displays benefiting from Antonelli’s vertical thrust so as to discover the special features of the two languages that come together, thanks to their expressive and communication drive.
This is why the exhibition starts by imagining the archaeology of film-making , because all begins with light and shadows. Then you walk into the Temple Hall , where the chapelle of the Caffè Torino houses the early cartoons, while in the Animation Room visitors can enjoy the important original acetate sheets used to draw and colour in the characters that were then filmed against the appropriate background.
In a corner of the Helicoidal Ramp there is a space devoted to Winsor McCay, one of the first and greatest artists in the history of movies and animation films, and to his most famous character, Little Nemo.
The route along the Ramp has six themes on historical movies, mangas and animes, the great names in comics and the most important characters, as well as the less well known heroes, the D.C. Comics superheroes, and the filming of Tim Burton and the novels that turn into movies. At the top of the ramp there are six Chapels (Cappelle) highlighting cartoonists’ art, both whether they stand in front or behind the camera. There are three unfinished films by masters of the Italian film world and cartoonists- Monicelli/Bonfatti,Fellini/Manara, Scola/Milazzo -, while in other cases other occasions films became comic strips. One of the Cappelas set up by Panini Ltd, focuses on Topolino (Micky Mouse), the oldest weekly comic book in Italy, that in the coming months will also include some new original film stories. The exhibition ends with a game where the soundtrack is removed from the movie and replaced by onomatopoeias (words that are like the sound they describe). New roles but the old magic is still there.
Throughout the exhibition there will be several activities for schools and for the public including guided tours, workshops for children and families as well as special events.
Information for Easier Access
Information sheets are available for consultation: easy reading or easily accessible texts in Italian, English, French, German and Spanish. A simple abridged version of the text is also available in Italian and English. There is a Braille text and tactile map of the ramp. Along the ramp QR codes and NFC tags are on the panels and activate audio-video with a LIS (Lingua dei Segni Italiana- Italian Sign Language) interpretation and subtitles in Italian. The handrails have Braille labels with the names of the exhibition sections for visually impaired visitors.
The panels illustrating the exhibition are in Italian and English.
Gulp! Goal! Ciak! Cinema e Fumetti can be seen to continue in the Bibliomediateca Mario Gromo (the Mario Gromo Film and Media Library) where a selection of cartoons from the collections illustrates how movies are described in strips follow paths that meet up and complete each other in a mutual exchange, influencing characters and plots. These are characters and story lines that break out of their frames and cartoons experiencing a new lease of life and adventure. It is a multifaceted path, organised into six macro-classifications, with an additional focus on the Star War universe.
A rich catalogue of the exhibition published by Silvana Editoriale and edited by Luca Raffaelli (with texts by Gaetano Renda, Luca Raffaelli, Alfredo Castelli, Giancarlo Soldi, Roberto Perpignani, Ivo Milazzo, and Mario Gomboli) completes the exhibition.
A 20 € single ticket for both Museums is available for the duration of the Exhibition
(this offer excludes additional reductions for other tickets and promotions)