La porta rossa

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La porta rossa
Season 1 DVD cover
ItalianLa porta rossa
GenreNoir[1]
Created by
Screenplay by
  • Carlo Lucarelli
  • Giampiero Rigosi
  • Sofia Assirelli
  • Michele Cogo (s. 1–2)
  • Davide Orsini (s. 2–3)
Directed by
  • Carmine Elia (s. 1–2)
  • Gianpaolo Tescari (s. 3)
Starring
Music byStefano Lentini
Opening themeIt's Not Impossible by Stefano Lentini and Charlie Winston
Country of originItaly
Original languageItalian
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes32
Production
Executive producerStefania Balduini (s. 3)
Producers
  • Anouk Andaloro (Rai)
  • Maurizio Tini (VelaFilm, s. 1–2: Garbo, s. 3)
  • Michele Zatta (Rai, s. 1)
  • Luigi Mariniello (Rai, s. 1–2)
  • Tommaso Dazzi (VelaFilm, s. 1–2)
  • Giulio Luciani (Rai, s. 3)
  • Maite Carpio (Garbo, s. 3)
Cinematography
Editors
  • Lorenzo Fanfani (s. 1)
  • Marco Garavaglia (s. 2)
  • Alessio Rivellino (s. 3)
Running time50–60 minutes
Production companies
  • Rai Fiction
  • VelaFilm (s. 1–2)
  • Garbo Produzioni (s. 3)
Original release
NetworkRai 2
ReleaseFebruary 22, 2017 (2017-02-22) –
February 1, 2023 (2023-02-01)

La porta rossa ([la ˈpɔrta ˈrossa], lit. 'The Red Door') is an Italian noir television series created by Carlo Lucarelli and Giampiero Rigosi for Rai Fiction. It premiered on Rai 2 on February 22, 2017 and concluded on February 1, 2023, having aired 32 episodes over three seasons.

The pilot episode attracted the largest audience of the night, amassing 3.284 million viewers, more than double the network average at the time. The series was praised for being "the only [Italian] mainstream TV crime series that resembles genre literature and not a mainstream TV drama", its "modern and demanding" visuals and dark setting, but its second season was criticized as "excessively distressing".

Series overview[edit]

Trieste. Leonardo Cagliostro (Lino Guanciale), an impulsive police commissioner not at all inclined to follow procedures and directives dictated by his superiors, is investigating the most difficult case of his career: his own murder.

In fact, Cagliostro was killed during a solitary police action, but, instead of walking through the red door leading to the afterlife, he chose to stay in the earthly world, thus becoming a ghost, to find his killer: this is the only way he'll be able to save his estranged wife, magistrate Anna Mayer (Gabriella Pession), who, according to some visions that Cagliostro has been having since his death, will be murdered by the same killer during the Christmas season. He is helped by Vanessa Rosic (Valentina Romani), a 17-year-old student who finds out she can communicate with the dead and is the only one who can see and hear him, and Jonas Sala (Andrea Bosca), a fellow ghost who helps Cagliostro to get used to his new condition.

Cagliostro soon finds out that his killer, most likely, is one of his colleagues, who would therefore be leading a double life linked to the trafficking of a new lethal drug plaguing Trieste, the Red Ghost, that the commissioner was investigating just before being killed. However, all of his colleagues seem to have something to hide and therefore are all possible suspects. Even Antonio Piras (Ettore Bassi), Anna's colleague who has always been in love with her and always harbored a mutual, ill-concealed hatred towards Cagliostro, and Anna's father, Elvio (Tommaso Ragno), who never approved of their wedding, seem to have skeletons in their closets.

Cast and characters[edit]

Main[edit]

  • Gabriella Pession as Anna Mayer: Cagliostro's magistrate wife
  • Lino Guanciale as Leonardo "Leo" Cagliostro: an impulsive police commissioner
  • Valentina Romani as Vanessa Rosic: a 17-year-old high school student who can communicate with the dead

Recurring[edit]

Episodes[edit]

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
112February 22, 2017 (2017-02-22)March 22, 2017 (2017-03-22)
212February 13, 2019 (2019-02-13)March 20, 2019 (2019-03-20)
38January 11, 2023 (2023-01-11)February 1, 2023 (2023-02-01)

Production[edit]

The series production started in 2015, and its working title was La verità di Anna (lit. 'Anna's Truth').[2] Creator Carlo Lucarelli described the writing process as particularly long, because "we were told it was too thriller, too little melodramatic, too fantasy or too little fantasy".[3] Originally set in Turin, Piedmont, it was moved to Trieste, Friuli Venezia Giulia, at the suggestion of director Carmine Elia, who had already shot a movie there in 2003.[4] Screenwriters Giampiero Rigosi and Sofia Assirelli visited the city in October 2015 to adapt the script to the setting.[2] Filming took place from February 29 to July 9, 2016 in locations such as the Porto Vecchio, the Melara district, Piazza Unità d'Italia and the Canal Grande, while a mountain scene was filmed for two days in Ravascletto.[4] La porta rossa marked Lino Guanciale's first leading role.[5] To play Cagliostro, the actor rewatched The Sixth Sense and River, and reread Thomas Mann and Fyodor Dostoevsky, likening his character to Ivan Karamazov "who gets crazy when he cannot give himself a logical explanation of the world".[6]

Originally planned to last for one season only, it was renewed thanks to the positive audience reception,[7] with Rai Fiction director Eleonora Andreatta confirming there would be a second season the day after the broadcast of the first season finale.[8] The script reading was held on May 21, 2018, while filming took place from May 28[9] to October 20[10] in Trieste and at the Angoris Estate in Cormons.[11]

The third and final season,[12] directed by Gianpaolo Tescari,[13] was confirmed on January 24, 2019 when Trieste and the FVG Film Commission renewed their collaboration to film movies, TV series and documentaries in the city.[14] Lino Guanciale further confirmed it on March 20, breaking his own rule of leaving a series after two seasons.[15] Filming was supposed to start in January 2020,[16] but was postponed because of the COVID-19 lockdowns in Italy.[17] It ultimately took place from August 30[13] to December 8, 2021.[18] Filming locations included Palazzo Carciotti as the police headquarters,[19] the Porto Vecchio, the Opicina power plant, Palazzo Vivante, the bathing establishment Ausonia in Trieste, and the Rupinpiccolo quarry in Sgonico.[20][21] Later in July it was confirmed as part of the 2022–23 Rai television schedule:[22] it started airing on January 11.[23]

Original soundtrack[edit]

The series soundtrack is composed by Stefano Lentini and performed by the RAI National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Emanuele Bossi.[24] It was mixed at Air Studios by Geoff Foster and mastered by John Webber. The opening theme It's Not Impossible was composed by Stefano Lentini and Charlie Winston. The soundtrack albums for the first two seasons were made available for digital download, and a CD was included in each season DVD box.[25][26][27]

The soundtrack for the third season was performed by the Rome Orchestra and released digitally on January 11, 2023. Amongst its 14 tracks, the album includes a new version of the opening theme It's Not Impossible and a remastering by Lentini of the second movement from Beethoven's Symphony No. 7.[28]

Reception[edit]

Critical response[edit]

La Repubblica's Antonio Dipollina opined that La porta rossa is "the only [Italian] mainstream TV crime series that resembles genre literature and not a mainstream TV drama".[29] Vanity Fair Italia's Mario Manca wrote that the series, characterized by "intrigues to unravel, pending loves to clarify and a quadrille of twists to cushion", "stage[s] a story of borders, of limits, of universes and of conflicts like we haven't seen in a long time. The adventures of the Ghost-style ghost played by Lino Guanciale, strong and magnetic even though transparent and in the form of an ectoplasm, in fact, possess something magical, a sort of intrinsic strength".[30] TVBlog's Paolo Stura believed that "[its] ability to masterfully blend supernatural and crime without damaging none of the two genres is something that must serve as a lesson to those who want to propose stories with a new flavour".[31]

Movieplayer's Stefano Cocci gave the first season 3.5 stars out of 5, defining it as "an important experiment in the production landscape of Italian fiction". He praised the "modern and demanding" visuals and the narrative that "plays on the alternation of thriller, noir, romance and fantasy, often finding a resource in the alternating editing that underlines the highlight of each episode. Actors and actresses often move at night in a Trieste whipped by wind and rain, while the dark places of the characters' souls twist in the half-light where nothing is what it seems."[32]

DavideMaggio.it's Stefania Stefanelli criticized the second season plot as "forced, complex and excessively distressing".[33] Avvenire's Andrea Fagioli wrote that "the series novelty [...] had already run out a bit with its second season", and that the story "needed to be renewed with less action, more introspection, studies of characters' psychology and new mysteries".[34]

Ratings[edit]

The series premiere of La porta rossa on February 22, 2017 was the most watched program of the night, amassing 3.284 million viewers, or a 13% rating,[35] more than double the network average.[32] The ratings continued to rise episode after episode, and the penultimate one of the first season recorded a 14.4% viewership rating with 3.399 million viewers. The series was one of the most streamed programs on RaiPlay as well.[36] Its audience was mainly composed of females (63%), while 62% of the viewers were over 55.[37]

The second season premiered on February 13, 2019 as one of the most anticipated shows of the year,[38] amassing 3.043 million viewers, or a 12.5% rating.[39] Compared to the first season, it recorded slightly lower ratings, also affected by the simultaneous broadcasting of the football championships on Rai 1, and the finale was watched by 2.807 million viewers (a 12.4% viewership rating).[15][40][41]

The third season started airing three years later, with its premiere recording an 8.01% rating for 1.577 million viewers,[42] a good result considering the changed viewers' habits and TV ratings since its premiere.[43] The series finale achieved a 6.9% rating for 1.341 millions viewers.[44]

Viewership and ratings per season of La porta rossa
Season Episodes First aired Last aired Avg. viewers
(millions)
Date Viewers
(millions) 		Date Viewers
(millions)
1 12 February 22, 2017 3.284[35] March 22, 2017 3.471[45] TBD
2 12 February 13, 2019 3.043[38] March 20, 2019 2.807[40] TBD
3 8 January 11, 2023 1.577[42] February 1, 2023 1.341[44] TBD

Accolades[edit]

La porta rossa won an award at the 2018 ShorTS International Film Festival for promoting Trieste in Italy and worldwide.[46] Its soundtrack was a contender for Best Original Score and Best Song for Film at the 2017 Tenerife International Film Music Festival.[47][48]

Home media releases[edit]

The first two seasons were released on DVD in Region 2. They include behind-the-scenes featurettes, a photo gallery, a videoclip, and the original soundtrack CD.[26][27]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Iovane, Giorgia (July 16, 2016). "Gabriella Pession a Blogo: "Il Sistema 2? Spero sia meno edulcorato"" (in Italian). Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Boria, Arianna (October 15, 2015). "Tutta triestina la nuova fiction firmata Lucarelli". Il Piccolo (in Italian). Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  3. ^ "Lucarelli e il successo di Coliandro: "Magari alla fine faremo vedere che si sposa…"" (in Italian). November 29, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Grando, Elisa (February 5, 2016). "Cagliostro indaga a Trieste sulla "Verità di Anna"". Il Piccolo (in Italian). Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  5. ^ "Da poliziotto a fantasma Guanciale a tutta tv" (in Italian). April 20, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  6. ^ Franco, Renato (March 11, 2017). "Il successo della tv paranormale da "Sorelle" a "La porta rossa"". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  7. ^ Lancellotti, Marica (March 20, 2019). "La porta rossa 2: stasera su Rai2 la sesta e ultima puntata!". Movieplayer.it (in Italian). Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  8. ^ "Rai: Andretta su successo serie "La porta rossa"". Rai Ufficio Stampa (in Italian). March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  9. ^ Sorbera, Silvestra (May 22, 2018). "La Porta Rossa 2: Iniziano le Riprese – Trama e Cast della Serie". Italia Post (in Italian). Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  10. ^ "La Porta Rossa 2, le ultime riprese a Trieste". Il Piccolo (in Italian). October 19, 2018. Archived from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  11. ^ Italiano, Fabio (June 22, 2018). "La Tenuta di Angoris ha ospitato il set de "La Porta Rossa 2"" (in Italian). Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  12. ^ "La porta rossa 3: Lino Guanciale e Valentina Romani salutano i loro personaggi dopo l'ultimo ciak" (in Italian). December 8, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Sutera, Paolo (August 26, 2021). "La Porta Rossa 3, riprese al via: quando in onda?" (in Italian). Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  14. ^ "Trieste, nel 2020 le riprese di "La Porta Rossa 3"" (in Italian). January 24, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  15. ^ a b "La Porta Rossa 3 ci sarà: Lino Guanciale torna nei panni di Cagliostro" (in Italian). March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  16. ^ Grimaldi, Angela (March 20, 2019). "La Porta Rossa 3 si farà | inizio delle riprese a gennaio 2020" (in Italian). Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  17. ^ "Andrea Bosca: "Come attore sento di essere in viaggio costante"". La Nuova Provincia (in Italian). July 14, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  18. ^ Combierati, Teresa (December 8, 2021). "La porta rossa 3, Lino Guanciale e Valentina Romani salutano Leonardo Cagliostro [VIDEO]" (in Italian). Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  19. ^ Salzano, Clara (January 18, 2023). "Dove è stata girata La porta rossa 3: le location della fiction di Rai 2 con Lino Guanciale" (in Italian). Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  20. ^ "Al via a Trieste le riprese de La Porta Rossa 3" (in Italian). August 24, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  21. ^ "Ciak, si gira: 'La Porta Rossa 3' fa tappa a Sgonico" (in Italian). September 5, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  22. ^ "Fiction Rai: è Lino Guanciale Il Re Della Stagione 2022/2023". Terre Marchigiane (in Italian). July 1, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  23. ^ "Le fiction che vedremo in tv nel 2023". TV Sorrisi e Canzoni (in Italian). December 26, 2022. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  24. ^ "La porta rossa – Edizioni e Produzioni Musicali" (in Italian). Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  25. ^ "La porta rossa 2, ecco la colonna sonora ufficiale di Stefano Lentini" (in Italian). February 14, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  26. ^ a b "E' uscita la colonna sonora di La porta rossa - Seconda stagione di Stefano Lentini". May 15, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  27. ^ a b "La porta rossa" (in Italian). Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  28. ^ "In uscita la colonna sonora di "La porta rossa 3" di Stefano Lentini" (in Italian). January 9, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  29. ^ Dipollina, Antonio (January 12, 2023). "'La porta rossa', il crime che fa bene alla tv generalista". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  30. ^ Manca, Mario (January 12, 2023). "Perché La Porta Rossa 3 è una fiction da proteggere". Vanity Fair Italia (in Italian). Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  31. ^ Sutera, Paolo (January 12, 2023). "La Porta Rossa 3 e il coraggio di andare in onda tre anni dopo la seconda stagione". TvBlog (in Italian). Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  32. ^ a b Cocci, Stefano (February 13, 2019). "La Porta Rossa 2, la recensione: la seconda stagione della serie tv di Rai 2" (in Italian). Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  33. ^ Stefanelli, Stefania (February 28, 2019). "La Porta Rossa 2: la seconda stagione è (di) troppo". Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  34. ^ Fagioli, Andrea (January 13, 2023). "Tutti quei fantasmi della "Porta rossa"". Avvenire (in Italian). Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  35. ^ a b Duello, Gennaro Marco (February 23, 2017). "Lino Guanciale fa il botto con 'La porta rossa', è il programma più visto" (in Italian). Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  36. ^ Castoro, Marco (March 16, 2017). "Tutti pazzi per Cagliostro, il poliziotto fantasma de La Porta Rossa". Il Messaggero (in Italian). Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  37. ^ "Focus Ascolti: La scelta autolesionista della Rai di mandare La porta rossa vs Standing ovation". TvBlog (in Italian). February 25, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  38. ^ a b De Dominicis, Silvana (January 28, 2019). "La Porta Rossa 2 arriva su Rai Due". La Gazzetta dello Spettacolo (in Italian). Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  39. ^ Buonocore, Mattia (February 14, 2019). "Ascolti TV | Mercoledì 13 febbraio 2019. Isola 17.3%, La Porta Rossa 12.5%, Champions 13.81%". Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  40. ^ a b Buonocore, Mattia (March 21, 2019). "Ascolti TV | Mercoledì 20 marzo 2019. Si Accettano Miracoli 14.4%, Non è la D'Urso 14%. Il finale de La Porta Rossa al 12.4%" (in Italian). Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  41. ^ Fuschi, Alberto (March 7, 2019). "Analisi ascolti tv: La Porta Rossa 2 soffre con la Champions ma resiste nello scontro social con oltre 19.000 Tweet". Piper Spettacolo Italiano (in Italian). Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  42. ^ a b Iovane, Giorgia (January 12, 2023). "Ascolti tv mercoledì 11 gennaio 2023". TvBlog (in Italian). Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  43. ^ Duello, Gennaro Marco (January 12, 2023). "La porta rossa 3 riparte bene, miracolo televisivo di Mamma ho riperso l'aereo". Spettacolo Fanpage (in Italian). Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  44. ^ a b Scali, Antonio (February 2, 2023). "Ascolti tv mercoledì 1 febbraio: The Voice Senior 2023, Roma-Cremonese". TPI (in Italian). Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  45. ^ Stefanelli, Stefania (March 23, 2017). "Ascolti Tv | Mercoledì 22 marzo 2017. La Porta Rossa chiude al 14.1%. Soliti Ignoti 18.9%, Striscia 19.2%" (in Italian). Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  46. ^ ""La porta rossa": sabato 7 luglio, a ShorTS, un premio della città di Trieste al regista Carmine Elia" (in Italian). July 6, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  47. ^ Fumero, Daniel (September 6, 2017). "FIMUCITÉ 2017 presenta las películas que competirán por la mejor banda sonora original" (in Spanish). Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  48. ^ "Lago Film Fest | GIURIA COMPETIZIONE L.O.S.T. – LAGO ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK – LFF2019" (in Italian). Retrieved March 22, 2022.

External links[edit]

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