The trailer and poster have arrived for Ron Howard’s documentary, Pavarotti. As its title implies, the film chronicles the life and times of the Italian opera singer Luciano Pavarotti, complete with archival footage of the late artist and interviews with those who knew him conducted in the present. This is far from Howard’s first time calling the shots on a documentary either, what with the Oscar-winner having previously worked on Made in America (a documentary about Jay-Z’s “Budweiser Made in America” music festival) and The Beatles: Eight Days a Week (which compiles footage and clips from The Beatles’ 250 concerts during the 1960s).
Similar to how Peter Jackson used modern technology to add color to WWI footage in his recent documentary They Shall Not Grow Old, Pavarotti utilizes Dolby Atmos technology to revitalize its faded audio recordings of Pavarotti performing live during his concert appearances. The documentary further includes never-before-seen behind the scenes footage of Pavarotti, including clips from his home life and experiences behind closed doors at his various performances. CBS Films has now released an official trailer that offers a taste of what audiences can expect from the movie proper, in that respect.
The Pavarotti trailer is now online, ahead of its premiere in theaters over the forthcoming weeks. You can check it out in the space below, followed by the movie’s poster.
While documentaries typically have niche appeal at the box office, it’s possible Pavarotti will prove to be one of the exceptions to that rule. Based on the trailer, the film offers an extensive overview of its namesake’s personal struggles, professional triumphs, and even his political activism, which should be pretty fascinating to anyone with even a passing interest in the man and his life. Pavarotti was, of course, one of the rare opera performers to crossover into mainstream pop culture, so there’s a reasonable chance a documentary about him (directed by a popular filmmaker, no less) will follow suit. It’s still unlikely to match the success of last year’s Mister Rogers doc Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, but there’s definitely an audience for this one.
Howard, meanwhile, appears to have been bitten by the documentary bug, and is currently working on another one in the form of Rebuilding Paradise (a doc about the city of Paradise, California, and its efforts to rebuild after the 2018 wildfires). He’s not the only director in that boat either, what with Jackson having recently announced his plans to release a new documentary about the making of The Beatles’ final album, Let It Be. Howard and Jackson are coming off the respective tentpoles Solo: A Star Wars Story and Mortal Engines (which Jackson cowrote and produced), so these documentaries appear to be serving as palate cleansers for the pair of them, before they head back to the world of fictional storytelling.
MORE: Is Peter Jackson’s Beatles Documentary Rewriting the Band’s Breakup?
Pavarotti opens in select U.S. theaters later this year on Friday, June 7.
Source: CBS Films
