You've been friends with Malcolm a long time. How and when did you first meet?
I've known him more than thirty years because my stepmother, Lorenza Mazzetti, was one of the early directors of British Free Cinema. Through her, in the late Sixties, I met all the heroes of the day: Lindsay Anderson, Tony Richardson, Karel Reisz, Richard Harris, Tom Courtenay, etc. Malcolm was the youngest of them, so the closest to my age. We are almost like brothers.
Did ever get to watch the great Lindsay Anderson direct? What did you learn from him?
I never saw Lindsay Anderson on set, but I spent a long time with him. He was like an uncle to me and a father to Malcolm. I learned many things. First of all, sense of humor, a self sense of humor especially. Also a respect of the reality. The reality in itself. And that special reality generated day by day during the shooting of a movie. Because it is that specific reality, sometimes, that makes a movie really good or really bad.
What is your favorite Lindsay Anderson film?
if...., but is because of the age I was when I saw it, which was the real age of Mick Travis. I love all of Lindsay's films, and maybe for some reason O Lucky Man! is better or "Whales of August" has more heart, but when one talks about movies I think one always chooses the film that made the strongest personal impression.
You co-wrote Mortacci, which Malcolm was in. Is there any chance of it ever being translated into English?
The film has been only been distributed in Italy by Warner Brothers. I think they still own the international distribution and did not release it in 1989 because in those years only few art films were distributed. I think that today it could work in places like the Angelika or the Quad in New York.
How much of Mortacci did you write? Could you give a little summary of the story?
It is a sort of a "Spoon River". The story takes place in a cemetery, between the living and the dead. Malcolm plays an actor who goes to cry on the grave of his stage partner because he accidentally killed her during a play. Actually he does not care about her death, it's just another opportunity to play the great actor. I wrote and rewrote the most of the film, which is what I usually do with Sergio Citti, and I also was the uncredited line producer.
For Evilenko the case of Cikatilo was made into a movie a while back called 'Citizen X'. How did that factor into your writing of the case?
The film "Citizen X" is completely different than "Evilenko". It is a typical TV movie, it never goes deep, and the main character Cikatilo appears just few minutes like a poor drunk lost in the woods.
What would you say to someone who said to you 'I've already seen Citizen X. Why should I see Evilenko?'
There is really no relationship between the two movies. A film that is closer to mine, and that I was inspired by is the "Boston Strangler" made in the seventies by Richard Fleischer.
When you attended the trial of Cikatilo how did seeing him in person influence your writing?
I was very impressed by Cikatilo and this influenced me a lot. I must tell you that I always saw him as a victim. I know it sounds unbelievable, but that's the truth. He was like a giant, wounded kid constantly expressing a deep pain. I shot a documentary on him which is added to the 2 disc DVD version. When you see it you will easily understand what I mean.
Will your book 'The Communist Who Ate Children' ever be released in the US?
I really hope that my novel will be published in US before the film is released. I have an agent who is working on it. It will come out in Spain, South America and Germany for now.
Do you feel it is essential for a director to write his own screenplay? Would you ever direct something another person wrote for you or adapt a novel?
In my opinion, it is very important to write the movie that you are going to direct. I think I made the movie when I wrote it. Only in this way, I forget everything I wrote so that when I filmed I rewrote it with the camera. But if the script is no good, the camera can't make miracles, not even if you are Stanley Kubrick. Of course I could direct films written by someone else, but I have to feel very strongly about the work and to be involved somehow with the script, changing whatever I don't feel appropriate. A novel can be a better source than a script, because we presume that a writer had a sincere need to write it. But in that case, its a tough challenge. It's very rare that a good movie is made from a good novel. It's easier to make a good movie from a bad novel because the audience who read and loved the book will always compare their imagination to yours and you become an intruder of their dreams.
Evilenko was the first film you directed. How was the experience overall?
I don't want to sound like I'm bragging, but I felt that making the film was very, very easy. Everything was so easy because I had the privilege to work with great actors.
How do you describe the film's genre?
I would define it as film noir, which is my favorite genre.
What advice would you give to readers who want to get into writing and directing?
The only advice I can give is to write. I think that only writing can drive you to direct, more than anything else. You can be incredibly visual, but dramaturgy is always more important if you want to be able to tell a story.
Any crazy stories from the set?
I will tell you the one that mostly impressed Malcolm and I. Malcolm is very popular in the Ukraine, especially when we were shooting because "Fantasy Island" was on TV every night. So everybody in the streets of Kiev knew who he was. Everyone was waving, saying hello and asking for autographs. One in three people would say "Oh, you are Malcolm McDowell!", the other two would say, with no sense of humor at all, "Hello, Cikatilo!" Cikatilo was the real Rostov Ripper and Malcolm was absolutely not pleased by that. It was scary sometimes. We always thought that we would meet relatives of Cikatilo's victims sooner or later...
Was it hard to get permission to film in Russia? Is that why you filmed in the Ukraine instead?
It is not complicated to get permission to make a movie in Russia. I decided to shoot in the Ukraine because big Ukranian towns are poorer than the big Russian, so it was similar to the former Soviet Union. And of course, everything is cheaper there.
Did you film anywhere else?
The exteriors and in interiors in were at Dovzenko Studios Kiev.
What aspect did you film in?
In 35mm.
How long was principal photography?
The photography took 8 weeks instead of the planned 10.
How long did it take to edit?
The editing was very tedious and it took around 6 months because I edited the film myself. Originally I chose the wrong editor, Massimo Fiocchi. He is a good editor, but we have two completely different points of view on film. These things can happen.
What was the budget?
I think it's a kind of miracle it was only around four million dollars.
Is this part of Russian history that their people are not eager to revisit?
The story of Cikatilo is a big taboo in Russia. Some people are scared of it and some are attracted to it. When the film is screened in Russia I think we'll read interesting, unpredictable reviews. I can't wait. I hope it will be out soon next year.
Malcolm is very western, does this create any conflict when the film was being made?
Malcolm is very familiar to the Russians. You should see how many pictures of him are on the walls of the Mosfilm Studios. He is still the only western actor who played the lead in a soviet film.
When Malcolm was in character did he ever scare you?
Malcolm never really scared me playing Evilenko. There were deeper feelings that he was suddenly somebody else, but somebody else we created together. I must admit I've always felt a sort of compassion for this character and he makes me feel this pain more intensely than I ever could imagine.
You said you felt compassion for Cikatilo. How so?
I know I should say more to explain what I mean. I'll try to be as short as I can. Cikatilo was the son of an enemy of the people. The enemies of the people were all the soviet soldiers that came back in USSR after the Second World War - almost two million. They had been prisoners of the Germans, or they fought side by side with British, French and Americans and Stalin decided to kill all of them because he was paranoid and thought anyone of them could be a spy. At the same time, he built thousands of orphanages for the kids of all those soldiers to be raised like perfect communists because they had no fathers. Cikatilo was one of these kids. He grew up in shame because of his father and love for the killer of his father. Cikatilo was a passionate Stalinist and a very good pupil in school. Later he became a teacher in the same school - a school of schizophrenia. This is, briefly, how he became sick, how he became a monster. Like Charlie Chaplin said at the end of "Monsieur Verdoux" (paraphrasing), "Why are you blaming me for the killing of my wives when millions of people kill millions of innocent people in wars many times in every century?" I don't know if I have been clear enough, but for me Cikatilo is the tragic, unconscious symbol of a huge conscious tragedy.
When you talk about relating and feeling compassion for Cikatilo do you ever try to feel the other side? What do you think the victims families would say to hear you speak that way? What if it was one of your own children he killed?
When I went to Russia for Cikatilo's trial I had two very, very young kids. You can imagine how I was impressed first of all as a father. But when I saw him for the first time I immediately realized the collective tragedy and pain his personal tragedy, his personal pain. This is what I started to investigate. I am not a man of revenge, I think revenge is the oldest and worse human instinct. What I wanted to know, as an author and as a father, is why he did what he did. I wanted to understand. I think our first duty in life is to understand, because only if we manage to understand whatever happens can we go on living and build a better world.
Is it frustrating not to get a big release in the US, instead basically only playing film festivals?
I will never be frustrated if Evilenko does not get a wide distribution in US. I always thought it would be very hard since it is a tough film. For so many years the poor American audiences have had their brains damaged by the Hollywood crap that it will be hard to withstand the anguish of this film. So the film has to come out first theatrically before it can come out on DVD. I already have offers from small art companies. This is absolutely what the film deserves. The film has been invited to 26 festivals and has already won two of them. Of course, I can not go them all, but the number is increasing.
For the film festivals do they contact you to show the film?
All the festivals have contacted me which makes me very happy. I don't know how it comes about though. Maybe it's because nowadays there is not much to show, especially in English.
I've seen a special edition DVD that was released before the film even played in the US. How did that come about?
You've got the DVD because it is now out in Italy and is very successful. I know that now everybody can't get it, but this is the business...
Are you planning on directing any more films and if so do you think you'll work with Malcolm again?
I don't know if and when I will be able to do another movie. I am not very young and I've done almost every job in movie business: film critic, scriptwriter, line and executive producer, commercial director, documentary director and actor (I was a kid and I was so bad! That's why I adore good actors). I own a multiplex in Tuscany and I have been an author an host for radio and TV shows for 10 years. So, I really don't know what I am going to do next, except the documentary I made in Russia about orphans that I am editing. I have a lot of children and bills to pay, so I will do whatever has to be done, like Malcolm always did. I absolutely agree with him about this. People think it's crazy, I think it's wise. Of course, I would always work with Malcolm. He is my favorite actor before being my best friend and I am very proud that I showed what a great actor he is in Evilenko. But you know this business, so maybe the only chance for me would be to make an Italian film, with actors speaking Italian and this would be impossible for Malcolm. If I do another feature film, I'll have to have a need to do so. I think that only if I really needed tell a story I could make another film. This need is crucial for me, because I am not a young up and coming director or an old professional director.
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