As a boy, Ennio Morricone dreamed of becoming a doctor, though as anyone who’s heard the whistling Western themes that are his signature can tell you, medicine was not the composer’s calling.
“The first soundtrack by him I ever purchased was ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly,’” said DJ Robodog, referring to one film in Morricone’s trilogy of collaborations with Sergio Leone starring Clint Eastwood in a poncho as the Man with No Name.
“Depending on the source, he did around 400 soundtracks,’ said Robodog. “It’s a daunting task to sort and choose just a few.”
Robodog will be spinning records from his collection during San Francisco’s 4-Star Theater’s two-week series “A Fistful of Music,” a retrospective of films with Morricone scores.
Opening Friday with “Ennio,” the 2020 documentary on the composer’s life crafted by Giuseppe Tornatore, the series will intersperse classics with cult films with Morricone music: from the 1989 Oscar-winning “Cinema Paradiso” and Terrence Malik’s esteemed “Days of Heaven” to the political and influential “The Battle of Algiers” and sci-fi/horror flicks like “The Humanoid,” from which Robodog took his handle.
“It’s kind of a kitschy, low-budget ‘Star Wars,’” said Robodog, of the film with its synthesized soundscape.
Morricone’s evolution as a musician and ultimately composer unspools in detail throughout “Ennio,” a comprehensive look at the maestro’s life (he died in 2020 at age 91). Featuring interview and archival footage of the man himself, the film’s talking heads include a long list of Italian colleagues, as well as composers, collaborators and admirers. There are testimonials from friends (Eastwood and Quincy Jones) and fans like Bruce Springsteen and James Hetfield of Metallica.
Following a lifetime of honors and awards, Morricone finally earned a coveted Oscar in 2016 for his score to Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight.” The film screens at the 4-Star on the afternoon of March 10 followed by “Ennio” and Tarantino’s “Django Unchained.” Morricone composed “Ancora Qui” for the film, substituting singer Elisa’s voice for his sinister sound, that piercing whistle against a backdrop of guitar.
The 4-Star is the latest addition to the roster of independent theaters including the Vogue and the Balboa, helmed by CinemaSF with its mission “to keep neighborhood cinemas alive.” Combining movies with music has allowed the 4-Star to turn a corner and develop its own distinct identity since reopening in late 2022.
“When the 4-Star changed hands the programming shifted,” says Adam Bergeron, the theater’s owner and operator. The movie house had survived on and off since 1913, most recently on a rotation of second-run international features and martial arts fare.
Though attendance waned in recent years, in part due to the theater’s condition, Bergeron took on a painstaking renovation project during the worrisome pandemic years as streaming boomed and the return to live cinema was increasingly uncertain.
“Any small business needs its own personality,” says Bergeron. “It took us a minute to discover the personality of the neighborhood, but when Tunnel Records came into the business, we found our audience.”
Tucked just past the lobby inside 4-Star is a second location for Tunnel, originally opened on Taraval Street and specializing in new and used vinyl, along with vintage posters and books.
Recent offerings at the theater have paired musician Robyn Hitchcock with a documentary on Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett and actor-musician John Doe at a live Q&A following a screening of 2022’s “D.O.A,” in which he stars, and a live show by skater/musician Tommy Guerrero.
The venue also hosts comedy (Kaseem Bentley headlines March 9) and San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin will be reading on April 3. Both artists are, perhaps not coincidentally, San Francisco-born and have released performances on vinyl.
“A Fistful of Music” is a fitting celebration to mark the 4-Star’s comeback just over a year after opening. Shining like a jewel at the corner of Clement Street and 23rd Avenue, its signage lends the central Richmond District some much-needed glow.
“The confluence of music and movies is part of everyday life at the 4-Star,” says Bergeron. “Movies, music, and movies with inspired soundtracks are just the right fit.”
“A Fistful of Music” runs March 1-14 at the 4-Star Theater, 2200 Clement St., San Francisco. Tickets are $12.50 to $17 at 4-Star-Movies.com.