The General Gramophone

The Gramophone General (Albanian: Gjeneral Gramafoni) is a 1979 Albanian drama film directed and written by Vath Koreshi. The soundtrack by Aleksandër Peçi was recorded by Remzi Lela and Mentor Xhemali. A 4K resolution restoration was released in 2023.

The Gramophone General
Directed by	Viktor Gjika
Written by	Vath Koreshi
Starring	Bujar Lako
Cinematography	Pëllumb Kallfa (sq)
Edited by	Atalanda Pasko
Music by	Aleksandër Peçi
Production company	Kinostudio
Release date	11 February 1979 (1979-02-11)
Running time	104 minutes
Country	Albania
Language	Albanian

Plot

In the mid-1930s, the penetration and preparation of the Italian invasion of 1939 began. Halit Berati, a virtuoso clarinetist and Parandili, are invited by an Italian entrepreneur to record in gramophone plates, their tunes which will be sold together with Italian music the time of fascism. During this time the strikes of oil workers begin where Halit Berati is a worker.

Cast

• Bujar Lako - Halit Berati
• Guljelm Radoja - Mr. Alberto
• Kadri Roshi - Parandil
• Sulejman Pitarka - Avdi
• Reshat Arbana - mayor
• Sheri Mita - Michele
• Stavri Shkurti - Braho

Production

The General Gramophone was directed by Viktor Gjika^[1] and written by Vath Koreshi. Koreshi named the main character Halit after the clarinetist Halit Përmeti.^[2] Aleksandër Peçi composed the soundtrack^[3] and all of the music was recorded by Remzi Lela and Mentor Xhemali.^[4] The costume design was done by Ilia Xhokaxhi^[5] and Atalanda Pasko edited the film.^[3]

Produced by Kinostudio, shooting was done in Qyteti Stalin, Korçë, and Berat.^[3]

The 1970s was a period of Albanian cinema in which the depiction of Italians and Fascist Italy's control of Albania were common.^[6] The Azienda Italiana Petroli Albania (AIPA), which Enver Hoxha said "sucked the blood of our economy" is featured in the film.^[7] Strikes by the union Puna at the AIPA plant in Kuçovë in 1935 and 1936, are reenacted in the film.^[8]

Release

The General Gramophone premiered in Tirana on 11 February 1979,^[3] and was released in Turkey.^[9] It received the award for best film at the 3rd Albanian Film Festival in April 1979.^[3] A 4K resolution^[10] restoration by the Central State Film Archive was released in 2023.^[11][12]

External links

• Gjeneral Gramafoni at IMDb