Galileo (1975 film)

Galileo
Theatrical release poster (1974)
Directed by	Joseph Losey
Written by	Joseph Losey Barbara Bray
Based on	Galileo by Bertolt Brecht with Charles Laughton (trans.)
Produced by	Ely Landau
Starring	Topol Georgia Brown Edward Fox John Gielgud Margaret Leighton
Cinematography	Michael Reed
Edited by	Reginald Beck
Music by	Hanns Eisler Richard Hartley
Distributed by	American Film Theatre
Release date	27 January 1975 (US)
Running time	145 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	$1,185,607 (gross)[1]

Galileo is a 1975 biographical film about the 16th- and 17th-century scientist Galileo Galilei, whose astronomical observations with the newly invented telescope led to a profound conflict with the Roman Catholic Church. The film is an adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's 1943 play of the same name. The film was produced by Ely Landau for the American Film Theatre, which presented thirteen film adaptations of plays in the United States from 1973 to 1975. Brecht's play was recently called a "masterpiece" by veteran theater critic Michael Billington, as Martin Esslin had in 1960.^[2][3][4] The film's director, Joseph Losey, had also directed the first performances of the play in 1947 in the US — with Brecht's active participation. The film is fairly true to those first performances, and is thus of historical significance as well.