by Denis Barnett
VENICE, Italy, Sept 11 (AFP) - The 61st Venice International Film Festival came to a close Saturday after two weeks of films which ranged from documentary to animation and included almost everything in between, but delays and organisational chaos mean the organisers are faced with an overhaul.
Festival director Marco Muller's gamble on Hollywood glamour to bring in the crowds and the publicity appears to have paid off in terms of public interest, with crowd numbers up by one-third, but it brought its share of problems and criticism.
This year's festival may have been a procession of stars -- from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks to Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Nicole Kidman, Robert De Niro and Angelina Jolie to name but a few -- but critics pointed out that too little space had been given to cinema's up and coming lesser lights and their films.
Muller, appointed only last March to succeed Mortiz De Hadeln, said the increased public interest had taken the organisers by surprise and had caused delays. He has taken criticism that the festival had too many films to heart and has already promised a more streamlined festival for next year.
Apart from the Hollywood glitz, Muller's festival provided interesting films that will be talked about for some time.
There were controversial films like "The Hamburg Cell" a drama documentary on the men behind the September 11, 2001 bombings, and Wim Wenders' parody on the US-led war on terror in "Land of Plenty".
There was scandal in the form of Nicole Kidman's relationship with a child in "Birth" and gay sex aplenty in the jarring but well received "Mysterious Skin" by independent US film-maker Gregg Araki.
And bravely, Muller included the first ever animated film in the competition for the Golden Lion, Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki's "Howl's Moving Castle" which was well received by audiences.
Other animated films shown at Venice included the DreamWorks blockbuster "Shark Tale" which received its world premier on historic St Mark's Square on Friday, with stars De Niro, Smith and Jolie in the audience of more than 4,000.
On the debit side, it may take some persuading for Al Pacino and the others in the cast of "The Merchant of Venice" to ever come back.
Pacino was among those left without a seat at the premiere of his own film on the festival's first weekend, after a computer glitch printed an extra 400 tickets.
Slow handclapping by impatient audiences became a common experience as screening delays caused a domino effect across the festival.
The premiere of "Finding Neverland" -- the story of J.M. Barrie and Peter Pan starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslett -- began over two hours late.
"Welcome to the breakfast screening of Finding Neverland. This morning Muller will be serving the croissants and I'll be teaching him the meaning of timing," said Harvey Weinstein of Miramax films as he introduced the screening at 2:15 am.
A reel mix-up during Friday morning's screening of "Eros", an erotic triptych by Michelangelo Antonioni, Steven Soderbergh and Wong Kar-wai, meant a sudden cut away from Robert Downey Jr in a scene from Soderbergh's movie to a male strip-tease scene in Noam Gonick's "Stryker". Despite jeering and general chaos, it took half and hour for normal service to be restored.