March 28, 2017 Elio Petri: Todo Modo Elio Petri’s tendency towards obfuscation stepped up yet another gear with Todo modo (76), which is one of the strangest films ever made. Set in the near future, it delineates an Italian society that is run by a coalition between powerful industries, the ‘party’ and – above all – the Catholic Church.
November 28, 2015 Elio Petri: The Tenth Victim Based on a novel by Robert Sheckley, The Tenth Victim represented a marked sea change in Elio Petri’s oeuvre. Gone was the low key, wry approach of his former films: this is a brash, colorful production that exudes extravagance from it’s every pore.
May 25, 2015 Elio Petri: The Assassin After making two shorts, Nasce un campione (54) and I sette contadini (59), Petri made his full debut with The Assassin (L’assassino, 61), based on a script co-written with Tonino Guerra (with whom he would later collaborate on several films).
September 9, 2011 Ghosts of Rome Ghosts of Rome is another excellent comedy from Antonio Pietrangeli, the well respected – but rather forgotten – director of classics such as Adua e le compagne and Io la conoscevo bene.
June 19, 2009 Casanova 70 Mario Monicelli’s 1965 comedy Casanova 70 sneaked out onto DVD in the UK last year, and I hadn’t had the chance to check it…
January 28, 2008 Italian leading men Gina Lollobrigida, Sophia Loren, Anna Magnani… there are plenty of Italian actresses who made it big on an international stage, and if you extend…
