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The Films
of Elio Petri
September 20-October 19
The winner of an Oscar for Best Foreign Film and of the Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or, Italy's Elio Petri collaborated with stars like Marcello Mastroianni, Gian Maria Volonté, Ursula Andress and Vanessa Redgrave, and with legendary composer Ennio Morricone. His films were box office hits in Europe and US arthouses. Having flourished in an age of giants like Fellini, Antonioni and Visconti, and dying relatively young [1929-1982], Elio Petri's image has surprisingly dimmed over the years, despite his wealth of accomplishments. Now, with the aid of Martin Stiglio of the Italian Cultural Institute and of Cinecittà Holding, it's possible to take a comprehensive look back at the work of one of Italy's most provocative filmmakers.
Petri's films will screen at two locations: AFI Silver Theatre and AFI National Film Theater at the Kennedy Center. All films are in Italian with English subtitles.
 
INVESTIGATION OF A CITIZEN ABOVE SUSPICION
[Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto]
Police inspector Gian Maria Volonté (LE CERCLE ROUGE; the bad guy in FISTFUL OF DOLLARS and A FEW DOLLARS MORE) murders his mistress-then gets tapped to head the investigation. But as every unearthed clue leads right back to him, is anybody going to do anything about it? "A provocative political thriller as troubling today as in 1970. Maybe more so."-Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times. Oscar for Best Foreign Film; Special Jury Prize, Cannes Festival.
Directed/co-written by Elio Petri; co-written by Ugo Pirro; produced by Daniele Senatore and Mario Cicogna. Italy, 1970, color, 115 min.
| Kennedy Center: Mon, Sept 20, 6:30; Tue, Sept 21, 8:30 Purchase tickets a the AFI Box Office, located in the Kennedy Center Hall of States. |
NUMBERED DAYS
[I giorni contati]
Plumber Salvo Randone gets the bad news from his doctor. Time to quit that job repairing toilets and enjoy life, but what if he doesn't know how to? Inspired by the life of director Petri's father. Best Film, Mar del Plata Film Festival; Best Screenplay, Italian Film Journalists.
Directed/written by Elio Petri; produced by Goffredo Lombardo. Italy, 1962, b&w, 100 min.
| Kennedy Center: Tues, Sept 21, 6:30; Mon, Oct 4, 8:15 Purchase tickets a the AFI Box Office, located in the Kennedy Center Hall of States. |
PROPERTY IS NO LONGER A THEFT
[La proprietà non è più un furto]
Successful butcher Ugo Tognazzi has a real problem: a bank clerk (Flavio Bucci) who hates the rich fixates a Robin Hood complex on him. As Bucci's thefts escalate from Tognazzi's hat to his knife to his mistress, the butcher tries bribery. A scathing satire on the rich/poor gap.
Directed/written by Elio Petri; co-written by Ugo Pirro; produced by Claudio Mancini. Italy, 1973, color, 130 min.
THE ASSASSIN
[L'assassino]
When slimy ladies' man Marcello Mastroianni's mistress winds up dead, guess who's the top suspect? And under Inspector Salvo Randone's (Best Supporting Actor, Italian Film Journalists) grilling, every flashback just gets Mastroianni in deeper. What if he's actually innocent for once?
Directed/co-written by Elio Petri; co-written by Pasquale Festa Campanile, Massimo Franciosa and Tonino Guerra; produced by Franco Cristaldi. Italy, 1960, b&w, scope, 105 min.
THE TENTH VICTIM
[La decima vittima]
A cartoonish, retro-futuristic pop art satire with Ursula Andress (sporting the world's deadliest bra) vs. a blonde, sun-worshipping Marcello Mastroianni in "The Big Game," the 21st century's answer to overpopulation and aggression: kill 10 and you become a millionaire!
Directed/co-written by Elio Petri; co-written by Tonino Guerra; produced by Carlo Ponti. Italy, 1965, color, 92 min.
| Kennedy Center: Mon, Oct 4, 6:30; Fri, Oct 8, 6:30 Purchase tickets a the AFI Box Office, located in the Kennedy Center Hall of States. |
A QUIET PLACE IN THE COUNTRY
[Un tranquillo posto in campagna]
Pop art painter Franco Nero and his manager/lover Vanessa Redgrave (then his real-life love) take a country sojourn. But their deserted villa is seemingly haunted-and by a jealous ghost. The ensuing madness is heightened by the music of Ennio Morricone, and capped by a bitingly ironic conclusion.
Directed/written by Elio Petri; co-written by Tonino Guerra; produced by Alberto Grimaldi. Italy, 1968, color, 95 min.
| Kennedy Center: Wed, Oct 6, 6:30; Sun, Oct 10, 6:30 Purchase tickets a the AFI Box Office, located in the Kennedy Center Hall of States. |
The uncut version of
THE WORKING CLASS GOES TO HEAVEN
[La classe operaia va in Paradiso]
Factory worker Gian Maria Volonté continually tops his already-record output. But an accident makes him reevaluate his life, lose girlfriend Mariangela Melato (SWEPT AWAY) and get in trouble with the police. Shorn by 28 minutes on first US release, this is the complete version. Palme d'Or, Cannes Festival.
Directed/written by Elio Petri; co-written by Ugo Pirro; produced by Ugo Tucci. Italy, 1971, color, 126 min.
| Kennedy Center: Thu, Oct 7, 8:40; Fri, Oct 8, 8:15 Purchase tickets a the AFI Box Office, located in the Kennedy Center Hall of States. |
TODO MODO
Fiery priest Marcello Mastroianni leads a spiritual retreat of bigwigs, including burnt-out Premier Gian Maria Volonté, then attendees start turning up dead. Star-packed (Mariangela Melato, Michel Piccoli, Renato Salvatore) adaptation of Leonardo Sciascia's novel was banned reportedly for its admitted caricature of Italian leader Aldo Moro-(later kidnapped and murdered by the Red Brigades).
Directed/written by Elio Petri; co-written by Berto Pelosso; produced by Daniele Senatore. Italy, 1976, color, 120 min.
| Kennedy Center: Thu, Oct 7, 6:30; Sun, Oct 10, 8:15 Purchase tickets a the AFI Box Office, located in the Kennedy Center Hall of States. |
GOOD NEWS
[Buone notizie]
No wonder Giancarlo Gainnini's (SWEPT AWAY) identity crisis is rampant: his job-monitoring tv violence-and his life are filled with disruptions: terrorism, strikes, and out-of-control dogs. It's heightened by a chance encounter with an old friend who knows a secret about Giannini's wife Angela Molina. Petri's final film is often hilarious, sort of an Italian Jean-Luc Godard's WEEK END.
Directed/written/produced by Elio Petri; co-produced by Giancarlo Giannini. Italy, 1979, color, 110 min.
| Kennedy Center: Mon, Oct 18, 8:15; Tue, Oct 19, 6:30 Purchase tickets a the AFI Box Office, located in the Kennedy Center Hall of States. |
WE STILL KILL THE OLD WAY
[A ciascuno il suo]
After a double murder in a Sicilian village, professor Gian Maria Volonté starts to investigate, then falls in love with Irene Papas (ZORBA THE GREEK) while confiding in lawyer Gabriele Ferzetti (L'AVENTURRA)-big mistake! From a novel by Leonardo Sciascia. "Tense, unusual thriller... a nightmare realism that suggests Kafka."-Pauline Kael. Best Screenplay, Cannes Festival; Best Director, Actor, Screenplay, Italian Film Journalists.
Directed/written by Elio Petri; co-written by Ugo Pirro; produced by Giuseppe Zaccariello. Italy, 1966, color, 92 min.
| Kennedy Center: Mon, Oct 18, 6:30; Tue, Oct 19, 8:30 Purchase tickets a the AFI Box Office, located in the Kennedy Center Hall of States. |
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