SUNDAY CINEMATHEQUE AT THE CHAZEN: MARIO MONICELLI COMEDIES
2015 marks the centennial of one of Italian cinema’s finest directors, Mario Monicelli (1915-2010). A master of the commedia all’italiana, Monicelli’s movies deliver big laughs, often while exploring deeper societal issues like the concerns of the working class and Italy’s frequently dysfunctional political system. A satirist with a gentle touch, Monicelli infuses his movies with compassion for his sometimes downtrodden characters, like the gang of misfit criminals in Big Deal on Madonna Street or the trio of New Year’s Eve revelers in The Passionate Thief. All of the feature film titles in this series will screen in 35mm prints imported from Italy. Special thanks to Film Forum’s Bruce Goldstein, and Paola Ruggiero of Luce-Cinecittá.
- Sun., Feb. 1 | 2:00 PMChazen
One of the most beloved and oft-imitated (see Crackers, Welcome to Collinwood and Woody Allen’s Small-Time Crooks) of Italian comedies, Monicelli’s classic follows a sad-sack bunch of would-be thieves as they meticulously plan an elaborate heist that goes hilariously wrong. The frequently slapstick antics of the hapless crooks are nicely offset by the realistic working-class locations.
- Sun., Feb. 8 | 2:00 PMChazen
In the plague-ridden middle-ages, a bluster-filled knight (Gassman, in one of his funniest and finest performances) incompetently leads a group of put-upon peasants to help him take over the small village of Aurocastro...but surprises are in store! Monicelli’s effective mixture of absurd comedy and period realism in his biggest box-office success has earned this surrealist hit comparisons with Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
- Sun., Feb. 15 | 2:00 PMChazen
A handsome American crook (Gazzara) recruits a fame-hungry movie extra (Magnani) and her fellow performer (Totò) in his efforts to pickpocket at a swanky New Year’s Eve party. Soon, the trio are on an all-night odyssey across Rome, encountering ugly Americans, German aristocrats, and assorted other swanky celebrations and celebrants. “Monicelli takes a number of digs at the Church and the dolce vita of the privileged (even poking fun at the Fellini film); his heart is with the little people, who cling to their humor and dignity as means of survival.” (Ted Shen, Chicago Reader)
- Sun., Feb. 22 | 2:00 PMChazen
Advocating for a harder line, a fascist party deputy (La Cage Aux Folles star Tognazzi) decides to overthrow his fellow officers. Inspired by the real-life coup attempt of Prince Valerio Borghese, Monicelli’s black comedy evokes an hilarious and sometimes grotesque vision of contemporary Italian politics and society.
- Sun., Mar. 1 | 2:00 PMChazen
Monicelli won the Best Director award at the Berlin Film Festival for this trenchant and observant look at a bourgeois family whose lives are disrupted by the anarchic free-spirit (Lina Wertmuller regular Melato) who has married the family’s only son, Michele. Things are complicated when the young woman gives birth just as her husband is killed in a student demonstration. BONUS: After the feature, Monicelli's Renzo e Luciana (1962, 44 min., HD Projection), an episode from the Italian omnibus feature Boccaccio '70 that was deleted for the feature's original U.S. release.