MARIO
MONICELLI
1/2 /3
SATIRES, CAPERS & SENDUPS
MARCH 5–APRIL 19
Fresh from a successful New York run, this nine-film spotlight on director Mario Monicelli reveals a director
responsible for some of Italy’s biggest comic hits but who remains little known in the United States. Some of
Italy’s greatest stars—Marcello Mastroianni, Anna Magnani, Totò, Claudia Cardinale, Alberto Sordi—appear here,
many in roles that made or defined their careers.
THURSDAY / 3.5.15
SATURDAY / 3.7.15
7:30 THE
6:30 BIG
PASSIONATE THIEF
Mario Monicelli (Italy, 1960) 4K Digital Restoration!
(Risate di giola, aka Laugh for Joy). The marvelous Anna Magnani portrays a
hapless would-be actress who becomes implicated in a theft by a retired extra
(Totò) and a young pickpocket (Ben Gazzara) in Monicelli’s delightful romantic
comedy. “Fun and frothy . . . like a long night of champagne without the
hangover” (Time Out New York). (106 mins) Repeats on Saturday / 3.7.15
DEAL ON MADONNA STREET
Mario Monicelli (Italy, 1958) Imported Print!
(I soliti ignoti). A killer cast—Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Totò—
highlight the film that triggered the comic heist genre, involving a motley
collection of Romans attempting to rob a jewelry store. “Unlike these boys,
Monicelli’s timing is flawless” (Judy Bloch). (111 mins)
8:40 THE
PASSIONATE THIEF
Mario Monicelli (Italy, 1960) 4K Digital Restoration!
See Thursday / 3.5.15
1
The Passionate Thief, 3.5.15, 3.7.15
2
Big Deal on Madonna Street, 3.7.15
3
The Organizer, 4.5.15
UC BERKELEY ART MUSEUM & PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE
PFA THEATER 2575 BANCROFT WAY, BERKELEY INFO 510.642.1124
TICKETS 510.642.5249!facebook.com/bampfa bampfa.berkeley.edu
WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE For details, visit bampfa.berkeley.edu/visit/access
FRIDAY / 3.20.15
7:30 THE
GREAT WAR
Mario Monicelli (Italy, 1959) Imported Print!
(La grande guerra). Vittorio Gassman, Alberto Sordi, and Silvano Mangao star
as reluctant civilians caught up in the chaos of World War I in Monicelli’s biting
comedy, which turns the tragedy and madness of war into the vitality of humor.
Cowinner, Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion Award. (134 mins)
SUNDAY / 3.29.15
7:00 FOR
LOVE AND GOLD
Mario Monicelli (Italy, 1966) Imported Print!
(L’armata Brancaleone, aka Brancaleone’s Army). A deliriously absurd send-up of
the medieval Crusades genre, an Italian Monty Python and the Holy Grail which
became one of Italy’s biggest hits. Vittorio Gassman, Gian Maria Volontè, and
scream-queen Barbara Steele headline. (120 mins)
FRIDAY / 4.3.15
7:00 ACCORDING
TO MARIO
M. Canale, F. Farina, M. Gianni, W. Labate, A. Morri (Italy, 2012)
(La versione di Mario). Italian cinema’s greatest secret is revealed in this in-depth
portrait of director Mario Monicelli, an artist who sadly remains little known outside his home country. (83 mins)
FRIDAY / 4.3.15
8:40 WE
4
According to Mario, 4.3.15
WANT THE COLONELS
Mario Monicelli (Italy, 1973) Imported Print!
(Vogliamo i colonelli). Monicelli pulled off a real coup with this irreverent political
satire about a rightist plot to restore a dictatorship in Italy. (100 mins)
SUNDAY / 4.5.15
4:30 THE
ORGANIZER
Mario Monicelli (Italy, 1963)
(I compagni). Marcello Mastroianni stars as a schoolteacher in charge of a strike
of textile-mill workers in Monicelli’s look at the beginnings of the Italian tradeunion movement. A classic of Italian cinema. (126 mins)
SUNDAY / 4.19.15
6:30 DEAR
MICHAEL
Mario Monicelli (Italy, 1976) Imported Print!
(Caro Michele). A bourgeois family meets the anarchy of the sixties when their
son passes away and his free-spirited wife and child suddenly appear. (108 mins)
Thanks to the following individuals and institutions for their assistance:
Camilla Cormanni, Paola Ruggiero, and Marco Cicala, Luce Cinecittà, Rome;
Paolo Barlera, Istituto Italiano di Cultura San Francisco; Amelia Antonucci,
Colpa Cinema; Bruce Goldstein, Film Forum, New York; Eric Di Bernardo,
Rialto Pictures; and Brian Belovarac, Janus Films/Criterion Pictures.