| Slap the Monster on Page One | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Marco Bellocchio |
| Written by | Sergio Donati Goffredo Fofi |
| Produced by | Ugo Tucci |
| Starring | Gian Maria Volonté Corrado Solari Laura Betti Fabio Garriba |
| Cinematography | Erico Menczer |
| Music by | Nicola Piovani |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 min. |
| Language | Italian |
Slap the Monster on Page One (Italian: Sbatti il mostro in prima pagina) is a 1972 Italian political thriller directed by Marco Bellocchio. [1]
The film began with Sergio Donati as director but after a week of shooting, Bellocchio took over in order to turn it, with the assistance of film critic Goffredo Fofi, from an Italian western to a political thriller, inducting in the cast actress Laura Betti. By 1969, Bellocchio was an active member of the maoist Italian (Marxist–Leninist) Communist Party and his film work was often commissioned by the party, including the "Monster," and documentaries such as Viva il 1o Maggio rosso e proletario ("Long Live the Red and Proletarian 1st of May", 1970) or Il popolo calabrese ha rialzato la testa ("The Calabrese people have raised their heads again"). [2]
Eventually, the film was assessed by a critic as a rather "generic product" of the so-called cinema civile ("civil cinema") sub-genre. [3] Still, these films represent a small portion of the director's output. [1]
The film depicts the daily life of a fictitious Italian daily newspaper, Il Giornale ("The Journal"). The newspaper caters to a conservative, fascist, bourgeois readership. Its chief-editor Bizanti gives a right-wing slant to the most trivial news items, while at the same time sweetening the thornier issues, such as unemployment and police brutality. The editorial staff is thrown in a tantrum when a young girl is found raped and killed, going as far as soliciting nostalgia for the death penalty. [n 1] The paper derails the investigation, leading the police to a false culprit: a young left-wing student, who becomes a scapegoat for the newspaper's readership. The movie closes with public opinion mesmerized by Bizanti and his staff to the satisfaction of their backers and financiers.
Laura Betti was an Italian actress known particularly for her work with directors Federico Fellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Bernardo Bertolucci. She had a long friendship with Pasolini and made a documentary about him in 2001.
Gian Maria Volonté was an Italian actor and activist, remembered for his versatility as a performer, his outspoken left-wing leanings, and fiery temper on- and off-screen. He is perhaps most famous outside Italy for his roles in four Spaghetti Western films: Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars (1964), El Indio in Leone's For a Few Dollars More (1965), El Chuncho Munoz in Damiano Damiani's A Bullet for the General (1966) and Professor Brad Fletcher in Sergio Sollima's Face to Face (1967).
Fists in the Pocket is a 1965 Italian satirical drama film written and directed by Marco Bellocchio and starring Lou Castel. It was Bellocchio's first feature film and became one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year. The film centers on a young man suffering from epilepsy, who plots the murders of the members of his dysfunctional family.
Poliziotteschi constitute a subgenre of crime and action films that emerged in Italy in the late 1960s and reached the height of their popularity in the 1970s. They are also known as polizieschi all'italiana, Euro-crime, Italo-crime, spaghetti crime films, or simply Italian crime films. Influenced by both 1970s French crime films and gritty 1960s and 1970s American cop films and vigilante films, poliziotteschi films were made amidst an atmosphere of socio-political turmoil in Italy known as Years of Lead and increasing Italian crime rates. The films generally featured graphic and brutal violence, organized crime, car chases, vigilantism, heists, gunfights, and corruption up to the highest levels. The protagonists were generally tough working class loners, willing to act outside a corrupt or overly bureaucratic system.
Marco Bellocchio is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor.
Before the Revolution is a 1964 Italian drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. It stars Adriana Asti and Francesco Barilli and is centred on "political and romantic uncertainty among the youth of Parma". It premiered on 12 May 1964 at the 17th Cannes Film Festival during the International Critics' Week.
Buongiorno, notte is an Italian film released in 2003 and directed by Marco Bellocchio. The title of the feature film, Good Morning, Night, is taken from a poem by Emily Dickinson.
Vincere is a 2009 Italian biographical drama film based on the life of Benito Mussolini's first wife, Ida Dalser. It stars Giovanna Mezzogiorno as Dalser and Filippo Timi as Mussolini. It was filmed under the direction of Marco Bellocchio, who also wrote the screenplay with Daniela Ceselli, and it was released 22 May 2009 in Italy. It was the only Italian film in competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.
il Fatto Quotidiano is an Italian daily newspaper owned by Editoriale Il Fatto S.p.A. and published in Rome. It was founded on 23 September 2009 and was edited by Antonio Padellaro until 2015, when Marco Travaglio became the editor. The three deputy editors are Marco Lillo, Salvatore Cannavò and Maddalena Oliva.
The Nastro d'Argento is a film award assigned each year, since 1948, by Sindacato Nazionale dei Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani, the association of Italian film critics.
Facciamo paradiso is a 1995 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Mario Monicelli. It is based on a short story by Giuseppe Pontiggia.
The Witches' Sabbath is a 1988 Italian-French drama film written and directed by Marco Bellocchio. It is a pagan film and shows the rituals of witches.
Mario, Maria and Mario is a 1993 Italian drama film written and directed by Ettore Scola.
The Eyes, the Mouth is a 1982 Italian–French drama film directed by Marco Bellocchio.
Gianni Solaro was an Italian film and television actor.
Il gabbiano is a 1977 Italian drama film written and directed by Marco Bellocchio. It is loosely based on the Anton Chekhov's drama play The Seagull.
Sweet Dreams is a 2016 Italian-language film directed and co-written by Marco Bellocchio. It is based on the novel Sweet Dreams, Little One by Massimo Gramellini. It was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. It was theatrically released in Italy by 01 Distribution on 10 November 2016.
Leopoldo "Leo" Longanesi was an Italian journalist, publicist, screenplayer, playwright, writer, and publisher. Longanesi is mostly known in his country for his satirical works on Italian society and people. He also founded the eponymous publishing house in Milan in 1946 and was a mentor-like figure for Indro Montanelli.
Piergiorgio Bellocchio was an Italian writer, literary critic and journalist.
Adriano Aprà was an Italian film critic, film historian, screenwriter, director, festival curator, academic and occasional actor.
