''I mostri'' (also known as ''Opiate '67'' or, in a cut version, ''15 from Rome'') is a 1963
commedia all'italiana
Commedia all'italiana (, pl. Commedie all'italiana, "Comedy in the Italian way") or Italian-style comedy is an Italian film genre born in Italy in the 1950s and developed in the 1960s and 1970s. It is widely considered to have started with Mari ...
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
by Italian director
Dino Risi
Dino Risi (23 December 1916 – 7 June 2008) was an Italian film director. With Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Nanni Loy and Ettore Scola, he was one of the masters of ''commedia all'italiana''.
Biography
Risi was born in Milan. He had an ol ...
. It was coproduced with
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
The film was a huge success in Italy. It was censored in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. In 1977 an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nominee sequel was filmed, entitled ''
I nuovi mostri
''I nuovi mostri'' (English-language version: ''Viva l'Italia!''; meaning of Italian original title: "The new monsters") is a 1977 commedia all'italiana film composed by 14 episodes, directed by Dino Risi, Ettore Scola and Mario Monicelli. It is ...
'' (''
Viva Italia!'').
Plot
The film features several episodes in which actors
Ugo Tognazzi
Ugo Tognazzi (23 March 1922 – 27 October 1990) was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter.
Early life
Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a travelling clerk fo ...
and
Vittorio Gassman
Vittorio Gassman (; born Gassmann; 1 September 1922 – 29 June 2000), popularly known as , was an Italian actor, director and screenwriter.
He is considered one of the greatest Italian actors, whose career includes both important productions ...
are the greatest performers. The themes of the short stories are intended to offer a clear picture of the habits, vices, of cheating and taste typical of the majority of Italians in the Sixties. Obviously the characters and funny situations are written and staged in a way that touches the limits of satire and coarseness, however many of these issues are still recognized by the Italian company. The satire of the episodes affects people of both noble origins of poor people, both political and police officers who abuse their power and, last but not least the middle classes. To remember are the episodes as'' The Monster'' in which a man who has killed the whole family and has barricaded himself in the house was arrested by two policemen (Gassman and Tognazzi) and photographed with the present. However, although the man is a murderer, the two cops are real monsters of ugliness. Another episode to remember is ''Education'' in which the parent Ugo Tognazzi educates his son (
Ricky Tognazzi
Ricky Tognazzi (born Riccardo Tognazzi; ; 1 May 1955) is an Italian actor and film director. He has appeared in 50 films and television shows since 1963. His film '' The Escort'' was entered into the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.
In 1991, he won t ...
) being a perfect cheat to appear more masculine and smart, to pay much less and not plunging into heavy or boring situation would certainly not born. He instructs his son in beating their classmates who do not want him to copy the tasks and lie age when he went to the fair to not pay the ticket. When the child grows, the first thing it will do is make amends for his teachings repaying his father with a pistol and with the theft of all his possessions.
Episodes
The original version is composed of 20 episodes, all starred by
Vittorio Gassman
Vittorio Gassman (; born Gassmann; 1 September 1922 – 29 June 2000), popularly known as , was an Italian actor, director and screenwriter.
He is considered one of the greatest Italian actors, whose career includes both important productions ...
and
Ugo Tognazzi
Ugo Tognazzi (23 March 1922 – 27 October 1990) was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter.
Early life
Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a travelling clerk fo ...
.
*"L'educazione sentimentale"
*"La raccomandazione"
*"Il mostro"
*"Come un padre"
*"Presa dalla vita"
*"Il povero soldato"
*"Che vitaccia"
*"La giornata dell'onorevole"
*"Latin lovers"
*"Testimone volontario"
*"I due orfanelli"
*"L'agguato"
*"Il sacrificato"
*"Vernissage"
*"La musa"
*"Scende l'oblio"
*"La strada è di tutti"
*"L'oppio dei popoli"
*"Il testamento di Francesco"
*"La nobile arte"
External links
*
1963 films
1963 comedy films
1960s Italian-language films
Italian black-and-white films
Films set in Italy
Films set in Rome
Commedia all'italiana
Italian anthology films
Films directed by Dino Risi
Films with screenplays by Age & Scarpelli
Films with screenplays by Ruggero Maccari
Films scored by Armando Trovajoli
1960s Italian films
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