''The Assassin'' () is a 1961 Italian-French

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film directed by

Elio Petri Eraclio Petri (29 January 1929 – 10 November 1982), commonly known as Elio Petri, was an Italian film and theatre director, screenwriter and film critic. The Museum of Modern Art described him as "one of the preeminent political and social ...

starring

Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (26 September 1924Come da lui stesso dichiarato a 1'10" dquesta intervista/ref> – 19 December 1996) was an Italian actor. He is generally regarded as one of Italy's most iconic male performers of the 20t ...

. It was Petri's feature film debut as a director.

Plot

Antiques dealer Alfredo returns to his exclusive apartment in Rome in the early morning hours. When his fiancée Nicoletta rings him up on the phone, he pretends that he had spent the whole night at home. Shortly after, the police arrive and arrest Alfredo, as his former mistress Adalgisa, with whom he had spent the previous night, has been found murdered in her hotel at the seaside. Also, Nicoletta has suddenly disappeared. While Alfredo is in custody, the police research his past and uncover an egotistical, ruthless careerist who uses the people around him to climb the social ladder at any cost, selling fake antiques, having his mistress pay for his expenses and dropping her at the prospect of marrying Nicoletta, the daughter of a rich industrialist. When Nicoletta shows up again and the true murderer is convicted, Alfredo is released. Showing remorse for his past behaviour at first, Alfredo soon returns to his previous ways.

Cast

Release

''The Assassin'' was released in Italy on 1 April 1961, distributed by

Titanus Titanus (also called Titanus Distribuzione) is an Italian film production and distribution company, founded in 1904 by Gustavo Lombardo (1885–1951). The company's headquarters are located at 28 Via Sommacampagna, Rome and its studios on the Vi ...

. It was shown in competition at the

11th Berlin International Film Festival The 11th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 23 June to 4 July 1961. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Italian film '' La Notte'' directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. Juries The following people were announced as being on ...

June–July the same year and released in France in July 1964.

Legacy

The film was restored in 2011 by the

Cineteca di Bologna The Cineteca di Bologna is a film archive in Bologna, Italy. It was founded on 18 May 1962. Since 1989, it has been a member of the Fédération internationale des archives du film (FIAF). It has been a member of the Association des ciném ...

. The restored version was screened at the same year's 64th Cannes Film Festival in the "Cannes Classics" section.

Awards

Nastro d'argento The (plural: ''Nastri d'Argento''; English: Silver Ribbon) is an Italian film award, held since 1946 by the ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani'' (Italian National Union of Film Journalists). Awards are given annually in ...

for Best Supporting Actor Salvo Randone

References

External links

*
The Assassin Trailer
Video via

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assassin, The 1961 films 1961 crime drama films Italian crime drama films Italian black-and-white films 1960s Italian-language films Films directed by Elio Petri Films with screenplays by Tonino Guerra 1961 directorial debut films 1960s Italian films 1960s French films Films scored by Piero Piccioni