- Born:
- January 29, 1929, Rome, Italy
- Died:
- November 10, 1982, Rome (aged 53)
Elio Petri
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Who was Elio Petri?
Elio Petri, born on January 29, 1929, in Rome, was an Italian motion-picture director and screenwriter. He was a militant member of the Italian Communist Party until 1956, maintaining a lifelong interest in social issues.
Petri began his movie career in 1952, collaborating on screenplays and directing short documentaries. His first full-length film was L’assassino (The Lady Killer of Rome) in 1961. His 1970 film, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, a parable about the degeneration of power, won an Oscar for best foreign film. Gian Maria Volonté starred in several of Petri’s better films, including We Still Kill the Old Way. Petri died on November 10, 1982, in Rome.
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What is Elio Petri known for in the world of film?
Elio Petri, born January 29, 1929, was an Italian motion-picture director and screenwriter known for exploring the lack of moral values in modern consumerist society.
Petri started as a movie critic and screenwriter, directing short documentaries in the mid-1950s. His first full-length film was L’assassino in 1961. In 1970, he directed what is considered his masterpiece, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, which won an Oscar for best foreign film. Gian Maria Volonté, starred in several of Petri’s better films. Elio Petri maintained a lifelong interest in social issues.
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Which themes did Elio Petri often explore in his movies?
Elio Petri's films often explored the lack of moral values in modern consumerist society and the alienation of individuals in a materialistic and compassionless society. The Lady Killer of Rome (1961) and The Tenth Victim (1965) introduced these themes, which he would revisit throughout his career. Petri also delved into political and social issues, such as organized crime in We Still Kill the Old Way (1967) and the degeneration of power in Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970), which won an Oscar for best foreign film.
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What are some of Elio Petri’s most famous films?
Elio Petri, an Italian filmmaker, is renowned for movies exploring social issues and the lack of moral values in modern society.
Some of his famous films include:
* Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion: A parable about the degeneration of power, it won an Oscar for best foreign film.
* The Working Class Goes to Heaven: This is among his most popular films.
* The Tenth Victim: Starring Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress, it deals with the alienation of individuals in a materialistic society.
* We Still Kill the Old Way: Set in the Sicilian world of organized crime, this film marked Petri’s first collaboration with Gian Maria Volonté.1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did Elio Petri's films reflect Italian society and politics?
Elio Petri's films reflected Italian society and politics through his exploration of social issues and the lack of moral values in modern consumerist society.
Petri, a former militant member of the Italian Communist Party, maintained a lifelong interest in social issues, which influenced his work. His films often depicted the alienation of individuals in a materialistic and compassionless society, as seen in La decima vittima. Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, considered his masterpiece, is a bitter parable about the degeneration of power. Petri also directed The Working Class Goes to Heaven, one of his most popular films, which, along with Investigation of a Citizen, resonated with audiences.
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What impact did Elio Petri have on Italian and international cinema?
Elio Petri, born in Rome, significantly impacted Italian and international cinema through his socially conscious films. Beginning as a film critic and screenwriter, Petri's work often explored the lack of moral values in modern consumerist society.
His 1970 film, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, a critical examination of power, won an Oscar for best foreign film, marking a high point in his career. He often collaborated with actor Gian Maria Volonté, and directed other notable films such as The Working Class Goes to Heaven. Though his later works didn't achieve the same acclaim, Petri's films remain important for their social commentary and innovative approach to genre.
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Elio Petri (born January 29, 1929, Rome, Italy—died November 10, 1982, Rome) was an Italian motion-picture director and screenwriter.
Petri’s formal education was limited; most of his formative experiences occurred on the streets, in his neighbourhood, and in the local cell of the Italian Communist Party, of which he was a militant member until 1956. That year, when the Soviet Union invaded Hungary, he began to distance himself from communism. He nevertheless maintained a lifelong interest in social issues.
After working as a movie critic for a daily newspaper, Petri began his career in motion pictures in 1952, collaborating on the screenplay for Roma ore 11 (“Rome, 11 O’clock”), directed by Giuseppe De Santis. He continued to collaborate on screenplays as he ventured into directing short documentaries during the mid-1950s. He made his first full-length film in 1961, directing and coauthoring L’assassino (The Lady Killer of Rome), starring Marcello Mastroianni. In 1962 he directed I giorni contati (“Numbered Days”), a film that echoes the works of Michelangelo Antonioni and Ingmar Bergman. In this melancholy story of a welder who, fearing that he has only a short time to live, abandons his work and attempts without success to enjoy life, Petri for the first time explores what would become a dominant theme in his work: the lack of moral values in modern consumerist society. Despite formal excellence and talented acting, Petri’s first two films were not popular successes. In 1963 he directed the more popular Il maestro di Vigevano (“The Teacher of Vigevano”), starring Alberto Sordi and Claire Bloom, and the following year the episode “Peccato nel pomeriggio” (“Sin in the Afternoon”) for the film Alta infedeltà (High Infidelity). With the popular La decima vittima (1965; The Tenth Victim), starring Mastroianni and Ursula Andress, he returned to his preferred subject: the alienation of individuals in a materialistic and compassionless society.
The Sicilian world of organized crime was the setting for Petri’s next film, A ciascuno il suo (1967; We Still Kill the Old Way). This work marked the director’s meeting with Gian Maria Volonté, the great actor who in the years to come would star in several of Petri’s better films. In his next effort, Un tranquillo posto di campagna (1969; A Quiet Place in the Country), starring Franco Nero, Petri used the horror genre to depict the despair and alienation of a young artist.
In 1970 Petri directed the film that is considered his masterpiece, Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto (Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion). The film—a bitter parable about the degeneration of power—won an Oscar for best foreign film. He collaborated with the poet and director Nelo Risi for the television film Dedicato a Pinelli (1970; “Dedicated to Pinelli”), a moving remembrance of the anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli. Petri next directed La classe operaia va in paradiso (1971; The Working Class Goes to Heaven), which, along with Investigation of a Citizen, was one of his most popular films. His later films, such as La proprietà non è più un furto (1973; “Property Is No Longer a Theft”) and Todo modo (1976; “One Way or Another”), were neither critical nor popular successes. Petri’s last works were the television production of Le mani sporche (1978; Dirty Hands), an adaptation of Jean-Paul Sartre’s Les Mains sales; and the film Le buone notizie (1980; Good News), starring Giancarlo Giannini.