Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)

When it comes to old Italian movies, I kinda suck as the titles are often all I know about those movies. It was the same with Big Deal on Madonna Street (Italian: I soliti ignoti) which ended up on my watch-list many years ago, but only because I've heard people mention it many times over the years and I thought I should eventually check it out.

The film starts with small-time thief Cosimo (Memmo Carotenuto) being arrested for trying to steal a car. After he is convicted, he asks his girlfriend (Rossana Rory) and lawyer to find someone who, for 100,000 lire, will take his place in prison so that he can pull off a heist at a pawnshop. A washed-up boxer, Peppe (Vittorio Gassman), agrees to switch places, but the judge doesn't believe them and they both end up in jail. When Peppe learns about the plan, he tricks Cosimo into explaining him every single detail of it, and when he gets out, months before Cosimo does, he recruits Cosimo's band of petty criminals to pull off the heist. 

Although the pace is quite slow and it feels kinda dragged at some places, it's very interesting to watch these small-time criminals as they plan the heist. As predicted, since this is a Commedia all'italiana, nothing goes right --the apartment next to the pawnshop was supposed to be vacant but all of a sudden, two old ladies move there and they barely leave the house; then, they rearrange the furniture which shrews up their plans even more. 

It's from all these unforeseen situations and resulting actions that comes most of the comedy and it works beautifully, especially to someone who is not fluent in Italian as the English subtitles (I rewatched some scenes with subtitles to see how the jokes were translated) are not able to convey the humorousness of the dialogue very well. The gags, the silly situations, they all are hilarious regardless of your knowledge of the Italian language. 

Lux Film

What I liked about Big Deal on Madonna Street is that the heist is only a part of the story (and I say this as someone who loves heist movies). The film is filled with numerous subplots, all connected to the main plot and therefore not pointless as it often happens, that make the film more entertaining and allows us to get to know the characters a bit better. They still are pretty thin, but we get to know them enough to feel sorry about them when their heist goes bad. There's a romantic subplot that could have been left out though as it adds nothing to the main plot, but it's pretty enjoyable and the source of more laughs. 

The cast is too is great. Vittorio Gassman shines as Peppe, the improvised leader of the gang, and his attitude is simply on point. Amongst the others, a young Marcello Mastroianni stands out as Tiberio, an out-of-work photographer whose wife is in jail and has to take care of his (crying) baby. Also worthy of a mention are Renato Salvatori as Mario, a perennially unemployed orphan, the youngest member of the gang, who wins the heart of Claudia Cardinale's Carmelina, and Tiberio Murgia as Michele, a Sicilian hothead who happens to be Carmelina's brother. Murgia deserves special praise for nailing the Sicilian accent.

La grande guerra (1959)

Genre

Comedy | Drama | War

Director

Mario Monicelli

Country

Italy | France

Cast

Alberto Sordi, Vittorio Gassman, Silvana Mangano, Folco Lulli, Bernard Blier, Romolo Valli, Vittorio Sanipoli, Nicola Arigliano, Geronimo Meynier, Mario Valdemarin, Elsa Vazzoler, Tiberio Murgia, Livio Lorenzon, Ferruccio Amendola, Gianni Baghino, Carlo D'Angelo, Achille Compagnoni, Luigi Fainelli, Marcello Giorda, Tiberio Mitri, Gérard Herter, Guido Celano

Storyline

Italy, 1916. After both trying in every way to avoid serving the army, slackers Oreste Jacovacci (Alberto Sordi) and Giovanni Busacca (Vittorio Gassman) are called to serve the army in WWI. 

Opinion

The Italians, unlike many others, don't have a problem making fun of themselves and serious matters. Then there I am, the atypical Italian, who, perhaps because of my partly German heritage, don't feel like making fun of important matters, but can't help but be delighted by those kind of films when they have the right combination of irony, satire and drama, and Mario Monicelli's "La grande guerra" is one of those.

A wonderful combination of comedy and tragedy, the film is an ironic and poignant portrait of life in the trenches on the Italian front of World War I.

Through the simple and touching stories of the characters, that intertwined because of the war, Mario Monicelli manages to engage and move yesterday, today and tomorrow's audience, and makes you reflect on the horrors of the Great War by describing its stupidity and futility. Not only does he highlight what a terrible thing war is, but makes you realize that it's done by ordinary people, their defects (pettiness and fake heroism) and their merits (courage and generosity), and that are the poorest, peasants in this case, to suffer the most. 

This Italian-Style comedy, written by Age & Scarpelli, Monicelli and Luciano Vincenzoni, is not just about the Great War but it also is a wonderful story of friendship. Since they first met, one can sense that the two main characters won't only share an "adventure" but also become great friends, despite everything.

"La grande guerra" also brings to the screen some flaws of the Italians, commonplaces indeed but with a kernel of truth. Among cunning and recommendations, Giovanni Busacca and Oreste Jacovacci stand out, two slackers overwhelmed by a terrible event to which they absolutely don't want to participate. Both cowards, they differ in their death: Busacca redeems himself dying as a hero, Jacovacci instead dies a coward as he pronounces his last sentence "Io non so niente! Se lo sapessi, ve lo direi! Io so un vijacco, lo sanno tutti!//I don't know it anything! If I knew it, I would tell! I'm a coward, everyone knows that!" 

Lastly, the actors. Monicelli would never have done such a great film without great actors. Vittorio Gassman and Alberto Sordi are a wonderful pair, and do a great job in their role of Giovanni Busacca and Oreste Jacovacci.