Big Deal on Madonna Street [Criterion Collection]

Director: Mario Monicelli Mario Monicelli

Overview

Mario Monicelli's comedy Big Deal on Madonna Street, starring the legendary Marcello Mastroianni, gets the DVD treatment it deserves from Criterion, the most reliable label in home video. The film is presented in a standard full-frame transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The film has certainly never looked better on home video. The Italian soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Mono; English subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials are limited to the original theatrical trailer. This disc is worthwhile for any film lover.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/21/2010
UPC:	0037429155424
Original Release:	1958
Rating:	NR
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[monaural, Dolby Digital]
Language:	English
Time:	1:46:00
Sales rank:	19,568

Special Features

New digital transfer; Original theatrical trailer; New English subtitle translation; Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Vittorio Gassman	Peppe
Marcello Mastroianni	Tiberio
Renato Salvatori	Mario
Totò	Actor
Rossana Rory	Norma
Carla Gravina	Nicoletta
Claudia Cardinale	Carmelina
Carlo Pisacane	Capannelle
Tiberio Murgia	Ferribotte,Ferribotte
Memmo Carotenuto	Cosimo
Renato Terra	Actor
Gina Rovere	Actor
Gina Amendola	Actor
Elena Fabrizi	Actor
Pasquale Misiano	Actor
Piero Umiliani	Composer

Technical Credits

Mario Monicelli

Suso Cecchi d'Amico

Furio Scarpelli

Franco Cristaldi	Producer
Mario Monicelli	Director,Screenwriter
Suso Cecchi d'Amico	Screenwriter
Furio Scarpelli	Screenwriter

Scene Index

Side #1
0. Chapters
1. Titles/attempted Robbery [:10]
2. One Month Later... [3:21]
3. Mario, Capannelle, Ferribotte [2:02]
4. Tiberio The Photojournalist [4:25]
5. Peppe The Boxer [2:53]
6. In The Slammer [1:47]
7. "the News Traveled Fast" [7:26]
8. Casing The Joint [3:55]
9. "this Ain't Hollywood" [5:10]
10. "so It Fell Upon Mario" [3:59]
11. "fu Cimin" [3:19]
12. "but Our Heroes Didn't Give Up" [4:10]
13. "now And Then" [5:30]
14. "fruit Of Betrayal" [4:07]
15. Carnevale [:05]
16. "but At The Same Time..." [1:16]
17. The Funeral [7:53]
18. "the Big Day" [1:25]
19. Keys [2:16]
20. Trust [1:59]
21. Coal Bin, Courtyard... [10:51]
22. ...window [3:50]
23. A Phone Call [5:34]
24. Pasta E Ceci [5:52]
25. Persons Unknown [3:25]

Menu

Side #1
   Play The Movie
   Trailer
   Subtitles

Editorial Reviews

The common ground of all caper films -- scenes of meticulous planning leading to split-second timing -- are notably absent in director Mario Monicelli's richly endearing neo-realist comedy Big Deal on Madonna Street. A humorous twist on great caper films like Rififi and The Asphalt Jungle, Big Deal follows a hapless band of low-rent criminals as they plan to rob a local pawnbroker's safe. This would-be Ocean's Eleven, a group that doesn't even have watches to synchronize, makes missteps right from the start and stumbles ever more ludicrously as the plot thickens. Aside from their failings as felons, they're a charming group, at heart more interested in wine, women, and song than in big-time crime. Gang members include Vittorio Gassman, as a glass-jawed boxer with an eye for the ladies, and a young Marcello Mastroianni as a would-be photographer who has to leave his infant son with his jailed wife so he can do the big job. Monicelli's direction suits the material perfectly, emphasizing authentic street atmosphere instead of slick production values. Crime certainly doesn't pay in Big Deal on Madonna Street, but this classic Italian comedy is good for more than a few laughs.

Barnes & Noble - Gregory Baird

Like the similarly themed British film The Ladykillers, Mario Monicelli's caper comedy Big Deal on Madonna Street takes a hapless group of misfits on a heist during which everything that can go wrong does. The cast is led by such skilled performers as Vittorio Gassman as Peppe, Renato Salvatori as Mario, and Marcello Mastroianni as Tiberio, and backed by a terrific assortment of Italian character actors. Monicelli's laid-back approach ideally suits the story, as the would-be thieves are continually distracted and delayed in their quest for a seemingly easy-to-snatch safe. Despite being somewhat buffoonish, the leads are also very believable and likable; Monicelli is interested as much in the characters as he is in the story. Among the highlights are when Peppe tricks rival thief Cosimo into giving him the location of a safe; Mario's encounters with Carmela (played by a very young Claudia Cardinale); Cosimo's failed attempt to rob the pawn shop; and the final heist sequence, which is filled with inspired touches. The script gives each cast member a chance to shine, with Carlo Pisacane especially endearing as the old thief Capannelle, and Toto stealing several scenes as the "retired" safecracker who shows them the ropes. The cinematography and production design capture life in the slums of Italy (filmed on striking locations), and there is a whimsical, jazzy score by Piero Umiliani. The influence of Big Deal on Madonna Street can be seen in such films as Woody Allen's Small Time Crooks (2000), and to this day the film remains both charming and very funny.

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