I’ve praised the release of foreign films in the past, glad
that many were now finally able to be seen by movie fans around the world.
Movies that were made long ago and seen only by a handful of fans in the states
fortunate enough to live close to a theater willing to book them are now
available for all. In many cases the end result is seeing something that is
classic, that stands the test of time and language. That doesn’t quite happen
with THE ASSASSIN.
The movie tells the story of Alfredo Martelli (Marcello
Mastroianni), an antiques dealer who is awakened one morning by the police and
asked to come down to the station. No reason is provided but he complies only
to find himself waiting an inordinate amount of time to find out what is going
on. Eventually Inspector Palumbo (Salvo Randone) takes him to another room and
apologizes for the delay.
What appears to be a game of cat and mouse follows with
Martelli eventually being told he is a suspect in the murder of Adalgisa De
Matteis (Micheline Presle), a wealthy woman and Martelli’s onetime partner. She
also happened to be his mistress.
The movie advances forward using two methods from here. One
is in flashback sequences where we get to know the past history of the
characters involved in Martelli’s life, his relationships and methods of
behaving in certain circumstances. The other is the shifting of locations as
the Inspector takes Martelli to the crime scene and eventually places him in a
jail cell while the investigation continues.
Don’t worry, no major spoiler here about his guilt or
innocence. But the movie is more intent of looking at the lifestyle of the
character of Martelli than being a whodunit, more focused on him and his
actions past and present. Martelli is a user, a man who wants to elevate his
status from his past and will do almost anything to make that happen. He’s a
cad when it comes to women, getting what he wants and moving on to another.
Perhaps it’s just the way movies were at that time in Italy,
perhaps it is that something is definitely lost in translation or perhaps it’s
just that this type of movie just isn’t meant for me. In the end while the film
provided a look at a movie from Italy from that time period (1961) I found it
fairly boring. The story never drew me in, I found no character to sympathize
with and by the final credits found nothing of interest that would make me want
to recommend this movie. Perhaps the only thing that would do so is to offer it
as a good film for fans of this type of cinema, for fans of any and all things
in the Italian film area or for fans of Mastroianni.
Arrow Video does a wonderful job as always with their
presentation here, no fault lies there. The print itself is a 2K digital
restoration from the Cineteca di Bologna. Extras include LIO PETRI AND
L’ASSASSINO an introduction by Italian cinema expert Pasquale Iannone (Petri
was the films director), TONINO GUERRA: A POET IN THE MOVIES - Nicola Tranquillino’s documentary about the
great Italian screenwriter, the theatrical trailer, a reversible sleeve
featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw and in the first
pressing only a booklet featuring writing on the film by Petri expert Camilla
Zamboni, Petri’s own critical analysis of the 1950s Italian cinema plus a
selection of contemporary reviews.
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