Elio Petri

Elio Petri

Birth : 1929-01-29, Rome, Italy

Death : 1982-11-10

History

Eraclio "Elio" Petri (29 January 1929—10 November 1982) was an Italian writer and director known for his political mysteries and thrillers, such as "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion" (1970), "A Quiet Place in the Country" (1968) and "The Assassin" (1961).

Profile

Elio Petri
Elio Petri
Elio Petri

Movies

Il falso bugiardo
Self (archive footage)
Based upon Vincenzoni's biography, "Pane e cinema", the documentary traces the story of the screen play writer who invented many stories that became blockbusters throughout the world.
Good News
Story
A disaffected media executive spends his days watching violent programming on the television screens in his office and his evenings neglecting his frustrated wife at home. The monotonicity is disturbed when he is contacted by an old friend who confides in him he is being threatened by mysterious assassins.
Good News
Screenplay
A disaffected media executive spends his days watching violent programming on the television screens in his office and his evenings neglecting his frustrated wife at home. The monotonicity is disturbed when he is contacted by an old friend who confides in him he is being threatened by mysterious assassins.
Good News
Producer
A disaffected media executive spends his days watching violent programming on the television screens in his office and his evenings neglecting his frustrated wife at home. The monotonicity is disturbed when he is contacted by an old friend who confides in him he is being threatened by mysterious assassins.
Good News
Director
A disaffected media executive spends his days watching violent programming on the television screens in his office and his evenings neglecting his frustrated wife at home. The monotonicity is disturbed when he is contacted by an old friend who confides in him he is being threatened by mysterious assassins.
Reflections on a Political Cinema
Interviewee
This documentary addresses the challenges facing the Italian film industry in 1978 by focusing on the television productions of Francesco Rosi's CHRIST STOPPED AT EBOLI (1979) and Elio Petri's LE MANI SPORCHE (1978)
One Way or Another
Screenplay
Set during a retreat of Christian Democrat politicians who practice spiritual exercises together, it is an allegory of corrupted power. Disturbing, claustrophobic settings are the background to a series of mysterious crimes.
One Way or Another
Director
Set during a retreat of Christian Democrat politicians who practice spiritual exercises together, it is an allegory of corrupted power. Disturbing, claustrophobic settings are the background to a series of mysterious crimes.
Property Is No Longer a Theft
Bank Customer (uncredited)
A young bank teller, literally allergic to paper money, becomes the worst nightmare of his best customer, a wealthy butcher who manages his business unscrupulously.
Property Is No Longer a Theft
Story
A young bank teller, literally allergic to paper money, becomes the worst nightmare of his best customer, a wealthy butcher who manages his business unscrupulously.
Property Is No Longer a Theft
Screenplay
A young bank teller, literally allergic to paper money, becomes the worst nightmare of his best customer, a wealthy butcher who manages his business unscrupulously.
Property Is No Longer a Theft
Director
A young bank teller, literally allergic to paper money, becomes the worst nightmare of his best customer, a wealthy butcher who manages his business unscrupulously.
The Working Class Goes to Heaven
Story
A conscientious factory worker gets his finger cut off by a machine. The accident causes him to become more involved in political and revolutionary groups.
The Working Class Goes to Heaven
Screenplay
A conscientious factory worker gets his finger cut off by a machine. The accident causes him to become more involved in political and revolutionary groups.
The Working Class Goes to Heaven
Director
A conscientious factory worker gets his finger cut off by a machine. The accident causes him to become more involved in political and revolutionary groups.
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
Story
Rome, Italy. After committing a heinous crime, a senior police officer exposes evidence incriminating him because his moral commitment prevents him from circumventing the law and the social order it protects.
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
Policeman Sleeping During Dottore's Address (uncredited)
Rome, Italy. After committing a heinous crime, a senior police officer exposes evidence incriminating him because his moral commitment prevents him from circumventing the law and the social order it protects.
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
Screenstory
Rome, Italy. After committing a heinous crime, a senior police officer exposes evidence incriminating him because his moral commitment prevents him from circumventing the law and the social order it protects.
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
Screenplay
Rome, Italy. After committing a heinous crime, a senior police officer exposes evidence incriminating him because his moral commitment prevents him from circumventing the law and the social order it protects.
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
Director
Rome, Italy. After committing a heinous crime, a senior police officer exposes evidence incriminating him because his moral commitment prevents him from circumventing the law and the social order it protects.
Ipotesi sulla morte di G. Pinelli
Screenplay
After a wave of arrests in 1969, Italian anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli allegedly falls out of a police building window while being interrogated. The circumstances leading to his death are re-enacted in three hypothetical versions in this attempt at counter-investigation.
Ipotesi sulla morte di G. Pinelli
Director
After a wave of arrests in 1969, Italian anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli allegedly falls out of a police building window while being interrogated. The circumstances leading to his death are re-enacted in three hypothetical versions in this attempt at counter-investigation.
Documenti su Giuseppe Pinelli
Screenplay
The film examines the death of the anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli, who fell from the fourth floor of the police headquarters in Milan December 15, 1969, after being stopped following the Piazza Fontana bombing.
Documenti su Giuseppe Pinelli
Director
The film examines the death of the anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli, who fell from the fourth floor of the police headquarters in Milan December 15, 1969, after being stopped following the Piazza Fontana bombing.
A Quiet Place in the Country
Dialogue
A painter facing a creative block arranges to spend the weekend in the country at his mistress's villa. While staying there, his sanity begins to disintegrate.
A Quiet Place in the Country
Screenplay
A painter facing a creative block arranges to spend the weekend in the country at his mistress's villa. While staying there, his sanity begins to disintegrate.
A Quiet Place in the Country
Story
A painter facing a creative block arranges to spend the weekend in the country at his mistress's villa. While staying there, his sanity begins to disintegrate.
A Quiet Place in the Country
Director
A painter facing a creative block arranges to spend the weekend in the country at his mistress's villa. While staying there, his sanity begins to disintegrate.
We Still Kill the Old Way
Screenplay
A leftist professor wants the truth about two men killed during a hunting party; but the mafia, the Church and corrupt politicians don't want him to learn it.
We Still Kill the Old Way
Director
A leftist professor wants the truth about two men killed during a hunting party; but the mafia, the Church and corrupt politicians don't want him to learn it.
The 10th Victim
Screenplay
In the near future, big wars are avoided by giving individuals with violent tendencies a chance to kill in the Big Hunt. The Hunt is the most popular form of entertainment in the world and also attracts participants who are looking for fame and fortune. It includes ten rounds for each competitor, five as the hunter and five as the victim.
The 10th Victim
Director
In the near future, big wars are avoided by giving individuals with violent tendencies a chance to kill in the Big Hunt. The Hunt is the most popular form of entertainment in the world and also attracts participants who are looking for fame and fortune. It includes ten rounds for each competitor, five as the hunter and five as the victim.
Tokyo Olympiad
Thanks
This impressionistic portrait of the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics pays as much attention to the crowds and workers as it does to the actual competitive events. Highlights include an epic pole-vaulting match between West Germany and America, and the final marathon race through Tokyo's streets. Two athletes are highlighted: Ethiopian marathon runner Abebe Bikila, who receives his second gold medal, and runner Ahamed Isa from Chad, representing a country younger than he is.
High Infidelity
Director
Four different directors present lighthearted stories about married Italian couples and their dilemmas with jealousy, sex and love.
The Teacher from Vigevano
Screenplay
Primary school teacher Mr. Mombelli, nevertheless satisfied with his life, is driven by his wife to resign and starting a new activity. He invest all his goodwill setting up a footwear little factory.
The Teacher from Vigevano
Adaptation
Primary school teacher Mr. Mombelli, nevertheless satisfied with his life, is driven by his wife to resign and starting a new activity. He invest all his goodwill setting up a footwear little factory.
The Teacher from Vigevano
Director
Primary school teacher Mr. Mombelli, nevertheless satisfied with his life, is driven by his wife to resign and starting a new activity. He invest all his goodwill setting up a footwear little factory.
Nudi per vivere
Director
A collection of varieties numbers from various night clubs.
The Monsters
Screenplay
The myths of the sixties are satirized in 20 episodes.
The Monsters
Story
The myths of the sixties are satirized in 20 episodes.
His Days Are Numbered
Story
A middle-aged plumber quits his job and questions his life after seeing somebody his own age suddenly die from a heart attack on his way to work.
His Days Are Numbered
Screenplay
A middle-aged plumber quits his job and questions his life after seeing somebody his own age suddenly die from a heart attack on his way to work.
His Days Are Numbered
Director
A middle-aged plumber quits his job and questions his life after seeing somebody his own age suddenly die from a heart attack on his way to work.
The Assassin
Story
Suave antiques dealer Alfredo Martelli is picked up by the police with no justification. At the precinct, Martelli realizes what the investigation is all about-- that he is the main suspect in the killing of his wealthy ex-lover. Is he guilty, or is he just a sleaze?
The Assassin
Screenplay
Suave antiques dealer Alfredo Martelli is picked up by the police with no justification. At the precinct, Martelli realizes what the investigation is all about-- that he is the main suspect in the killing of his wealthy ex-lover. Is he guilty, or is he just a sleaze?
The Assassin
Director
Suave antiques dealer Alfredo Martelli is picked up by the police with no justification. At the precinct, Martelli realizes what the investigation is all about-- that he is the main suspect in the killing of his wealthy ex-lover. Is he guilty, or is he just a sleaze?
The Hunchback
Story
Alvaro Cosenza, also known as the Hunchback from Quarticciolo, during Rome's occupation by Nazis in 1943, decides to revolt.
Il carro armato dell'8 settembre
Story
Italy signed the armistice and in the general confusion a corporal decides to bring the tank back from the coast to the barracks.
L'impiegato
First Assistant Director
Nando is dissatisfied with his repetitive and mortifying work. He manages to escape from daily mediocrity only at night, when he enters his fantasy world.
L'impiegato
Story
Nando is dissatisfied with his repetitive and mortifying work. He manages to escape from daily mediocrity only at night, when he enters his fantasy world.
L'impiegato
Screenplay
Nando is dissatisfied with his repetitive and mortifying work. He manages to escape from daily mediocrity only at night, when he enters his fantasy world.
The Apartment
Writer
A building instructor cheats on his wife with a young fashion model.
Nights of the Teddy Boys
Screenplay
An Italian drama directed by Leopoldo Savona.
Train without a Timetable
Writer
The story about colonization of poor Dalmatian peasants to the fertile Pannonian plain shortly after WWII.
South Wind
Story
Antonio Spagara, a young Sicilian worker, has been assigned by the Mafia to murder a nobleman, Marquis Macri. But at the last minute Antonio reneges on his commitment and instead of killing the father, he flees to Palermo with Grazia, his daughter. Life is not a bed of roses in the Sicilian capital, as the young man must impose himself to face his godfather and Grazia's despotic sister Dorotea. To make matters worse, the Mafia is not going to tolerate Antonio's desertion...
Piece of the Sky
Screenplay
During a fair, a charlatan is able to sell to a group of retired persons a piece of sky that would give them a quiet place to live well after death. The old men buy the story and decide to commit suicide to get to the corner of heaven that belongs to them.
The Year Long Road
Writer
Italian director Giueseppe DeSantis was the creative force behind this Yugoslavian "slice of life" drama. The title translates as The Year-Long Road; accordingly, the plot concerns a joint, voluntary effort between Italy and Yugoslavia to construct a highway along the countries' Naturally, this animosity wreaks havoc on the various Romeo-Juliet romances in the region. All is resolved when oil is discovered on one of the islands. An American oil company is finally able to establish détente between the warring factions, smoothing the path for the long-delayed marriages of three young couples.
I sette contadini
Director
Men and Wolves
Story
Two young hunters of wolves are involved in a conflict. Besides the dangerous wild wolves, beautiful Teresa is the center of attention.
Men and Wolves
Screenplay
Two young hunters of wolves are involved in a conflict. Besides the dangerous wild wolves, beautiful Teresa is the center of attention.
Sunset in Naples
Screenplay
Two young men try to make it big as musicians.
Sunset in Naples
Story
Two young men try to make it big as musicians.
Days of Love
First Assistant Director
A man and a woman would like to get married, but lack the necessary funds for the traditional "big" wedding. Thus they plan to escape to the countryside and "live in sin".
Days of Love
Screenplay
A man and a woman would like to get married, but lack the necessary funds for the traditional "big" wedding. Thus they plan to escape to the countryside and "live in sin".
Days of Love
Story
A man and a woman would like to get married, but lack the necessary funds for the traditional "big" wedding. Thus they plan to escape to the countryside and "live in sin".
Angels of Darkness
Screenplay
When "Tamara" throws herself from the window of their brothel, her colleagues are made to realise that a new law will close down the source of their livelihood. The girls must now find honest work.
Nasce un campione
Writer
This short documentary, Elio Petri's directorial debut, deals with the passion of the Italians for cycling. It concentrates on a young deliveryman, who uses the bicycle at all times of his life and dreams of becoming a professional cyclist.
Nasce un campione
Director
This short documentary, Elio Petri's directorial debut, deals with the passion of the Italians for cycling. It concentrates on a young deliveryman, who uses the bicycle at all times of his life and dreams of becoming a professional cyclist.
A Husband for Anna
First Assistant Director
Anna Zaccheo is a beautiful young woman from a working class Neapolitan family. Her main concern is to find herself a suitable husband. She meets a young sailor Andrea one day and gets engaged to him. But while she is waiting for Andrea to return from the navy she gets raped by her boss. Her life suddenly takes a downward spiral.
A Husband for Anna
Screenplay
Anna Zaccheo is a beautiful young woman from a working class Neapolitan family. Her main concern is to find herself a suitable husband. She meets a young sailor Andrea one day and gets engaged to him. But while she is waiting for Andrea to return from the navy she gets raped by her boss. Her life suddenly takes a downward spiral.
Rome 11:00
First Assistant Director
The story of 5 girls among 200 who answer a wanted ad for a modest secretarial position, which leads overcrowding in the building and a tragic accident.