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Home , Elio Petri, Erotic thriller, Marcello Mastroianni, The 10th Victim, Thriller (genre)

ICA

Press release: 16 July 2014 - The Forgotten Genius 5 - 11 September 2014

The ICA and Shameless Entertainment are proud to present a season of Elio Petri (1929 – 1982), one of the most fascinating and intriguing filmmakers in Italian cinema of the 60s and 70s. This season aims to bring renewed attention a thought-provoking and versatile filmmaker through a series rarely seen key works. Four films will be shown as part of this season, starting with the Oscar winning Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970). The programme will also feature the much imitated sci-fi movie (1965), the claustrophobic A ciascuno il suo (We Still Kill the Old Way) (1967) and the unsettling psychological drama A Quiet Place in the Country (1968).

Uncomfortably individualistic, impeccably stylish and irreverent interpretations of Italian reality, Petri’s films contributed to the period’s political and intellectual debate. Controversial, complex and visually arresting, his films were driven by observations on society and power, exploring social issues still relevant today, such as organised crime, the relationship between authorities and citizens, the role of the artist in society and working class rights and consumerism. Despite these contemporary concerns, Petri and his work remain difficult to classify.

Each of his films are unique, both in their concept and execution, something which disconcerted critics and cinema experts alike at the time of their release. Since his films always contain an element of social observation, he was branded a ‘political’ director and this definition has perhaps made him appear a difficult, heavy filmmaker and obscured the tragicomic and irreverent elements often included in his films.

There is no doubt that Petri belongs alongside the great masters such as Fellini, Visconti, Pasolini and Bertolucci in the pantheon of Italian directors.

Press contact: Naomi Crowther / Press Manager ICA / [email protected] / 020 7766 1407

Listings information: Cinema prices £11 / £8 Concessions / £7 ICA Members. Prices vary for special events. Matinee cinema prices £8 / £6 Concessions / £5 ICA Members. Tuesday cinema prices £6 / £5 ICA Members. Booking fees for non ICA Members: £1 per ticket or maximum charge per transaction £2.80. Book online at www.ica.org.uk Call Box Office 020 7930 3647 Textphone 020 7839 0737 www.ica.org.uk | www.twitter.com/icalondon | www.facebook.com/icalondon

Programme

Friday 5 September 2014 7.45pm Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970, 110 min)

Undoubtedly one of the masterpieces of Italian cinema. The head of the investigative homicide squad kills his lover and then plants obvious clues that all suggest his involvement in the killing. As his team investigate, all the evidence pointing to him is routinely discarded, prolonging his psychopathic power plan to a fever pitch. A about the role of authority in society, the role of the law and how those in a position of power can become seemingly invincible. A dark and satirical with one of the best soundtracks ever scored. Winner of the Grand Prix in Cannes and Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1971.

Sunday 7 September 2014 6.30pm The 10th Victim (1965, 92 min)

Shameless Entertainment is proud to present this science set in a future where killing has been channelled into “The Big Hunt” - a globalized TV game of legal murder between Hunter and Victim. This movie is a pop-art cult classic featuring an unforgettable sporting a deadly double-barrelled brassiere and an ubercool . A witty social satire about celebrity, money and the corrupting power of the media, this is a wonderful feast of visual camp.

Tuesday 9 September 2014 7.45pm A ciascuno il suo (We Still Kill the Old Way), (1967, 99 min)

Petri's first adaptation of a work by follows the unauthorized investigation of timid left-wing university professor Laurana (Gian Maria Volonté), who refuses to discount a double murder in his Sicilian hometown as an old-fashioned honor killing. On the trail of the real murderer in what soon appears to be a politically-motivated crime, Laurana must navigate a maze-like conspiracy which appears to implicate most of the town's dignitaries. Complicating matters, he also falls in love with one of the murdered men's wives. This claustrophobic thriller is a study of the interaction between organised crime and power in which the Mafia (never explicitly mentioned) is analysed as a social phenomenon deeply and irrevocably ingrained into society.

Thursday 11 September 2014 6.30pm A Quiet Place in the Country (1968, 106min)

With this psychological/ Petri returned to the , here telling the story of a successful abstract painter in search of inspiration who escapes to the country with his lover, only to become obsessed with a presence in the villa: the ghost of a woman killed there during the war. Petri uses the tropes of the giallo to ask questions about modern society, art and its commercial value and the role of the artist in the modern world. The paintings are by American pop artist Jim Dine.

Editor’s notes:

About Elio Petri Italian filmmaker Elio Petri got his start working as a film critic for the communist newspaper L'Unita. Prior to that he had earned a degree in literature from Rome University. As a director, he started out making documentaries and co-penning scripts, primarily for De Santis. Petri made his feature-film directorial debut in 1961 with Assassin. He subsequently became known for making stylish, tightly woven socio-political that include The Tenth Victim (1965), his Academy Award-winning Investigation of a Citizen, Above Suspicion (1970), and Lulu the Tool, which was awarded the Grand Prize at the 1972 .