Michele Placido is an Italian actor, film director, and screenwriter. He began his career on stage, and first gained mainstream attention through a series of roles in films directed by the likes of Mario Monicelli and Marco Bellocchio, winning the Berlinale's Silver Bear for Best Actor for his performance in the 1979 film Ernesto. He is known internationally for portraying police inspector Corrado Cattani on the crime drama television series La piovra (1984–2001). Placido's directorial debut, Pummarò, was screened Un Certain Regard at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. Three of his films have competed for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. He is a five-time Nastro d'Argento and four-time David di Donatello winner. In 2021, Placido was appointed President of the Teatro Comunale in Ferrara.
Gabriele Ferzetti was an Italian actor with more than 160 credits across film, television, and stage. His career was at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Mattei Affair is a 1972 film directed by Francesco Rosi. It depicts the life and mysterious death of Enrico Mattei, an Italian businessman who in the aftermath of World War II managed to avoid the sale of the nascent Italian oil and hydrocarbon industry to US companies and developed them in the Eni, a state-owned oil company which rivaled the 'seven sisters' for oil and gas deals in Northern African and Middle Eastern countries.
Enrico Maria Salerno was an Italian actor, voice actor and film director. He was also the voice of Clint Eastwood in the Italian version of Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy films, and the voice of Christ in The Gospel According to St. Matthew directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini.
Anonimo Veneziano is a 1970 Italian drama film written and directed by the famous Italian actor Enrico Maria Salerno in his debut as a film director. It starred American actor Tony Musante and Brazilian actress Florinda Bolkan.
Le Amiche is a 1955 Italian black-and-white drama film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and starring Eleonora Rossi Drago, Gabriele Ferzetti, Franco Fabrizi, and Valentina Cortese. Adapted from Cesare Pavese's novel Tra donne sole (1949), the film is about a young woman who returns to her native Turin to set up a new fashion salon and becomes involved with a troubled woman and her three wealthy friends. The film was shot on location in Turin, Piemonte, Italy. Le Amiche received the Venice Film Festival's Silver Lion award in 1955, and the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Silver Ribbon Award for Best Director and Best Supporting Actress.
The Nastro d'Argento is a film award assigned each year, since 1946, by Sindacato Nazionale dei Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani, the association of Italian film critics.
Long Night in '43 is an Italian film of 1960 set in Ferrara, in the Italian Social Republic German puppet state during the late stages of the Second World War. It was directed by Florestano Vancini and adapted by Vancini, Ennio De Concini and Pier Paolo Pasolini from a short story by Giorgio Bassani. The film stars Enrico Maria Salerno, Gino Cervi, Belinda Lee, Gabriele Ferzetti and Andrea Checchi.
Death Sentence is a 1968 Spaghetti Western directed by Mario Lanfranchi and starring Richard Conte.
The Wayward Wife is a 1953 Italian melodrama film directed by Mario Soldati. It was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival. In 2008 the film was selected to enter the list of the 100 Italian films to be saved.
We Still Kill the Old Way is a 1967 Italian crime film directed by Elio Petri. It was entered into the 1967 Cannes Film Festival where it won the award for Best Screenplay. It is based on the novel To Each His Own by Leonardo Sciascia.
Henry IV is a 1984 Italian drama film directed by Marco Bellocchio. It is based on the Luigi Pirandello play of the same name and has music by Astor Piazzolla. It was entered into the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.
The Protagonists is a 1968 Italian drama film directed by Marcello Fondato. It was listed to compete at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, but the festival was cancelled due to the events of May 1968 in France.
Lo scippo is a 1965 Italian film. It marked the directorial debut of Nando Cicero.
Calling All Police Cars is a 1975 Italian giallo/poliziottesco film. It stars Antonio Sabàto, Gabrielle Ferzetti and Enrico Maria Salerno. The film is very graphic for its time, with excessive gore and nudity. The screenplay was based on a novel called Violenza a Roma by Massimo Felisatti.
Porci con la P 38 is a 1979 Italian "poliziottesco" film directed by Gianfranco Pagani. It stars actor Gabriele Ferzetti.
Lucky Luciano is a 1973 Italian/French/US international co-production crime film about the Sicilian-American gangster Charles “Lucky” Luciano, played by Gian Maria Volonté. It is directed by Francesco Rosi, and written by Rosi, Tonino Guerra, Lino Iannuzzi, and Jerome Chodorov. The cast also stars Rod Steiger, Vincent Gardenia, Charles Cioffi, and Edmond O'Brien. Charles Siragusa, the real-life federal narcotics agent who pursued Luciano, plays himself in the film and also served as technical consultant. The film is a French and Italian co-production, filmed on-location in Italy and New York City.
The Battle of El Alamein is a 1969 war film directed in 1969 by Giorgio Ferroni. It was an international co-production between Italy and France. The film depicts the Second Battle of El Alamein.
