Mario Monicelli (Big Deal On Madonna Street), Oscar-nominated director of such films as The Organizer and Casanova ’70, died Monday, after jumping to his death out of a fifth-floor window at Rome’s San Giovanni hospital. Monicelli was 95.
Hospitalized at San Giovanni for a tumor in his prostate, deemed terminal, the director joins actor Leslie Nielsen and actor/director Irvin Kershner as the third cinematic giant to leave us within the past week.
While I’m not as familiar with his work as I would like to admit, Monicelli was a former collaborator with late producer Dino De Laurentiis, who died earlier this month. This is a truly sad loss for the film world.
The one film of Monicelli’s that I have seen, his Oscar nominated The Organizer, is a truly breathtaking piece of work, that made a turgid film class here at my school an absolute joy. It’s a fantastic film, and with this director’s untimely death, I can’t wait to dig through his canon. Hopefully you will do the same.
Source: THR
An all-star cast and jazzy score highlight this charming comedy, a deft satire of classic caper films like Rififi. Big Deal on Madonna Street hilariously details the plight of a sad-sack group of bumbling thieves and their desperate attempts to pull off the perfect heist.
Disc Features
- Gorgeous new digital transfer
- Original theatrical trailer
- New English subtitle translation
- Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition