''Bandits in Rome'' () is a 1968 Italian

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

directed by

Alberto De Martino Alberto De Martino (12 June 1929 – 2 June 2015) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Born in Rome, De Martino started as a child actor and later returned to the cinema where worked as a screenwriter, director and dubbing supervis ...

. It stars

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American filmmaker and actor. He began as an actor in film and television before helping to pioneer modern American independent cinema as a writer and director, often self- ...

Cast

as Mario Corda *

Gabriele Ferzetti Gabriele Ferzetti (born Pasquale Ferzetti; 17 March 1925 – 2 December 2015) 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. Ferzetti's first leading rol ...

as Commissioner * Anita Sanders as Lea Corda *

Nikos Kourkoulos Nikos Kourkoulos (; December 5, 1934 – January 30, 2007) was a Greek theatrical and film actor. Kourkoulos is best known to Greek audiences for playing "Angelos Kreouzis" in '' Oratotis miden'', but he also appeared in other movies such as ''To ...

as Enrico *

Riccardo Cucciolla Riccardo Cucciolla (5 September 1924 – 17 September 1999) was an Italian actor and voice actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1953 and 1999. He won the Best Actor Award at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival for the film '' Sacco & Vanzetti' ...

as Vice-Commissioner Pascuttini *

Luigi Pistilli Luigi Pistilli (19 July 192921 April 1996) was an Italian actor of stage, screen, and television. At one time Pistilli was one of Italy's most respected actors of stage, screen, and television. In theater, he was considered one of the country's ...

as Colangeli * Osvaldo Ruggieri as Inspector Sernesi * Guido Lollobrigida as Angelo Scotese * Piero Morgia as Carlo Taddei *

Marc Fiorini Maurizio Marco Fiorini (born 15 March 1941), known as Marc Fiorini, is an Italian-Canadian actor. Early life and education Fiorini was born in Rome in March 1941, to Antonio Fiorini and Elvira Bosca. After the Second World War, Fiorini and his ...

as Luciano Tarquini

Production

Among the films crew is cinematographer Aldo Tonto who had worked with

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and ...

and

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such a ...

. The score was composed by

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...

and

Bruno Nicolai Bruno Nicolai (20 May 1926 – 16 August 1991) was an Italian film music composer, orchestra director, conductor, pianist and musical editor, most active in the 1960s through the 1980s. While studying piano and composition at the Santa Cecilia ...

. Morricone and Nicolai's score was re-worked music from the 1968 TV show '' Musica da sera''. Alberto De Martino spoke about working with

, stating that he was "the most difficult actor I have ever worked with. When we first met, his wife

Gena Rowlands Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (; June 19, 1930 – August 14, 2024) was an American actress, whose career in film, stage, and television spanned nearly seven decades. She was a four-time Emmy, Emmy Award and two-time Golden Globe winner, and ...

came too. He introduced me to her as "the most intelligent director in Europe" which she responded with "Give him time!" Both De Martino and Cassavetes argued on the set but according to De Martino, the two ended production on good terms. ''Bandits in Rome'' was shot at De Laurentiis studios and on location in Rome. Director

discussed the film's location as an "Americanized Rome".

Release

''Bandits in Rome'' was released in Italy on 20 November 1968 where it was distributed by Paramount – De Laurentiis. It grossed a total of 320.84 million

lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current Turkish lira, currency of Turkey and also the local name of the Lebanese pound, currencies of Lebanon and of Syrian pound, Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, ...

on its theatrical run in Italy. As of 2013, the film has not been released on home video.

Reception

A review in the ''

Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' stated that the film was a "fairly literal imitation of the American location thrillers of the Forties and Fifties made by Hathaway, Siodmak and others, except that it is a little more calculated in its violence."

Notes

References

External links

* 1968 films 1960s Italian-language films Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films scored by Bruno Nicolai Films directed by Alberto De Martino 1968 crime films Italian gangster films Films shot in Rome Films set in Rome Films produced by Dino De Laurentiis 1960s Italian films Italian-language crime films {{1960s-Italy-film-stub