Vitti d'arte, Vitti d'amore

Two convicts escape from prison and evade the law by taking hostage the middle-class family of a doctor. One of the jailbirds calls the local television station, requesting that they broadcast his demand for a plane so they can escape the country. The television director and his crew show up to film the hostage crisis, and then things get progressively more bizarre and satirical. Not content with the living drama, he directs everyone's actions to make the event more newsworthy.

This brisk, engaging documentary surveys the life, work, and legacy of Vittorio Gassman, the Italian screen icon who began his illustrious career as a serious dramatic stage actor before going on to subvert that image in classic works of commedia all’italiana by Mario Monicelli (Big Deal on Madonna Street), Dino Risi (Il Sorpasso), and Ettore Scola (We All Loved Each Other So Much). Through a wealth of interviews, film clips, and archival footage, Sono Gassman! reveals how Gassman’s comedic screen persona cannily reflected and critiqued mid-20th-century Italian society, while shedding light on the complex inner life of the man himself.

A father and his four sons during the 18th century have their lives thrown into turmoil with the arrival of a woman at their villa. She quickly takes on multiple roles of sister, mother, confidant and lover to all, plunging the men into confusion and leading to an almost mythic ending.

The Pope is disturbed by the fact that today's youth are not as spiritually inclined as they should be, and so he decides to set up a Vatican television station and entice them back into the religion of their ancestors. In order to particularly grab the wandering flock, a priest invites the comedians from "The Other Sunday," an actual comedy program on Italian television, to perform on this new channel.

This 2006 documentary was filmed on the occasion of director Dino Risi's ninetieth birthday. It features interviews with his collaborators, friends, and family, as well as Risi himself, who talks candidly about his personal successes and the obstacles he has faced.

1943, an estate north of Firenze. The weight of the world is on the shoulders of Penny, who's about 10. An orphan, she must watch over her little sister when they go to live with her aunt and uncle. Penny's a Catholic, and worries about her uncle's soul. He's Jewish, progressive and a free thinker, a fair boss, and devoted to his family. He can be stern, so Penny also worries that she'll never please him and that he won't love her. Then, after the Allied forces land in Sicily and the Germans begin their retreat, Penny must worry about her uncle's life. She tries logic and appeals to human decency. Can a child keep the sky from falling?

SABATO (first episode): A company receives the visit of a very very important person. This person works for a biggest Japanese society, and this encounter is decisive for the small Italian company. DOMENICA (second episode): After a hard day of job, a man returns in it's house for sleep. But a series of facts hinder this, and the poor man does not succeed to sleep. VENERDI (third episode): A famous and rich creator of sexy ballets have various problems with a dancer. She want to leave the theater and marry a Mafia man.

Some of the cult protagonists of the television program "L'altra domenica" (The Other Sunday) delight in gags and skits in the name of fun. The film includes all the jokes, monologues, and gags that were cut from the previous film for runtime reasons.

A story of Flaiano's human and professional journey, celebrating the anticipatory gaze of an intellectual rare for ideological independence, talent and eclecticism.