[San Francisco] Behind every great Italian auteur stands a great Italian actor—or several. Where would Federico Fellini be without Marcello Mastroianni, or Mario Monicelli without Alberto Sordi or Totò? This series, presented in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco, celebrates classic Italian cinema through its leading men, from national icons like Vittorio Gassman to the non-professionals who brought extraordinary vitality to works by Vittorio De Sica and Pier Paolo Pasolini. Five films starring Gassman, generously provided by Cinecittà, reveal the actor in his comic, mischievous, and melancholy modes. Gathered around Gassman are Sordi, the Roman Everyman who cut a darkly funny figure in commedia all’italiana; Totò, master of the comic gesture and “one of the most naturally funny individuals to ever mug before the movie camera” (J. Hoberman, Village Voice); Gian Maria Volontè, snakelike for Sergio Leone and brilliantly satiric for Elio Petri; and, of course, Mastroianni, whose irresistible suavity and actorly ease were coupled with a deep sensitivity. Spend a few summer hours with this cast of Latin lovers and losers, saints, sinners, and citizens, and revel in the faces and voices of Italian film.

When: July 24, 2009 - August 29, 2009 (See Schedule Below)
Where: PFA Theater Address: 2575 Bancroft Way (Between College and Telegraph )
Buy Tickets: At the Box Office or Online

Italian Film Series Schedule

Friday, July 24, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.
Film: Mafioso - Alberto Lattuada (Italy, 1962)

Friday, July 24, 2009 at 8:35 p.m.
Film: Scent of a Woman - Dino Risi (Italy, 1974)

Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 6:00 p.m.
Film: 8 1/2 - Federico Fellini (Italy, 1963)

Sunday, July 26, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
Film: Brancaleone’s Army - Mario Monicelli (Italy, 1966)

Wednesday, July 29, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.
Film: La Dolce Vita - Federico Fellini (Italy, 1960)

Thursday, July 30, 2009 at 8:15 p.m.
Film: Mafioso - Alberto Lattuada (Italy, 1962)

Saturday, August 1, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.
Film: The Organizer - Mario Monicelli (Italy/France, 1963)

Sunday, August 2, 2009 at 5:00 p.m.
Film: I vitelloni - Federico Fellini (Italy, 1953)

Sunday, August 2, 2009 at 7:05 p.m.
Film: The Family - Ettore Scola (Italy, 1987)

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 7:00 p.m.
Film: The Desert of the Tartars - Valerio Zurlini (Italy/France/Iran, 1976)

Sunday, August 9, 2009 at 5:00 p.m.
Film: The Bicycle Thief - Vittorio De Sica (Italy, 1949)

Saturday, August 15, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.
Film: Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion - Elio Petri (Italy, 1970)

Saturday, August 15, 2009 at 8:40 p.m.
Film: We All Loved Each Other So Much - Ettore Scola (Italy, 1974)

Friday, August 21, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.
Film: Hawks and Sparrows - Pier Paolo Pasolini (Italy, 1965)

Friday, August 21, 2009 8:25 p.m.
Film: The Gospel According to St. Matthew - Pier Paolo Pasolini (Italy, 1964)

Saturday, August 29, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.
Film: A Fistful of Dollars - Sergio Leone (Italy, 1964)

Saturday, August 29, 2009 at 8:30 p.m.
Film: For a Few Dollars More - Sergio Leone (Italy, 1965)

Series curated by Susan Oxtoby. Presented in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco. PFA wishes to thank the following individuals and institutions for their assistance with this series: Camilla Cormanni and Rosaria Folcarelli, Cinecittà Holding, for providing the five Vittorio Gassman films; Amelia Carpentino Antonucci, Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco; Emily Horn, Paramount Pictures; Suzanne LeRoy, Sony Pictures Releasing; Eric Di Bernardo, Rialto Pictures; Peter Meyer, Corinth Films; and Brian Belovarac, Janus Films.