Vittorio Gassman

This complexly plotted comedy interweaves snippets from the lives of nearly 40 diverse patrons sitting at 14 tables in a little Italian trattoria. Though the diners come from all levels of society, most are bound by one or two common threads: their engagement in illicit romantic affairs and the fact that they are, for the most part, morally and spiritually bankrupt. The restaurant's unflappable, wise owner Flora (Fanny Ardant) is the only one with any real common sense. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this Italian comedy, eight lifelong friends attending their annual dinner party/reunion must re-evaluate their lives after they read a provocative letter from a group member who recently died. All of the remaining eight are retired. The letter suggests they all move into an empty convent and live the rest of their lives together. Though the eight seem outwardly comfortable and happy, the proposition becomes more enticing. As the evening wears on their truths are revealed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In 1939, Ramon (Jacques Penot) was a young man, caught up in his Barcelona family's involvement on the Republic side in the brutal Spanish Civil War. He and his family fled into exile ahead of Franco's troops. Now it is many years later, and he has come back to see how his old homestead fared in the intervening years. The only person he can find who is able to remember those years clearly is his family's old butler Claudio (Vittorio Gassman). This film is a sequel to the 1975 film by director Jaime Camino, Largas Vacaciones del 36. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This wickedly funny Italian comedy centers upon a lascivious, fun-loving old uncle who hands out blood-test certificates to potential lovers to prove that he is "clean" and wreaks all sorts of havoc when he must temporarily stay with his wealthy but emotionally constipated nephew. At first the nephew is appalled by his uncle's lust for wild-living, but in time he becomes utterly fascinated by the old man. Soon the previously staid young man finds himself drawn into his uncle's crazy life-style and begins learning the value of living life to the fullest. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A family history is recalled by the venerable patriarch Carlo (Vittorio Gassman) as he prepares to celebrate his 80th birthday. Young Carlo (Andrea Massimo) marries Beatrice (Stefania Sandrelli) in 1926 but later has an illicit affair with her bohemian artist sister Adriana (Fanny Ardant). Fascism, World War II, and the raising of children and grandchildren mark the passing of a lifetime. Old Carlo lives with his grandson where his recollections are interrupted by the gentle nagging of his beloved Beatrice. This feature received an Oscar nomination in 1987 for "Best Foreign Film." ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The vast differences 27 years makes between Italian comedy, the city of Rome, the stars in this film, and filmmaking itself are apparent in this 1985 sequel to the 1958 I Soliti Ignoti. Clips from the earlier film highlight the changes. Returning to reprise their roles are Marcello Mastroianni, Vittorio Gassman, and Tiberio Murgia. Tiberio (the character played by Mastroianni) has been released from jail, and he is unable to find work. Forced to reluctantly join up with the old gang leader Peppe (Gassman), Tiberio agrees to do a smuggling job when Peppe falls ill. Packing his vehicle with decoy passengers for the border guards, the run works well until everyone is heading back again -- then a series of misunderstandings lead to an unexpected turn of events and a mistaken killing. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This complex French tale eschews a single linear narrative in favor of two parallel storylines that move freely between past and present, reality and fantasy, to chronicle a scandalous love affair between a female author and a certain man who may or may not be a fabrication and the attempts of a screenwriter, wanting to use the story for a film, to learn the truth. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This comedy is set upon a remote Greek island and is very loosely based on Shakespeare's classic play. The tale centers on a middle-aged New York architect who abandons his wife and moves to the island with his teen-age daughter and his new lover, a Greek singer, in hopes of finding meaning in his life. The only resident of the island is an old hermit, and the father is finally happy until his wife, her lover, his son and others get in a shipwreck and end up marooned on the island with him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Maxwell Smart, the infamous Agent 86 from the '60s television sitcom Get Smart makes his feature-film debut in this goofy espionage spoof. This time, Smart and his cohorts must stop enemy spies from detonating a bomb that would destroy all the world's clothing. On television, the film was renamed The Return of Maxwell Smart. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Dear Father and Dear Papa are the English-language titles for the Italian domestic drama Caro Papa. Vittorio Gassman plays a flint-hearted industrialist who thinks as little of destroying his business partner as he does of cheating on his wife. Gassman's son is an apparently weak-willed lad, who may or may not have become involved in the "Red Brigade". When Gassman learns that his son has been appointed to execute someone known only as "P", he assumes the victim is his ex-partner. Only as he is being gunned down does the industrialist realize that "P" stands for Papa. But that's not the end of Dear Father; there's still a viciously ironic coda before the final fade-out. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Perhaps the least seen but most talked about film of Robert Altman's career, Quintet is a somber science fiction tale that takes place after a nuclear holocaust has thrown the world into another Ice Age. A man named Essex (Paul Newman) and his pregnant wife Vivia (Brigitte Fossey) are wandering the desolate, frozen landscape and attempting to find Essex's brother, Francha (Tom Hill). They finally locate him in a frozen city, occupied by a number of apocalyptic survivors who who pass their time playing a mysterious game called "Quintet." No one is able to explain just how it is played, but Grigor (Fernando Rey) appears to act as the referee, and the stakes of the game are unusually high - losing means being thrown out into the snow and devoured by Rottweilers. Francha is soon killed, not as a casualty of Quintet per se, but for playing an assassination game on the side to relieve his own ennui. As 'collateral damage,', Vivia and the rest of Francha's family are soon extinguished as well. Essex is not happy with the way they've been rubbed out, but as he attempts to seek revenge, he is only drawn deeper into the lethal competition of Quintet. While this picture received negative reviews on its initial release, in retrospect it is worth noting that the photography (by Jean Boffety) and production design (by Leon Ericksen) are beautiful and striking, and that the film boasts one of Altman's strongest international casts, including Vittorio Gassman, Nina Van Pallandt, and Bibi Andersson, as befits its European-art-movie ambiance; the influence of the equally opaque, allegorical, game-playing Last Year at Marienbad (1961) is especially strong. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide