petra_ste Comedy is the hardest genre to do well. Put characters in a haunted house with a skilled director behind the camera, and you've got a passable horror. Get two appealing leads with a nice chemistry, and you've got a decent romance. A compelling premise and solid visual effects make a watchable sci-fi flick. And so on. But comedy is subtle and elusive. There are no safe, foolproof formulas: so many things have to work (characters, cast, dialogue, plot, pacing, direction...), and any flaw can be fatal and make the whole structure collapse.I Soliti Ignoti is a gem: a character-driven, briskly paced parody of a heist movie with sharp dialogue and unforgettable vignettes. There's no fat on the bones, not a single wasted sequence. Characters are memorable, from Gassman's dim-witted leader (this was his first comedic performance, a revelation) who plans a great robbery but tragically overestimates his own cunning to his sarcastic right-hand man (Mastroianni), from solemn Sicilian rogue Ferribotte to ancient, clumsy, gluttonous, overly enthusiastic Capannelle. A cameo from Totò as a skeptical master thief is one of the many highlights of the movie.While not as abrasive as the other great master of Italian comedy of those years (Pietro Germi), director Monicelli manages to squeeze in some caustic social commentary, as he examines with sympathy the urban underbelly of losers and social rejects.A masterpiece, and among the gems of Italian cinema.10/10

cincywalsh This movie was a great parody of the various heist films made at the time. I have one question that I hope someone can help me with. I had seen this movie at the time of its release and loved it. About a year ago, I was thinking about it and got it to show to my wife. It was everything that I remembered, except for one thing. I have a distinct visual memory of one of the gang slipping down a coal chute to get into a building and coming out glistening and announcing " they converted to oil". But this scene wasn't in the movie. Am I crazy or was there more than one version? Could they have changed the film at some point during the intervening years? My memory of the scene is so exact I hate to think I've made this up and believed it all these years.

MartinHafer "Rififi" was a wonderful heist film and spurred on similar films like "Bob le Flambeur" and "Grand Slam". All these films showed elaborate robberies that were carried out with perfect precision. The teams were professional and highly skilled in each. However, with the Italian film "Big Deal on Madonna Street", we have a film that appears a lot like these other films but turns out to be a comedy of errors--where NOTHING goes right.The film begins with a guy getting caught for a petty crime and sent to jail. The problem is that he has a good plan for a robbery that will make him rich--and he and his gang of inepts cannot do the heist. So, they find an idiot who is willing to take credit for the crime that the boss is in jail for so that he can be released. Well, things DON'T work as they plan...and that's pretty much the way the entire film goes.This comedy is pleasant and enjoyable. However, I did not love the film and didn't quite enjoy it as much as the average viewer. It isn't that I disliked the film...it's just that it never really made me laugh out loud very often. It was funny...but only mildly so. Decent acting, however, and I did enjoy watching everyone yell so much....and made me wonder if this is in any way true of Italians (I sure assume it's not)!

jotix100 Cosimo, a small time criminal in Rome, decides to steal a car one night. He is too inept to get the job done, attracting the attention of the patrolling police. Landing in jail, Cosimo hears of a possibility for a caper, the only problem is, he still has to serve his time. With the help of his friends, a search for a man to come forward to confess to the actual crime would clear Cosimo. After asking around, without much success, Peppe, another street hustler, and womanizer, decides to do it for the money. Unfortunately, he ends up in jail and Cosimo too. Jail time proves to be an opportunity for Peppe to learn about the caper Cosimo has been so carefully planning.When Peppe is released, he looks for the men that would have been involved with Cosimo in the original plan. They include an assortment of petty street criminals who have no experience in how to go about doing the job. Enter Dante, a master safe cracker, who for money, will teach the gang how to open the safe at one of Rome's pawn shops. The only problem with the plan, Dante will not participate, thus leaving everything to Peppe and the gang.Peppe, who has met Nicoletta, the niece of the occupants of the apartment he thought was empty, has a short romance with the woman, from whom he learns when will the two old ladies be away. Involved in the gang is Mario, who discovers the beautiful Carmelina, sister of Ferribotti, a Sicilian man who is guarding her chaste for a possible good marriage. There is Tiberio, a photographer, whose wife is serving jail time and he is now taking care of his infant son. Campanelle, an inept older man who is always hungry, completes the gang.When the big night for the heist arrives, everything that could gone wrong, and more, is what happens. The men have absolutely no clue as to what to do, therefore, their plan will never be put in action. At the end, the gang come out empty handed, not before Campanelle discovers a pot of pasta and chick peas, which he praises to the others, who soon share the dish with him, agreeing how delicious it was.Mario Monicelli, the director, who also collaborated with the screen play, seemed to be doing a funny take off on the more serious "Rififi", directed by Jules Dassin. That's where the comparison ends. Mr. Monicelli was more interesting in capitalizing in the comic aspects of a serious caper with a bunch of lunatics that have no clue what they really want. The result is one of the best movies of the fifties. The director was blessed in bringing together some of the best of the Italian cinema of the era.The wonderful Vittorio Gassman is Peppe, the man in charge of the caper. This legendary actor was at a great moment of his career, and although his character is not a serious one, he runs away with the film because he clearly understood what made Peppe tick. Toto, another magnificent actor plays Dante, who knows a thing, or two, about how to crack a safe. Renato Salvatori makes a good impression as Mario, who discovers he is in love with Carmelina. Marcello Mastroianni has a small role here, as Tiberio, the man with a wife in jail who must bring the infant son to all the gang meetings. Carlo Pisacane has some excellent moments as Campanelle. The same goes for Tiberio Murgia who as Ferribotte wants to protect his sister from all his male friends.The women in the film have lesser roles to play, but they clearly show they understood the material well. Carla Gravina makes a great Nicoletta. Claudia Cardinali appears as Carmelina, and lastly, Rosanna Rory is seen as Norma, Cosimo's girlfriend.The DVD we recently watched has been carefully transferred and looks as good as when the film was released. It helps that Monicelli employed cinematographer Gianni DiVenzano to capture his story in black and white. The jazzy score by Piero Umiliani goes along well with the action. Mario Monicelli directed with an eye for the picaresque in a film that is imitated, but never equaled.