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Il mattatore One of the greatest Italian actors of all time, Vittorio Gassman (Bitter Rice), known as Il Mattatore ‘The Showman’ earns his name from this film and his wonderful performance as an actor with the uncanny ability to mimic regional accents, allowing him to pull off a series of scams. Ingeniously plotted by screenwriters Ettore Scola and Ruggero Maccari who were behind some of the greatest films in the commedia all’italiana including Il sorpasso and Ugly, Dirty and Bad. Alternately known as Love & Larceny, Dino Risi (Lost Soul) directs this classic comedy which was nominated for the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and makes its English-subtitled Blu-ray debut. BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES: High-Definition digital transfers of Il mattatore presented in world premiere on Blu-ray Original uncompressed Italian mono PCM audio Newly translated optional English subtitles Interview with Andrea Bini, author of Male Anxiety and Psychopathology in Film: Comedy Italian Style Speaking with Gassman - documentary on the working relationship between Vittorio Gassman and Dino Risi, by Risi’s son Marco (2005, 31 mins) Love & Larceny - Michel Hazanavicius on Il Mattatore, an appreciation of the film, Gassman and Risi by the director of The Artist (2017, 23 mins) Trailer Newly translated optional English subtitles Year: 1960 Cert: 15 Format: Blu-ray Region: B RAD020BD EAN: 5060974680382 Release date: 08/12/2025
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Love and Larceny (1960)
101 min
Gerardo, an aspiring actor, trying unsuccessfully to cross over from comedy to tragedy, is involved, due to his ability to mimic dialects of Italy, in a scam concocted by Lallo against a rich cloth-merchant.