Il caso Mattei (1972)

Enrico Mattei helped change Italy's future, first as freedom-fighter against the Nazis, then as an investor in methane gas through a public company, A.G.I.P., and ultimately as the head of ... See full summary »

Director:

Francesco Rosi

Writers:

Tito Di Stefano, Tonino Guerra (screenplay),

Stars:

Gian Maria Volonté, Luigi Squarzina, Gianfranco Ombuen

4 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gian Maria Volonté	...	Enrico Mattei
Luigi Squarzina	...	Journalist
Gianfranco Ombuen	...	Ing. Ferrari
Edda Ferronao	...	Mrs. Mattei
Accursio Di Leo	...	Sicilian important man #1
Giuseppe Lo Presti	...	Sicilian important man #2
Aldo Barberito	...	Official
Dario Michaelis	...	Carabinieri official
Peter Baldwin	...	McHale (journalist)
Franco Graziosi	...	Minister
Elio Jotta	...	Head of commission
Luciano Colitti	...	Bertuzzi
Terenzio Cordova	...	Police official
Camillo Milli	...	Change teller
Jean Rougeul	...	American official

Storyline

Enrico Mattei helped change Italy's future, first as freedom-fighter against the Nazis, then as an investor in methane gas through a public company, A.G.I.P., and ultimately as the head of ENI, a state body formed for the development of oil resources. October 27, 1962, he died when his private airplane crashed, one minute before it should land at Milan airport. Officially, he died of a flight accident. Actually, many journalists explored other plausible reasons for the untimely landing of the small aircraft.

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Plot Keywords:

italy | resistance | secret service | natural gas pipeline | post world war two | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

26 January 1972 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Mattei Affair

Company Credits

Production Co:

Verona Produzione, Vides Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Enrico Mattei: IF they want to kill me, let them do it.

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Connections

Featured in The Filmmaker and the Labyrinth (2004)

User Reviews

Blurb.

THE MATTEI AFFAIR is the fascinating story of Enrico Mattei, a man who helped change Italy's destiny "from a land of song and dance to an industrial nation," as he himself put it. By promoting methane gas as one of the country's greatest natural resources, he was able to bring Italy into the world market and make himself both powerful and hated. He became head of ENI, a state body formed for the development of oil resources. He was socialist by conviction, led a very modest private life, and had conflicts with powerful American oil capitalists. There is a memorable scene in the film in which in a meeting with these oil moguls, he is insultingly treated as a peon. His 1962 death in a private plane crash outside of Milan was believed to have been an assassination, and his death remains shrouded in mystery. This is not a documentary. It is a thought-provoking and intriguing drama about a great man, brilliantly portrayed by the great Italian actor Gian Maria Volonte' and made by the great Italian director Francesco Rosi.