La propriété, c'est plus le vol

Absolutely fabulous film from director, Elio Petri, this is Italian crime without a car chase or punch up (well almost). More than a hint of the politics in the title and this is such a well told tale of corruption and theft. Or to put it another way, the rich person's crimes versus those of the poor. What is worse creaming off the cash on a building project or stealing someone's jewellery? When I first heard the film was political and comedic, I was very wary but how well this is done and the comic moments are funny and are not slapstick silliness. All the performances are great including a wonderful one from Daria Nicolodi (she of many early Argento movies) as she hobble about in heels and hot pants. The main storyline follows a humble young bank cashier who takes offence at the crimes of the local butcher (who has fingers in many pies) and decides to try and teach him a lesson. I had never heard of this film before but am stunned at the quality of the film and can unreservedly recommend this for I sat smiling throughout, constantly being stimulated by the arguments around the notion of theft. Major discovery and now for the rest of the trilogy.

If you want to know what marxism-madrakism is, don't miss this movie! A great example of smart and politicized Italian cinema of the seventies, a real cult in my opinion. The main character is a sort of modern times psychopathic robin-hood whom works as a clerk in a bank, but is allergic to money! At a certain point he is so exasperated that he decides that he must mine rich people's private property in order to give a shock to their lives. His main target is a rich butcher (Ugo Tognazzi), but he decides not to steal his money, but things that he needs more: his butcher knife, tool of his trade, his hat, his woman... In the meantime, he enters the dark world of delinquency meeting a professional thief which he manages to blackmail so that he can help him in his misdoings. Between the world of marxist idealism and pure delinquency, the whole story is fantastic and unreal, with references to Fromm's "Life between having and being". The character would like to "have" (money and things) but in the same moment he also wants to "be" (save his personality), but he undesrtands that it's impossible ("This is the problem!", he repeats) . The final is also fantastic, with the thief's funeral in which a great Gigi Proietti gives us a monologue on the importance of thiefs in society. A must for lovers of the genre.

Total (Flavio Bucci), a young bank cashier, has been wondering for some time if his life, with its grey, dismal prospect, is worth living. He is aware of the illicit careers and rise to riches of many of his clients. He decide to start a new life : new clothes, new cars, new women. His "new look" begins discreetly, a few small robberies in supermarkets, progressing to more important fraud.

Director Elio Petri, best known for "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion" (1970), felt that "Property" emphasized the role of money in our society and how power destroys the individual. Although he had left the Communist Party by this point in his life, he still had strong leftist and anti-capitalist leanings that are evoked in this narrative. Even the title is a clear allusion to anarchist writer Proudhon. His producer, Claudio Mancini, has been described s a "middle class Communist", which I think would also suit Petri very well.

Our lead character describes himself as a "Mandrakian Marxist" and others have pointed out that he commits "symbolic thefts (that) expose the hypocrisy inherent in the concept of property." It really is interesting. He has no intention to better himself, but instead prefers to be largely an annoyance to a butcher who visits the bank. A serious thief would, I assume, be planning a bank heist. What systemic change can be achieved by merely making a few things disappear?

Star Flavio Bucci had previously worked with Petri on "The Working Class Goes to Heaven" (1971), though he is best remembered today for his supporting role in Dario Argento's "Suspiria" (1977). Coincidentally, Argento's longtime partner Daria Nicolodi appears in "Property", a year before she ever met Argento. Heck, even cinematographer Luigi Kuveiller would go on to work with Argento on "Deep Red" (1975). The Italian cinema is an incestuous world.

Another reviewer notes the interesting role Nicolodi plays in this world: "As much an object in the Butcher's eyes as his other possessions, Anita represents one of Property's most interesting, and troubling, qualities. Utterly passive in the face of multiple sexual assaults and apparently complicit in her own objectification, Anita is emblematic of one of the uglier aspects of Italian crime cinema of the era." What I find interesting about this casting is that Anita is seen as property (a common sentiment of the time), but this fact is made known to the audience. Nicolodi herself could easily be considered a feminist; whereas Italian cinema was (and is) a man's world, she left her mark on scripts like few other women.

Last, and certainly not least, we should call attention to the under-rated score. The composer, Ennio Morricone, is anything but under-rated. But this is not one of the films he is often associated with, and yet I would say it is some of his finer work. Unfortunately, the Arrow Video release does not have an isolated score track or bonus disc, but if a stand-alone soundtrack does not already exist, I imagine it will soon.

Arrow Video brings us a 4K restoration from the original film negative, and brand-new interviews with actor Flavio Bucci, producer Claudio Mancini, and make-up artist Pierantonio Mecacci (yet another Argento veteran). We learn much about Bucci's career, and his admiration for Mancini (whom he says we owe a great debt to). Mancini speaks widely, including on "Todo Modo", so viewers are able to get a sense of that debt Bucci mentions. Mecacci has plenty of stories about a strike and other noteworthy events, and speaks fondly of his work with Nicolodi; for being the "make-up artist", he was very much involved in every aspect of the shooting.

The only other film by Elio Petri I ever watched was "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion", but that just happens to be one of the greatest movies in history, and one that promptly catapulted itself in my all-time personal top 10. Also because of that great film, I didn't hesitate for a second to purchase the BluRay of "Property Is No Longer A Theft" - even though it was quite expensive. Based on the IMDb rating, the favorable reviews, and my own previous experience with a Petri film, I was certain this would be great.

And it is great, ... but sadly not my kind of great. I love cult horror, Poliziotesschi, and Gialli from Italy, but "Property..." is none of that. It's a pitch-black comedy, and more particularly a satire on contemporary capitalism. Not my cup of tea. Despite a strong first half hour and spirited performances throughout, I quickly lost interest. The movie begins very strong, with a bank heist going wrong and the persona of a corrupt and arrogant local butcher triumphing as the big hero. Total, a meaningless bank employee, is so frustrated by having nothing despite living an honest and hard-working life, that he quits his job and dedicates his time to stealing from the butcher.

It's a bonkers version of Robin Hood, basically. Hood stole from the rich to give to the poor, whereas Total steals from only one rich guy and strictly to drive him crazy. He steals a butcher's knife (during a powerful sequence illustrating how the already wealthy butcher gets richer from ripping off his customers) and kidnaps his wife (played by Dario Argento's partner Daria). There are a handful of truly great and masterful sequences, but also a lot of tedious ones; - like the (overlong) monologues of nearly every lead character as they talk/yell straight into the camera, as well as every single sequence featuring Total's father. The story is unnecessarily convoluted, and I'm sure I missed out on many of the spoof elements, what with this being socially and contemporarily relevant in Italy of the 1970s, 10 years before I was born and more than 50 years ago by now.

In maestro, Elio Petri's final gripping instalment of his outstanding "trilogy of neurosis", the hugely respected, enviably versatile Italian director's stunning satire 'Property is No Longer a Theft' (1973) is a blackly funny, darkly sensual assault upon bourgeois sensibilities that uncomfortably feels more than a little relevant 40 years on, and is therefore richly deserving of the recently restored, downright essential Arrow Academy Blu-ray, which lavishly presents the exceptionally intelligent, savagely skewed satire, 'Property is No Longer a Theft' in so gloriously a vivid fashion as to highlight the uncommon perspicacity of the film's deliciously caustic script!

Featuring immaculate performances from a remarkable cast of Italian screen icons: Ugo Tognazzi, Flavio Bucci, and a memorably eccentric turn by the incomparable Giallo siren, Daria Nicolodi. Elio Petri's stylish, rewardingly literate, sacred cow slaughtering satire provides a feast of visually stimulating filmmaking from this inventive Italian iconoclast, and, lastly, but by no means beastly, the impeccable, Ennio Morricone score is yet another sublime sonic triumph from the unrivalled musical iconoclast! Deservedly rescued from languishing ignominiously in some forgotten film vault, Petri's immersive, fascinatingly enigmatic agitprop thriller positively scintillates on HD, and resolutely retains all of its considerable power to delight, and enthral those canny cineastes who have the conspicuously good taste to track down Petri's unusually cogent masterpiece!