Down & Dirty Movie Review

In A Special Day, Ettore Scola already demonstrated his unique gift for tackling a difficult subject with sensitivity, and then shaping a lovely and graceful film. The hilarious Down & Dirty is about a large Italian family who live in a hovel and who spend most of their time trying to kill each other. The humor here isn't the least bit polite, with Scola (who collaborated on the script with his Special Day co-writer, Ruggero Mac-cari) aiming for the broadest possible laughter. The impact of Down & Dirty is even more amazing because its entire cast looks, acts, and IS non-professional, with the exception of Nino Manfredi, the leader of this lavishly gross clan. AKA: Dirty, Mean and Nasty; Brutti, Sporchi e Cattivi; Ugly, Dirty and Bad.

1976 115m/C IT Nino Manfredi, Francesco Anniballi, Maria Bosco; D: Ettore Scola; W: Ettore Scola, Rug-gero Maccari; C: Dario Di Palma; M: Armando Trova-joli. Cannes Film Festival ‘76: Best Director (Scola). VHS, Closed Caption