Mario Monicelli.

Mario Monicelli was born on May 16, 1915 in Rome to Tomaso Monicelli, a novelist and editor. He studied at the University of Pisa. At the University of Milan, he studied history and directed a 16mm feature film that won a prize at the 1935 Venice Film Festival. His brothers Giorgio, Furio, and Franco Monicelli all became writers, continuing the family’s literary tradition.

Monicelli’s breakout came in 1958 with Big Deal on Madonna Street, a comedy that became an international hit and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. He followed with The Great War 1959, which won him the first of three Silver Bears for Best Director at Berlin. The Organizer 1963, starring Marcello Mastroianni, won awards and is considered a classic of Italian cinema. He directed The Girl with a Pistol 1968 and Speriamo che sia femmina 1986, among others. Monicelli received several David di Donatello awards, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement 1991, and the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.

Monicelli married Antonella Salerni and had three daughters: Martina born 1967, Ottavia born 1974, and Rosa born 1988. From 1978 until his death, his partner was writer Chiara Rapaccini. His father Tomaso was a prominent novelist and editor. Monicelli died by suicide on November 29, 2010, jumping from a window of the San Giovanni hospital in Rome after a short admission for prostate cancer.

Three of Monicelli’s films earned Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Language Film: Big Deal on Madonna Street, The Great War, and The Girl with a Pistol. He won three Silver Bears for Best Director, a feat few have matched. The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at Venice in 1991 and the David di Donatello for Lifetime Achievement honored his legacy. His work remains studied and celebrated internationally. Big Deal on Madonna Street stands as a classic of Italian cinema and is his most famous film.