Dillinger Is Dead

This 1969 film from Italian auteur of excess and decadence Marco Ferreri is an eerie character study—set almost entirely inside a cluttered modern apartment filled with cultural detritus—that focuses on an industrial engineer named Glauco (Michel Piccoli) during one long night. Glauco is like a spirited kid in a life-size toy box, while his gorgeous but emotionally disconnected wife, Ginette (Anita Pallenberg), self-medicates to sleep. Glauco watches home movies, cooks a snack, and has quickie sex with the maid, Sabine (Annie Girardot). But what fascinates him the most is a handgun (which he cleans with olive oil) that ultimately becomes his tool of both domination and liberation in a vicious act of violence. Demanding, confrontational, and purposely alienating, Dillinger Is Dead was a radical film in its day, offering a skewed commentary on consumerism and pharmaceutical abuse. But the sexist attitude of entitlement of the (anti)hero leaves an ugly stain on the movie's attempted statement of rebellion. DVD extras include new video interviews with Piccoli and Italian film historian Adriano Aprà (who also has a cameo in the film), excerpts from a 1997 Cannes roundtable with filmmakers Bernardo Bertolucci and Francesco Rosi (among others) paying tribute to Ferreri (who died that year), and a booklet. Optional. (S. Axmaker)