Gian Maria Volonté

Gian Maria Volonté (9 April 1933 – 6 December 1994) was an Italian actor. He is perhaps most famous outside of Italy for his roles as the main villain in Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars (credited in the USA as "Johnny Wels") and For a Few Dollars More. In Italy and much of Europe, he was notable for his roles in high-profile social dramas depicting the political and social stirrings of Italian and European society in the 1960s and 1970s, including four films directed by Elio Petri - We Still Kill the Old Way (1967), Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1971), The Working Class Goes to Heaven (1971) and Todo modo (1976). He is also recognized for his performances in Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Cercle Rouge (1970) and Giuliano Montaldo's Sacco & Vanzetti (1971). Description above from the Wikipedia article Gian Maria Volonté, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Ipotesi sulla morte di G. Pinelli (1970)

After a wave of arrests in 1969, Italian anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli allegedly falls out of a police building window while being interrogated. The circumstances leading to his death are re-enacted in three hypothetical versions in this attempt at counter-investigation.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Elio Petri
CAST:  Giancarlo Dettori  •  Luigi Diberti  •  Renzo Montagnani  •  Gian Maria Volonté

After a wave of arrests in 1969, Italian anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli allegedly falls out of a police building window while being interrogated. The circumstances leading to his death are re-enacted in three hypothetical versions in this attempt at counter-investigation.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Elio Petri
CAST:  Giancarlo Dettori  •  Luigi Diberti  •  Renzo Montagnani  •  Gian Maria Volonté

Sacco & Vanzetti (1971)

Boston, 1920. Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are charged and unfairly tried for murder on the basis of their anarchic political convictions.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Giuliano Montaldo
CAST:  Gian Maria Volonté  •  Riccardo Cucciolla  •  Cyril Cusack  •  Rosanna Fratello

Boston, 1920. Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are charged and unfairly tried for murder on the basis of their anarchic political convictions.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Giuliano Montaldo
CAST:  Gian Maria Volonté  •  Riccardo Cucciolla  •  Cyril Cusack  •  Rosanna Fratello

La tenda in piazza (1972)

The film recounts the struggle of the factory workers of five Italian factories, Cagli, Coca Cola, Filodont, Luciani and Metalfer. A montage of interviews in which the workers denounce the hardships and difficulties of living without wages and put forward their ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Gian Maria Volonté
CAST:  Gian Maria Volonté  •  Giuseppe Patroni Griffi  •  Luchino Visconti

The film recounts the struggle of the factory workers of five Italian factories, Cagli, Coca Cola, Filodont, Luciani and Metalfer. A montage of interviews in which the workers denounce the hardships and difficulties of living without wages and put forward their ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Gian Maria Volonté
CAST:  Gian Maria Volonté  •  Giuseppe Patroni Griffi  •  Luchino Visconti

The Suspect (1975)

Fascism has forced the leadership of the Italian Communist Party to settle in Paris. In Italy arrests of militants are decimating the organization, so Emilio is sent on a mission in the area of Turin, to put out of harm whistleblowers.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Francesco Maselli
CAST:  Gian Maria Volonté  •  Annie Girardot  •  Renato Salvatori  •  Gabriele Lavia

Fascism has forced the leadership of the Italian Communist Party to settle in Paris. In Italy arrests of militants are decimating the organization, so Emilio is sent on a mission in the area of Turin, to put out of harm whistleblowers.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Francesco Maselli
CAST:  Gian Maria Volonté  •  Annie Girardot  •  Renato Salvatori  •  Gabriele Lavia

Christ Stopped at Eboli (1979)

In the fascist Italy of 1935, a painter trained as a doctor is exiled to a remote region near Eboli. Over time, he learns to appreciate the beauty and wisdom of the peasants, and to overcome his isolation.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Francesco Rosi
CAST:  Gian Maria Volonté  •  Lea Massari  •  Alain Cuny  •  Irene Papas

In the fascist Italy of 1935, a painter trained as a doctor is exiled to a remote region near Eboli. Over time, he learns to appreciate the beauty and wisdom of the peasants, and to overcome his isolation.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Francesco Rosi
CAST:  Gian Maria Volonté  •  Lea Massari  •  Alain Cuny  •  Irene Papas

Zénon the Rebel (2019)

Zénon is the hero of “The Abyss”, the famous novel by Marguerite Yourcenar published in 1968. He is also the main character in André Delvaux’s film, played by Gian Maria Volonte, for the movie adaptation of the same book in 1988. But what does Zénon represent for ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Françoise Levie
CAST:  Johan Leysen  •  Marie-Christine Barrault  •  Marguerite Yourcenar  •  André Delvaux

Zénon is the hero of “The Abyss”, the famous novel by Marguerite Yourcenar published in 1968. He is also the main character in André Delvaux’s film, played by Gian Maria Volonte, for the movie adaptation of the same book in 1988. But what does Zénon represent for ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Françoise Levie
CAST:  Johan Leysen  •  Marie-Christine Barrault  •  Marguerite Yourcenar  •  André Delvaux

Reflections on a Political Cinema (1978)

This documentary addresses the challenges facing the Italian film industry in 1978 by focusing on the television productions of Francesco Rosi's CHRIST STOPPED AT EBOLI (1979) and Elio Petri's LE MANI SPORCHE (1978)  (more)

DIRECTION:  Boramy Tioulong
CAST:  Francesco Rosi  •  Elio Petri  •  Gian Maria Volonté

This documentary addresses the challenges facing the Italian film industry in 1978 by focusing on the television productions of Francesco Rosi's CHRIST STOPPED AT EBOLI (1979) and Elio Petri's LE MANI SPORCHE (1978)  (more)

DIRECTION:  Boramy Tioulong
CAST:  Francesco Rosi  •  Elio Petri  •  Gian Maria Volonté

La strada più lunga (1965)

Michele, a bourgeois intellectual, adhered to fascism for years. After fighting abroad, he returns home in 1943, but is now tired and refuses to join the Republic of Salò. His comrades still want him with them, but this Social Republic, imposed by the SS arms, does ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Nelo Risi
CAST:  Gian Maria Volonté  •  Graziella Galvani  •  Augusto Mastrantoni  •  Giampiero Albertini

Michele, a bourgeois intellectual, adhered to fascism for years. After fighting abroad, he returns home in 1943, but is now tired and refuses to join the Republic of Salò. His comrades still want him with them, but this Social Republic, imposed by the SS arms, does ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Nelo Risi
CAST:  Gian Maria Volonté  •  Graziella Galvani  •  Augusto Mastrantoni  •  Giampiero Albertini

Noi siamo cinema (2021)

An Italian documentary about Italian cinema.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Andrea Rurali  •  Gianluca Genovese
CAST:  Scarlett Johansson  •  Giulietta Masina  •  Sandra Milo  •  Claudia Cardinale

An Italian documentary about Italian cinema.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Andrea Rurali  •  Gianluca Genovese
CAST:  Scarlett Johansson  •  Giulietta Masina  •  Sandra Milo  •  Claudia Cardinale

Forgotten Activism (2017)

Volonté, the militant. How many people know this singular and important aspect of the great Milanese actor's life? "Forgotten Activism" attempts to reconstruct a particular profile of the actor Gian Maria Volonté, the one concerning his political commitment, an ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Patrizio Partino
CAST:  Gian Maria Volonté  •  Oreste Scalzone

Volonté, the militant. How many people know this singular and important aspect of the great Milanese actor's life? "Forgotten Activism" attempts to reconstruct a particular profile of the actor Gian Maria Volonté, the one concerning his political commitment, an ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Patrizio Partino
CAST:  Gian Maria Volonté  •  Oreste Scalzone

Reggio Calabria (1972)

The film retraces the events of the Reggio Calabria revolt and reconstructs, with images of the protagonists and places, the atmosphere of those tragic days in the early 1970s.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Gian Maria Volonté  •  Armenia Balducci
CAST: 

The film retraces the events of the Reggio Calabria revolt and reconstructs, with images of the protagonists and places, the atmosphere of those tragic days in the early 1970s.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Gian Maria Volonté  •  Armenia Balducci
CAST: 
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