Big Deal on Madonna Street

(aka "Big Deal on Madonna Street")

directed by Mario Monicelli
Italy 1958

An all-star cast and jazzy score highlight this charming comedy, a deft satire of classic caper films like Rififi. Big Deal on Madonna Street hilariously details the plight of a sad-sack group of bumbling thieves and their desperate attempts to pull off the perfect heist. Woody Allen stole liberally for his "Small Time Crooks".

Posters

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

DVD Comparison:

Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Fox - Region 2 - PAL

Big thanks to Paolo Pardo for the FOX Region 2 PAL Screen Caps!

(Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Fox - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Criterion Collection - spine # 113 Region 0 - NTSC	Fox Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	1:46:40	1:42:09
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.66 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.96 PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
Bitrate: Criterion NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Fox
Audio	Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	Italian (Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono), Italian (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles	English and none	English, Italian ( close-captioned), none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Home Vision Entertainment Theatrical Release Date: June 30th, 1958 Aspect Ratio: Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Black & White, Closed-captioned • Theatrical trailer - 4:3 (looks clean, if not restored) 2:32 DVD Release Date: June 5, 2001 Keep Case Chapters 25	Release Information: Studio: 20th Century Fox (Italy) Theatrical Release Date: June 30th, 1958 Aspect Ratio: Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Video comments by: - Mario Monicelli (9'26") - Suso Cecchi D'Amico (scriptwriter) (3'27") - Maurizio Porro (film critic) (14'50") • Screen Tests: - Vittorio Gassman mute test with audio commentary by the director (4'07") - Tiberio Murgia (2'14") - Carlo Pisacane (2'05") • Reviews from 7 newspapers/magazines • Three excerpts from the version dubbed in French • Photoalbum • Original Poster Keep Case Chapters 20
Comments:	The Criterion image quality is far beyond the Region 2 Italian PAL edition which has had contrast boosting and is nowhere near as sharp. The Fox edition has also been cropped slightly on the vertical. The Criterion is very well done with excellent contrast levels. The Fox (Italian) version has the audio option for 5.1 sound as well as the original mono and they have some strong extras, so if you are a fan, this might be an additional edition to get to augment the Criterion. - Gary W. Tooze