La vita agra (It’s a Hard Life). 1964. Italy. Directed by Carlo Lizzani. Screenplay by Sergio Amidei, Luciano Bianciardi, Lizzani, Luciano Vincenzoni. With Ugo Tognazzi, Giovanna Ralli, Rossana Martini. In Italian; English subtitles. 104 min.
Based on Luciano Bianciardi’s semiautobiographical bestselling novel—which Italo Calvino praised as a key example of the “industrial literature” produced during Italy’s economic boom years—La vita agra stars Ugo Tognazzi as a neurotic intellectual who seeks to avenge the deaths of 43 miners by blowing up the company’s modern Milanese headquarters.
DCP from Luce Cinecittà; courtesy Surf Film