The Easy Life vs The Easy Rider

Risi describes commedia italiana as a fairly natural growth from verismo. Fellini for instance worked in both genres (I Vitelloni is a good example of Commedia with one of the other key comedians - Alberto Sordi). Risi's co-scenarist, Ettore Scola went on to be one of the finest practictioners (Brutti, Sporchi e Cattivi). Il Sorpasso remains for me the absolute classic because it is the perfect example of one of the most distinctive features of Commedia Italiana - mirthless humour. You are constantly amused but you never laugh because there is also a constant sense of unease and even embarrassment. The pairing of Gassman with Trintignant is brilliant in this respect because the viewers shares Trintignant's ambiguous response to events (unease, embarrassment, exhiliaration, liberation), an effect increased by the occasional snatches of interior monologue. Of its kind I think this is a near-perfect film and still does not receive anything like the credit it deserves. Bizarrely monocultural American commentaries on 'road movies' frequently fail even to mention it. Although Risi affects a teasing antagonism towards Antonioni (referred to in the film via Gassman but also constantly in interviews by Risi himself), the film has moments which reproduce effortlessly (and without pretention) effects of which Antonioni would have been proud. The mesmeric scene where Trintignant passes, on the way to a telephone, through a crowd of rather listless dancers (twist) is as fine an image of 'alienation' as anything I have seen in a film.