The Assassin (1961) in Color — Starring Marcello Mastroianni & Micheline Presle

The Assassin (1961) — Buy This Classic in Color

Experience the brilliant Italian crime drama L’assassino (1961) Colorized — known internationally as The Assassin and The Lady Killer of Rome — directed by Elio Petri in his stunning feature debut, and starring Marcello Mastroianni and Micheline Presle — now available for purchase in stunning color for just €15.00. When a charming, unscrupulous antique dealer is hauled in for questioning after the murder of his wealthy older mistress, he insists on his innocence — but the more he talks, the more his own character condemns him. This professionally colorized version brings the cool, sophisticated visual style of early 1960s Italian cinema to vivid new life. Own this DRM-free digital download and watch a masterclass in psychological suspense in colour.

Originally shot in black and white, this landmark classic film of Italian cinema is now available as a professionally colorized classic movie.

Plot Summary

Alfredo Martelli (Marcello Mastroianni) is a successful, self-satisfied antique dealer in Rome — handsome, charming, and thoroughly amoral. He lives well, exploiting social connections and the affections of wealthy women with equal ease. When his much older mistress Adalgisa De Matteis (Micheline Presle) is found murdered, Alfredo is the obvious suspect. He had motive, opportunity, and a relationship he had been trying to end.

The police commissioner Palumbo (Salvo Randone) takes a particular interest in the case — not with the blunt aggression of a detective in a conventional thriller, but with patient, almost philosophical curiosity. He invites Alfredo to the station for what seems like an informal conversation. What follows is something more unsettling than a formal interrogation: a prolonged, probing dialogue that forces Alfredo to reconstruct his own past, reveal the texture of his character, and confront everything he has preferred not to think about.

As Alfredo talks — confidently, defensively, with the practiced ease of a man used to charming his way through difficulty — we see a portrait of a certain type of Italian bourgeois emerge with devastating clarity. We see his relationship with Adalgisa as it really was: the casual exploitation disguised as affection. We see his treatment of Antonella Nogara (Cristina Gaïoni), the young woman who genuinely loves him and whom he treats with indifferent cruelty. We learn about the corrupt older gentleman Vecchio Signore (Francesco Grandjacquet) whose patronage Alfredo has cultivated.

And throughout it all, the question of whether Alfredo actually committed the murder remains brilliantly, deliberately unresolved — because in Elio Petri’s vision, moral guilt is far more interesting than legal guilt. The film’s final moments deliver a conclusion that is simultaneously a surprise and a perfect logical expression of everything that has come before.

Cast & Crew

Director: Elio Petri

Screenplay: Elio Petri, Tonino Guerra

Stars: Marcello Mastroianni as Alfredo Martelli, Micheline Presle as Adalgisa De Matteis, Cristina Gaïoni as Antonella Nogara, Salvo Randone as Commissario Palumbo, Andrea Checchi as Morello, Francesco Grandjacquet as Vecchio Signore, Enrico Maria Salerno, Marco Mariani as Commissario Margiotta, Franco Ressel as Dottore Francesconi, Mac Ronay as Suicida

Marcello Mastroianni, already an international star following La dolce vita (1960), brings extraordinary nuance to Alfredo — a man who is genuinely charming and genuinely contemptible, simultaneously the most and least sympathetic figure in the film. The performance requires him to sustain an essentially unlikable character for nearly 100 minutes while keeping the audience’s attention fully engaged. He does it with complete mastery. Elio Petri — who would later direct the Oscar-winning Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970) — announces himself here as a filmmaker of exceptional intelligence and precision. The film’s screenplay, co-written with the great Tonino Guerra (Antonioni’s regular collaborator), gives the story its distinctive intellectual texture.

Why Buy This Classic in Color?

The colorization of L’assassino brings Elio Petri’s meticulously composed images of early 1960s Rome to dazzling life — the sleek showrooms of the antiques trade, the elegant apartments of the Roman bourgeoisie, the austere corridors of the police questura, and Mastroianni’s impeccably tailored suits all gain a tactile richness through the professionally colorized restoration. Italian cinema of this period had an extraordinary eye for surface and texture, and colorization reveals what the original black-and-white photography encoded but could not express. The era-accurate frame-by-frame colorization process uses advanced digital techniques to honor the film’s visual sophistication. Buy The Assassin (1961) Colorized today for €15.00 and own this landmark of Italian cinema in a DRM-free colorized version.

Se preferisci guardare i grandi classici italiani a colori — in una versione colorizzata professionalmente fotogramma per fotogramma — questo download è per te. L’assassino (1961) è ora disponibile in una splendida versione colorizzata, pronta per il download immediato.

Historical Significance

L’assassino was Elio Petri’s first feature film, and it announced one of the most important voices in Italian political cinema. Petri would go on to direct La classe operaia va in paradiso (1971) and Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970), which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. This debut already displays his central preoccupation: the Italian bourgeoisie’s complicity in its own moral degradation, and the way state institutions exist not to establish truth but to manage guilt. The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival (1961) and was an immediate critical success. The screenplay, co-written with the great Tonino Guerra, brings extraordinary literary intelligence to what is structurally a police procedural. The restored colorized version makes this milestone of Italian cinema available in a new and vivid format.

Technical Details

• Format: MP4 / MKV digital download
• Resolution: HD 720p
• Colorized: Yes, professional AI-assisted colorization
• Audio: Italian mono soundtrack
• Runtime: Approximately 97 minutes
• DRM-free: Yes — watch on any device
• Instant download: Available immediately after purchase
• Price: €15.00

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Movie-Specific Questions

Q: What is the Italian title of The Assassin?
A: The original Italian title is L’assassino, which translates directly as “The Assassin.” The film is also known internationally as The Lady Killer of Rome. It was Elio Petri’s debut feature, written with Tonino Guerra and starring Marcello Mastroianni.

Q: Is The Assassin a conventional murder mystery?
A: Not exactly. While the film has the structure of a police procedural — a man suspected of murder is questioned by police — it is really a psychological portrait and a social satire. The question of whether Alfredo actually killed his mistress is almost secondary to the moral indictment the film constructs through his own testimony.

Q: Who directed The Assassin (1961)?
A: The film was directed by Elio Petri in his feature debut. Petri later became one of Italy’s most celebrated filmmakers, winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970). The screenplay was co-written with Tonino Guerra, one of Italian cinema’s most distinguished screenwriters.

Digital Download Questions

Q: Is this the complete film?
A: Yes. This is the complete 1961 Elio Petri feature at its full runtime of approximately 97 minutes. The colorization has been applied to the entire film — nothing has been cut or altered beyond the addition of colour.

Q: What format is the download?
A: The film is delivered as a high-quality MP4/MKV file in HD 720p resolution. This professionally colorized version lets you watch on any modern device or media player — television, laptop, tablet, or phone.

Q: Is the download DRM-free?
A: Yes, your purchase is completely DRM-free. You own the file outright and can watch it on any device without restrictions or recurring fees.

Q: How quickly will I receive the download?
A: Your download link is available immediately after payment is confirmed. You can begin watching The Assassin (1961) Colorized within minutes of your purchase.

Related Colorized Classics

• 8½ (1963)
• La Dolce Vita (1960)
• Il Sorpasso (1962)
• La Notte (1961)
• Rocco and His Brothers (1960)