Marcello Gatti
Cinematographer · Died November 26, 2013, aged 89 · Rome, Italy
Marcello Gatti (Rome, February 9, 1924 - Rome, November 26, 2013) was an Italian cinematographer. He was one of Italy's most important cinematographers. During his long career, he won five Nastri d'argento, photographed two Oscar-nominated films The Battle of Algiers by Gillo Pontecorvo and The Four Days of Naples by Nanni Loy, and another Palme d'Or at Cannes Chronicle of the Embers years; he worked among others with Roman Polanski, Carlo Lizzani, George Pan Cosmatos and Giancarlo Giannini, who chose him for his directorial debut with Ternosecco. The film for which he is often remembered is The Battle of Algiers (1966), which won the Golden Lion at Venice and had three Oscar nominations, standing out precisely because of a memorable black-and-white, grainy, documentary photography inspired by the style of cinéma vérité [2] that Gatti had already begun to elaborate in Nanni Loy's Le quattro giornate di Napoli (1962), also nominated for an Oscar. With Pontecorvo he also shot Queimada and Ogro. After the success of The Battle of Algiers Roman Polański entrusted him with his 1972 Italian film Che?, starring Marcello Mastroianni. Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina brought him back to Algeria to make Chroniques des années de braise, Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1975. Among the more than 150 films he worked on were several poliziotteschi, including Mark the Policeman and The Police Have Their Hands Tied; thrillers such as The Black-Bellied Tarantula; and comedies such as Mr. Robinson, Monstrous Story of Love and Adventure, Bluff - A Tale of Swindles and Swindlers, and Three Tigers vs. Of the five Nastri d'Argento he obtained, two he won in the same year, 1970, taking the prize both in the black and white category for Ansano Giannarelli's Sierra Maestra and in the color category for Enrico Maria Salerno's Anonimo veneziano. Remaining of his television work are Nanni Loy's Specchio segreto; scripts with Gianni Morandi such as Voglia di cantare; the fifth and sixth series of the crime thriller La piovra with Vittorio Mezzogiorno's poignant farewell; Carlo Lizzani's Assicurazione sulla morte; and Moses with Burt Lancaster. Always close to the ideals of the left, Gatti was arrested in 1943 for defacing a portrait of Mussolini on the walls of Cinecittà, being sentenced to five years in prison, later changed to confinement; and in 1968 he occupied the Centro sperimentale di cinematografia with students and other Italian film personalities such as Marco Bellocchio and Bernardo Bertolucci. He was a longtime president of the Italian Association of Cinematographers (Aic).
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Biography from TMDB.
- February 9, 1924
- November 26, 2013 (aged 89)
- Rome, Italy
- Cinematographer
- 20 on MovieCove · 79 credits in all
What are Marcello Gatti's films like?
Across their 16 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Power.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 3 · Earnest 12
A split, not a type: Light 5 · Serious 1 · Dark 10
Grounded 6 · Stylized 9 · Heightened 1
A split, not a type: Gentle 5 · Charged 5 · Intense 6
Steady 7 · Shifting 8 · Whiplash 1
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 11 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 4
Slow burn 9 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 0
Casual 4 · Engaged 9 · Full focus 3
A split, not a type: Easy watch 6 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 7
Resolved 10 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 2
Moods and endings
- Happy4
- Bittersweet9
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous1
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Marcello Gatti's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 20 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (5).
Subscription and free streaming for Marcello Gatti's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
79 credits, 20 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Beloved Days (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Venere Paura (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Venetian Red (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Una vittoria (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
Ternosecco (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
Inganni (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Gian Burrasca(1982)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
Sandstorm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Delitti, amore e gelosia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
The Salamander(1981)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films
Operation Ogre(1979)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
La carica delle patate (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Break Up (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
Mr. Robinson (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
The Con Artists(1976)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Moses the Lawgiver (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Chi dice donna, dice donna (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Chronicle of the Years of Fire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Love Under the Elms(1975)
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films
Blood, Sweat and Fear (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Killer Cop (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Moses the Lawgiver (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
Amore e ginnastica (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
Massacre in Rome(1973)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films
Family Killer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
What?(1972)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
Girolimoni, the Monster of Rome (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
The Hassled Hooker(1972)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films
Bastard, Go and Kill(1971)
Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films
Sin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
So Long Gulliver (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
The Anonymous Venetian(1970)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Burn!(1969)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
What Did Stalin Do to Women? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Sierra Maestra (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
The Protagonists (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
The Strange Night (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
L'Estate (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
The Tall Women(1966)
Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films
The Battle of Algiers(1966)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Ruthless Colt of the Gringo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
Run for Your Wife (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Io uccido, tu uccidi(1965)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
La Fuga (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Bianco, rosso, giallo, rosa (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Summer Frenzy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
I cuori infranti (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)
The Attic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)
The Four Days of Naples(1962)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Latin Lovers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
The Wonders of Aladdin(1961)
Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films
A Day for Lionhearts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Il peccato degli anni verdi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
Kapo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
Via Tasso (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
Bell' Antonio(1960)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
The Big Night(1959)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Everyone's in Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
Dangerous Women (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
Young Husbands (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
Husbands in the City (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
The Window to Luna Park (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
The Screwball (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
Courtyard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
Toto and Carolina (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
Lacrime d'amore (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)
Violenza sul lago (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)
In amore si pecca in due (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)
Empty Eyes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)
Cronaca di un delitto (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)
I, Hamlet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)
Abracadabra (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)
Position Wanted (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
Vulcano (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)
William Tell (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)
Gli assi della risata (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)
Document Z-3 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)
Career shape
A full career of 79 titles from 1943 to 2015.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Marcello Gatti's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 45th percentile, the median of all 20; across their 16 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 44th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th4
- Below 25th6
Shape of the crowd
8 of their 20 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Crowd Pleaser8
- Broadly Agreed4
- Mixed6
Reviewers score the cinematography 73/100 in their films, across 10 reviewed titles; fans 80, detractors 57. The element that speaks to their work as a cinematographer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Marcello Gatti's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Marcello Gatti work with?
People who share at least 2 of Marcello Gatti's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Ennio Morricone shares the most, 5.
Directors
- Gillo PontecorvoShared titles: Operation Ogre (1979), Burn! (1969), The Battle of Algiers (1966)See all 3 shared titles with Gillo Pontecorvo
- Sergio CorbucciShared titles: Tre tigri contro tre tigri (1977), The Con Artists (1976)See all 2 shared titles with Sergio Corbucci
Writers
- Robert KatzShared titles: The Salamander (1981), Massacre in Rome (1973)See all 2 shared titles with Robert Katz
- Giorgio ArlorioShared titles: Operation Ogre (1979), Burn! (1969)See all 2 shared titles with Giorgio Arlorio
- Franco SolinasShared titles: Burn! (1969), The Battle of Algiers (1966)See all 2 shared titles with Franco Solinas
Actors
- Anthony QuinnShared titles: The Salamander (1981), The Con Artists (1976)See all 2 shared titles with Anthony Quinn
- John SteinerShared titles: The Salamander (1981), Massacre in Rome (1973)See all 2 shared titles with John Steiner
- Martin BalsamShared titles: The Salamander (1981), The Hassled Hooker (1972)See all 2 shared titles with Martin Balsam
- Gian Maria VolontèShared titles: Operation Ogre (1979), The Four Days of Naples (1962)See all 2 shared titles with Gian Maria Volontè
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Ennio MorriconeShared titles: Operation Ogre (1979), Massacre in Rome (1973), Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971), Burn! (1969), The Battle of Algiers (1966)See all 5 shared titles with Ennio Morricone
- Mario MorraShared titles: Operation Ogre (1979), Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971), The Anonymous Venetian (1970), Burn! (1969), The Battle of Algiers (1966)See all 5 shared titles with Mario Morra
- Giuseppe RuzzoliniShared titles: What? (1972), Burn! (1969)See all 2 shared titles with Giuseppe Ruzzolini
- Carlo RustichelliShared titles: Bastard, Go and Kill (1971), The Four Days of Naples (1962)See all 2 shared titles with Carlo Rustichelli
Producers
- Carlo PontiShared titles: Massacre in Rome (1973), What? (1972)See all 2 shared titles with Carlo Ponti
