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Search 713 spoiler-free recommendations from 1916 to 2026. Filter by the night you want—not the list you’re supposed to finish.

Direct film viewShowing master rank #294 on its own—not above the ranking.
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DirectorAll directors

Most represented · 6+ films

More recurring directors · 3–5 films54
All directors · surname A–Z438
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Big Three membership
Major award winners

1 selected film

Master Rank balances Greatness, Engagement, and Ease. Sort by Greatness for the artistic-canon view.

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View Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion film page
Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List

Spoiler-free premise

A chief of detectives, homicide section, commits a murder and deliberately leaves clues to prove his own responsibility for the crime.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

On the day he is promoted, Rome's police investigation chief murders his lover Augusta and deliberately leaves fingerprints and evidence. He then oversees the case, testing whether his institutional status places him beyond suspicion even when he invites it.

Why it belongs

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion treats authoritarian impunity as grotesque procedural satire through planted evidence, bureaucratic ritual, Morricone, and Volonté's swaggering instability.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

Fingerprints, ties, photographs, police files, reenactments, modernist offices, and Ennio Morricone's mocking theme make guilt conspicuous. Gian Maria Volonté performs power as childish exhibitionism unbroken by institutional obedience.

Major award record

Metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Academy Awards1 win1971 · official ceremony record ↗

Plus 1 additional win

No headline-category win to name

Totals include every recorded competitive win. Only Picture or top-film honors, Direction, Screenplay, and lead or supporting performances are named.

Good for
Film Club
Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.

Institutional reference ranks

Sight & Sound—IMDb Top 250—AFI 100—
Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score

Great Cinema Master List scores

Greatness8.9
Engagement9.0
Ease8.1

Italian · Not Rated
Narrative Feature
Mood: Gripping