Sacco and Vanzetti (1971)

Original title

Sacco e Vanzetti

Directed by

Giuliano Montaldo

Genre

docudrama, trial film

Country

France, Italy

Runtime

2h 02m

Rated

12

Rating

7.7 of 10 from 213 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This film reenacts the real life trial of two Italian American anarchists accused of murder in the 1920s. It shows how the legal process was influenced by prejudice and political pressure leading to their conviction and execution.

historicalsombertensepoliticalmelancholicslow-burnearnestthoughtful

What happens

Sacco & Vanzetti (Italian: Sacco e Vanzetti) is a 1971 historical legal drama film, based on the trial of Italian-American anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, whose guilty verdict and execution was considered a politically-motivated miscarriage of justice. The film is directed and co-written by Giuliano Montaldo, and stars Gian Maria Volonté and Riccardo Cucciolla in the title roles. The cast also features Cyril Cusack, Milo O'Shea, Geoffrey Keen and Rosanna Fratello. An Italian and French co-production, the film is mainly shot in color although it both starts and finishes in black and white, and also includes period black and white newsreels. The musical score was composed and conducted by Ennio Morricone with the three-part ballad sung by Joan Baez. The film was released to Italian theatres on 16 March 1971. At the 1971 Cannes Film Festival, Montaldo was nominated for the Palme d'Or and Riccardo Cucciolla won the Best Actor Award. It also won Nastro d'Argento Awards for Best Actor (Cucciolla), Best Score (Morricone), and Best New Actress (Fratello). (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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