The Grim Reaper (1962)
"La commare secca" (original title)

Near the Tiber river, in a Roman park, a prostitute was killed. The police tracks down people that were inside the park during that night. They are questioned and have to explain why they ... See full summary »

Director:

Bernardo Bertolucci

Writers:

Pier Paolo Pasolini (story), Pier Paolo Pasolini (screenplay),

Stars:

Francesco Ruiu, Giancarlo De Rosa, Vincenzo Ciccora

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Francesco Ruiu	...	Canticchia
Giancarlo De Rosa	...	Nino
Vincenzo Ciccora	...	Mayor
Alfredo Leggi	...	Bostelli
Gabriella Giorgelli	...	Esperia
Santina Lisio	...	Esperia's mother
Carlotta Barilli	...	Serenella
Ada Peragostini	...	Maria
Clorinda Celani	...	Soraya
Allen Midgette	...	Teodoro, the soldier
Renato Troiani	...	Natalino
Wanda Rocci	...	Prostitute
Marisa Solinas	...	Bruna
Alvaro D'Ercole	...	Francolicchio
Romano Labate	...	Pipito

Storyline

Near the Tiber river, in a Roman park, a prostitute was killed. The police tracks down people that were inside the park during that night. They are questioned and have to explain why they were there. One of them is the killer.

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Plot Keywords:

gay | neorealism | nonlinear timeline

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

6 May 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Grim Reaper

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinematografica Cervi, Cineriz

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in An Opera of Violence (2003)

User Reviews

An Italian Rashomon

Not very solid, yet coherent work for a directorial debut. Better actors would probably have made a major difference in this Italian Rashomon. The story (Bertolucci and Pasolini) is about what's the truth and what is subjective perception. Who tells what story and why? More important: who hides what and why? Of course this film has nothing to do with the much more enthusiastic 'Rashomon' (Kurosawa, 1950) apart from the matter, but it may at least have been inspired by that masterpiece. If you like the subject you'll like the 'I saw the whole thing'-episode (1962!) from the series 'The Alfred Hitchcock Hour' too. Finally, this also slightly reminded me of 'Les Mistons' (Truffaut, 1957, short), probably because we are shown some street and environmental scenes of the place where a crime was committed.

Besides Pasolini (Salo, Medea) for the story, I think cinematographer Giovanni Narzisi did the most interesting work on this film. A worthy Bertolucci film and definitely worth seeing on the big screen.

8/10