Fists in the Pocket (1965) I pugni in tasca (original title)

Director:

Marco Bellocchio

Writer:

Marco Bellocchio

Release Date:

27 May 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Ale, a deeply disturbed young man subject to seizures benignly decides to murder members of his dysfunctional family for altruistic reasons.

Plot Keywords:

Epileptic | Dysfunctional Family | Epilepsy | Murder | Blind Mother

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Lou Castel	...	Alessandro
Paola Pitagora	...	Giulia
Marino Masé	...	Augusto
Liliana Gerace	...	Mother
Stefania Troglio	...	Chambermaid
Jeannie McNeil	...	Lucia
Mauro Martini	...	The boy
Gianni Schicchi	...	Tonino
Alfredo Filippazzi	...	Doctor
Gianfranco Cella	...	Young man at the party
Celestina Bellocchio	...	Young Woman at Party
Pier Luigi Troglio	...	Leone
Irene Agnelli	...	Bruna
Sandra Bergamini
Lella Bertante

Directed by
Marco Bellocchio

Writing credits
Marco Bellocchio

Produced by
Enzo Doria	....	producer (as Ezio Passadore)

Original Music by
Ennio Morricone

Cinematography by
Alberto Marrama

Film Editing by
Silvano Agosti		(as Aurelio Mangiarotti)
Anita Cacciolati

Art Direction by
Gisella Longo

Sound Department
Vittorio De Sisti	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Giuseppe Lanci	....	camera operator
Alberto Rosa	....	assistant camera

Other crew
Elda Tattoli	....	dubbing director
Paolo Carlini	....	voice dubbing: Lou Castel (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Doria

Distributors

• Peppercorn-Wormser Film Enterprises (1968) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Silver Screen (2007) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"I pugni in tasca" - Italy (original title)
"Fist in His Pocket" - USA

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:18 | Italy:VM14 | USA:Not Rated

Company:

Doria

Trivia:

Director Marco Bellocchio borrowed money from his family to be able to make this film, which is actually a frontal assault on family values.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the whole family is having dinner, Augusto is seated at one corner of the table and the mother is sitting on a side at the other corner. The cat is shown to be eating meat off the mother's plate in one scene, but in the next scene Augusto is shown picking up the cat as if was right next to him on the table. Once he removes the cat, the next camera angle again shows Augusto and the mother at opposite ends.

Quotes:

Alessandro:I'm a volcano of ideas.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Splendor (1989)

One of the best Italian movies ever!

Marco Bellocchio directs his first full-length film, and it's already a masterpiece, a milestone in the history of Italian cinema.This movie is all about contemporary uneasiness and family crisis in today's society (only, some two decades in advance). Every time I hear of family massacres on the news, I've got to think about problematic, disturbed Lou Castel deciding to get rid of his mother and younger brother for the benefit of the eldest, embodying not only a stage of criminality, but above all a wrong philosophy, a twisted point of view about life, a failed maturity. Ennio Morricone' score is just perfect, fully successful in his aim to highlight the dramatic potential of the story. Lou Castel has never acted like this, his grimacing and his usage of the dead moments are unforgettable. The frames of the mother's death are like an howl, they "send shivers down your spine". A must-see.