Salvatore Giuliano (1962)

The unclear and complicated twists between governal powers, independentist party and Mafia in the Sicily of the '40s culminate with the death of Salvatore Giuliano.

Director:

Francesco Rosi

Writers:

Francesco Rosi (screenplay), Suso Cecchi D'Amico (screenplay)

Stars:

Frank Wolff, Salvo Randone, Frederico Zardi

6 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Salvo Randone	...	President of Viterbo Assize Court
Frank Wolff	...	Gaspare Pisciotta

Storyline

In 1950, 28-year-old outlaw Salvatore Giuliano is found gunned down in a Sicilian courtyard. Little is as it seems. The film moves back and forth between the late 1940s, when Giuliano and other reprobates were recruited by separatist politicians to do their fighting, and the days leading up to and following Giuliano's death. After Sicily's self-rule is declared, will the outlaws be pardoned as promised? And why does Giuliano order his gang to fire on a peaceful May Day rally? Police, Carabinieri, and Mafia have their uses for him. There's a trial after his death: will the truth come out or does the code of silence help protect those in power?

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Plot Keywords:

shot in a bed | firefight | post war italy | sentence | judgment | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | History | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

1 March 1962 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Salvatore Giuliano

Filming Locations:

98 Via Serafino Mannone, Castelvetrano, Trapani, Sicily, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Galatea Film, Lux Film, Vides Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the ten movies that was on Martin Scorsese's Sight and Sound 2012 Poll..

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Goofs

When Savatore's mother visits him after he has been killed, and while she is kissing his face, you can see his eyelids move. (About 52 minutes into the movie.)

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Connections

Referenced in Baarìa (2009)

User Reviews

Flawed, partly uninteresting but overall well made

Through the first hour of this film there are no focused characters, at most a character is seen in two or three short scenes. It's basically just following history and showing examples of it. Luckily it's not rushed, it's decently paced and it is realistic.

The best way to describe this is to call it a docu-drama. A narrator tells you something and then some people either do what's described or continues where the narrator leaves off. Though this approach can work, I did find it distancing in this film and it did make me less interested. The above competent direction and photography did elevate it however and for a long time I felt that it was great.

The films main problem is that we never really get to know anything, least of all about the title character who is despite the entire film being about his history only seen dead, or walking/running around. He only has a few lines.

Then towards the middle we experience two horrendous acts of overacting which damages the film severely. Both involving screaming/crying, the worst offender was the woman playing Giulianos mother. She screams and cries so awfully and in such a high tone that you wonder if you are watching a cheap parody. This scene is agonizingly long.

We do however learn a lot about the conflict going on and after a bit more than an hour, perhaps closer to 90 mins we get one character to follow. Overall I just don't think the film put us inside the conflict and despite giving us historical facts and let us understand the events we never got to the core. This made it cold and somewhat uninteresting for time to time. Not a film I would recommend but definitely a more or less good film.

6.5/10