Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysLGBTQ+ Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Basilisks

Original title: I basilischi
  • 19631963
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 25m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
793
YOUR RATING
The Basilisks (1963)
  • Drama
The story follows the uneventful lives of three young men who live in a small, poverty-stricken village in southern Italy.The story follows the uneventful lives of three young men who live in a small, poverty-stricken village in southern Italy.The story follows the uneventful lives of three young men who live in a small, poverty-stricken village in southern Italy.
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
793
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Lina Wertmüller
  • Writer
    • Lina Wertmüller(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Antonio Petruzzi
    • Stefano Satta Flores
    • Sergio Ferranino
Top credits
  • Director
    • Lina Wertmüller
  • Writer
    • Lina Wertmüller(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Antonio Petruzzi
    • Stefano Satta Flores
    • Sergio Ferranino
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 4User reviews
    • 7Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins

    Photos

    Sergio Ferranino, Antonio Petruzzi, and Stefano Satta Flores in The Basilisks (1963)
    The Basilisks (1963)
    The Basilisks (1963)
    The Basilisks (1963)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Antonio Petruzzi
    • Antonio
    Stefano Satta Flores
    • Francesco
    Sergio Ferranino
    • Sergio
    Luigi Barbieri
    • Antonio's father
    Flora Carabella
    • Luciana Bonfanti
    Mimma Quirico
    • Aunt Maria
    Enzo Di Vecchia
    • Friend
    Rosetta Palumbo
    • Rosetta
    Rosanna Santoro
    • Anna
    Manlio Blois
    • Nicolino
    Marisa Omodei
    • Cicci D'Andrea
    • Director
      • Lina Wertmüller
    • Writer
      • Lina Wertmüller(screenplay) (story)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    More like this

    The Wayward Girl
    6.6
    The Wayward Girl
    All the Vermeers in New York
    6.4
    All the Vermeers in New York
    About Some Meaningless Events
    6.6
    About Some Meaningless Events
    August 32nd on Earth
    6.5
    August 32nd on Earth
    My Sister's Good Fortune
    6.1
    My Sister's Good Fortune
    The Day Has Gone
    6.9
    The Day Has Gone
    Camorra (A Story of Streets, Women and Crime)
    5.6
    Camorra (A Story of Streets, Women and Crime)
    The Small Town
    7.0
    The Small Town
    Meeting the Man: James Baldwin in Paris
    7.4
    Meeting the Man: James Baldwin in Paris
    Fando and Lis
    6.7
    Fando and Lis
    Stump the Guesser
    6.7
    Stump the Guesser
    Binding Sentiments
    6.7
    Binding Sentiments

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Lina Wertmüller's debut as a director and also as a writer in a film.
    • Connections
      Featured in Behind the White Glasses (2015)

    User reviews4

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    Spellbound town
    The Basilisks has an unusual narrative structure, broadly following the lives of members of a community in a hilltop town, without much attempt at a narrative arc. The major theme seems to be that most men and women lead lives of silent frustration. It is in a sense a political movie, but in an undogmatic way. The inhabitants are trapped by the attitudes and customs of the time and place, and although they loll in front of panoramas and walk down streets of picturesque buildings there is always a faint sadness in everything. A whole clutch of characters cross the screen, but three male friends get particular attention, Antonio is a good-looking though unambitious student, Francesco an apathetic landowner and tentative lover (in a town where women are comedically unavailable), and Sergio a sad-eyed prematurely balding schoolteacher, who sits out youth without pleasing the eye of any young lady. This film does however have its fleeting joys, a child dancing in a piazza, the synchronised glancing of the "cousins", and certainly the occasional narration from Enrica Chiaromonte, an underemployed actress of the Italian cinema, with a marvellous, conspiratorial yet loving voice, playing the character of Maddalena. Chiaromonte was a philosophy graduate of the University of Pisa and a schoolteacher of history and philosophy, a multitalented lady. In the end Wertmüller's cinema is gentle and inclusive, aided by a sympathetic Morricone score.
    helpful•3
    0
    • oOgiandujaOo_and_Eddy_Merckx
    • Nov 20, 2021

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 2, 1963 (Italy)
    • Country of origin
      • Italy
    • Language
      • Italian
    • Also known as
      • The Lizards
    • Filming locations
      • Minervino Murge, Puglia, Italy
    • Production companies
      • Galatea Film
      • 22 Dicembre
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • $590
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 25 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    The Basilisks (1963)
    Top Gap
    By what name was The Basilisks (1963) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    Editors' Picks: What to Watch Now on Netflix
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    The Best Movies Coming This Summer
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.