Sacco & Vanzetti (1971)

The story of two anarchists who were charged and unfairly tried for murder when it was really for their political convictions.

Director:

Giuliano Montaldo

Writers:

Fabrizio Onofri (story), Giuliano Montaldo (story)

Stars:

Gian Maria Volontè, Riccardo Cucciolla, Cyril Cusack

6 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gian Maria Volontè	...	Bartolomeo Vanzetti
Riccardo Cucciolla	...	Nicola Sacco
Cyril Cusack	...	Frederick Katzmann
Rosanna Fratello	...	Rosa Sacco
Geoffrey Keen	...	Judge Webster Thayer
Milo O'Shea	...	Fred Moore
William Prince	...	William Thompson
Claude Mann	...	Eddie
Edward Jewesbury	...	Alvan T. Fuller
Armenia Balducci	...	Virginia
Valentino Orfeo	...	Celestino Madeiros
Pier Giovanni Anchisi	...	Membro Comitato Difesa (as Piero Archisi)
Desmond Perry	...	Lieutenant
John Harvey	...	Minister Palmer
Felicity Mason

Storyline

In 1920, the anarchist Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco (Riccardo Cucciolla) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (Gian Maria Volonté) are sentenced to death, falsely accused of a robbery and murder. Indeed they are condemned due to their political beliefs, in one of the most shameful and hypocrite judgments of the human history.

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Plot Keywords:

character names as title | three word title | surnames as title | true crime | usa | 

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Taglines:

The excitement is catching!

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

GP

Did You Know?

Trivia

This co-production was the final film for the Italian production company Jolly Film.

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Quotes

Nicola Sacco: You speak of dollars and cents, sir. Let's talk about millions of dollars. If you talk about a manager of industry or the head of a bank who donates money to a university, everybody says, "What a great man he is!" But I have worked thirteen years in this free country, doing what I've been told. I've worked like a slave and I still don't own anything, not a single dollar. Here, all you hear is, "Passport, passport!" But when I went to the consulate to organize my journey back to be repatriated, ...

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Alternate Versions

The American release censors a lot of the pro-anarchy sentiments, most notably Bartolomeo Vanzetti's final words. In the American version, he simply says "I am innocent"; in the international version, he states what are said to be his actual final words, "Viva l'anarchia", "Long live anarchy".

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Connections

Edited into Appunti per un viaggio alle radici dell'emigrazione vista al cinema... (2010)

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Soundtracks

Sacco and His Son
Written by Ennio Morricone

User Reviews

One of the greatest films on one of the vilest affairs

My comment could not possibly add anything to the ones already available. I just want to say that the latest scandal in this story is that the film has not been made available on DVD ! Is there a conspiracy still going on to prevent such films from being watched by new generations ? I am exasperated to see that thousands of trash films are published on DVD every month while such masterpieces are still ignored. Sacco e Vanzetti reaches far beyond the subject of the two anarchists ignominiously put to death in a misconducted trial. The ghosts of the two men are still behind every prejudiced account by the media, every lie by politicians all over the world. It calls for better institutions, better democracy all over the world. The fact that so many film buffs bothered to express their admiration for this outstanding movie should entice a publisher to make this film at last available. I have kept checking for years, but nothing so far.

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

16 March 1971 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Sacco & Vanzetti

Filming Locations:

Dublin, Ireland

Box Office

Gross USA:

$185,410

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jolly Film, Unidis, Theatre Le Rex S.A.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1