User reviews

A good political film about the case of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. A historical and biographical film about two great people who until the end were sincere and honest with their ideology. They were condemned only for their ideas. This case has become a symbol of injustice in the court.

It is perhaps not without significance that Guiliano Montaldo worked as Assistant Director on Gillo Pontecorvo's brilliant KAPO, since there is a tangible link in terms of attitude, emotional power and political commitment between this film and Pontecorvo's other outstanding films.

Great films are, very often, a means of conveying ideas, and, as Pudovkin once said, film is the greatest teacher because it reaches us both through the head and the emotions. Maybe this is why politically correct authoritarians are always chiding us `not to be sentimental' since emotions are something these control freaks can't orchestrate!

Whatever one's views about the political sympathies of Sacco and Vanzetti, this film shows that they were victims of the hysterical climate of the times and place in which they found themselves, and their plight is represented with great humanism, empathy and power, helped in no small measure by the superb musical score of Ennio Morricone, which must rank as one of his very best. Montaldo's whole technique is thoroughly cinematic, and the acting and all technical credits are faultless.

One somewhat disturbing aspect of this film however, was when I saw it in the USA, Sacco in his final speech from the dock declared, `We stand here because we are anarchists', (it struck at the time because I never thought I'd live to see the day that such a piece of dialogue would be delivered in a film distributed by MGM!), but, in its only screening in the UK on BBC television, this line was changed to `We stand here because we are radicals'. Hmmm! Not quite the same thing. On two other occasions I have noticed `creative subtitling' on French speaking movies, so maybe we should start a campaign for accurate and faithful subtitles!

A brilliant film, in my all-time top 100, so when is anyone going to issue it on video?

Only recently I was able to see again this movie. I remember seeing it a long time ago, I must have been 16 yrs old, and I was struck by it. After so long, now I'm thirty, the effect on me is still the same.

This movie is absolutely marvelous, both for construction, acting and story: it recalls the true story of 2 Italian anarchists (Sacco and Vanzetti) sentenced to death by the court in the USA in the thirties because accused to have murdered someone during a robbery. At the time the story had great impact in the people all over the world, because the evidence of their innocence was total, and in many countries there were demonstrations against such terrible injustice. Now it is only another (admitted) mistake by the US justice system... so sad nothing changed ever since... Great was also the soundtrack by Italian maestro Ennio Morricone, sung by Joan Beaz and Georges Moustaki. I doubt this movie passes in the US TV schedules (especially with nowadays local admin.), so, if you want to see a really good movie, rent it out!

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.

Magnificent rendition of the people, circumstances and atmosphere surrounding the infamous "Palmer Raids", the paranoia of the keepers of law and order and the status quo, and of course the frame-up of Sacco and Vanzetti.It is worthwhile to know that the governor of Massachussets recently exonerated Sacco and Vanzetti, calling their trial a shameful mark on the face of American judiciary system.

Frank McGurk "Guilty or Innocent???" for writing a WRONG comment?

I quote with correction:

"recent ballistic tests on the weapons proved that the gun found on Nicola Sacco was NOT (NO-NEIN) the gun used to murder the payroll guards"!

Be careful guys... ...if you don't want roll injustice over and over again...

N.B. If also not so, remember that the real guilty man confessed his crime. But the court refuse to admit his confession, because he was already put to death for other crimes.

take care

I think these political ideas no longer exist in the present time ; Now many people know it is not necessary to adhere to a particular policy to claim your right to economic prosperity and your right to express opinion but for the time when these events took place these two simple factors had only one chance belonging to one of the political groups that can achieve their ideas for some liberation from the owners of capital and this movement was anarchist . As a viewer I do not know about anarchism except for some surface information which made me feel a bit alienated in the details of the film ; In general than I had read about them they did not believe in institutions or any governmental supervision ; for example the anarchist was calling for the cancellation of teachers from schools and that the student is responsible for the collection of his own science ; despite the absurdity of these ideas it is said that there are some names that have a good reputation such as the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy who believe these ideas . The problem of Sacco and Vanzetti were facing political system which wanted to destroy these ideas which meant destroying Sacco and Vanzetti ..

In 1920, the anarchist Italian immigrants Niccola 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. In 1971, the exhibition of "Sacco and Vanzetti" was forbidden in Brazil, and the first time I could watch it was when Brazil was leaving the military dictatorship regime in a movie theater specialized in art movies. I was very impressed with the story of one of the greatest injustice of a judiciary system, mostly because it happened in the "land of freedom". Gian Maria Volonté, as usual, and Riccardo Cucciolla offer one of the most touching and beautiful dramatic interpretations I have ever seen. This movie was recently released by the best (not in quantity of titles but in their quality) Brazilian distributors called Versatil. The DVD is completely restored, in widescreen and full of Extras, showing footages of this infamous trial. The musical score of Joan Baez and Ennio Morricone is another attraction. I expected to see this outstanding movie among the IMDb Top 250, but it seems that its worldwide distribution does not work well, and there are only 185 votes in 2005. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "Sacco & Vanzetti"

What great roles for Gian Maria Volontè and Riccardo Cucciolla, two excellent actors! Very good Cyril Cusack and Geoffrey Keen too, in two roles of villains law enforcement officials! Milo O'Shea and William Prince are also very good as the lawyers trying to save Nicola and Bart. Another film that demonstrates that the idea of humanity is only a lie, real democracy doesn't exist, and the justice is just a bad joke. Morricone and Joan Baez are excellent too.

A very gripping and moving film with a very fine cast and strong performances. This film makes a very strong impact and will make you think of Sacco and Vanzetti and the reasons why they were executed on the electric chair.

This is the second of director Giuliano Montaldo's thematic trilogy depicting the use and abuse of power, military, religious and in this film, needless to say, judicial.

Based upon a play and set against a background of the Red Scare, this takes in the arrest, trial and execution of two avowed Italian anarchists for homicide and bank robbery. Neither Sacco nor Vanzetti did themselves any favours by rambling on in the courtroom about radical politics but it is certain that they were the victims of a corrupt police investigation, unreliable and probably intimidated witnesses, questionable ballistics reports and worst of all, a blatantly biased, far Right judge who denied motions for a retrial despite new evidence coming to light that would have exonerted the accused. The Governor of the State appointed a commission to look at the conduct of the trial and it predictably upheld the verdict.

Most of the film has been shot in Dublin which accounts for the presence of Cyril Cusack and Milo O'Shea as counsels for the prosecution and defence whilst Geoffrey Keen looks stern and does a lot of gavel bashing as the infamous Judge Thayer. By all accounts the producers had wanted Yves Montand and Lino Ventura to play the title characters but one could not do better than Riccardo Cucciola and Gian Maria Volonté, the latter well known for his far Left beliefs. Cucciola has the showier role and picked up the awards whilst Volonté's performance is masterfully understated.

The production design by Aurelio Grugnola and Silvano Ippoliti's cinematography give us a real sense of 'being there' whilst the events of seven years, although of necessity merged and truncated, are powerfully presented. Ennio Morricone's score includes a ballad sung by noted activist Joan Baez using the words of Emma Lazarus inscribed on the Statue of Liberty. It is noticeable in the English version that the pro-anarchic sentiments are toned down and interesting to note that the makers have chosen not to feature the Wall Street Bombing of 1920 which killed forty and injured hundreds.

As well as worldwide demonstrations condemning the death sentence, many intellectuals at the time made their feelings plain in print, including Anatole France who likened the process to that of the Dreyfus Affair whilst H. G. Wells wrote: "Trying and executing murderers as Reds and Reds as murderers is a new and frightening line for the court of a State in the most powerful and civilised Union on earth to pursue".

Most powerful? Indisputably. Most civilised? Doubtfully.

Yes, I too, remember seeing this film around thirty years ago, when it was first released. I remember it as a very, very good film, made all the better by suberb acting from both Riccardo Cucciola and Gian Maria Volonte (better remembered as the psycopathic 'Indio' in 'For a few Dollars More') and the absolutely brilliant score by Ennio Morricone and Joan Baez. While most reviews criticise the judgement and death of the two men and their subsequent posthumous pardons, did I not read somewhere or other that recent ballistic tests on the weapons proved that the gun found on Nicola Sacco was the gun used to murder the payroll guards ? I might be wrong and there again, I might not. None the less, a great film.

Good film about the very biased prosecution and judgement of Italian anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti and the authoritarian political repression against "reds and radicals" in the United States, combined with xenophobia and state violent disrespect for human rights. Spoken in both English and Italian, the movie begins with raids against immigrants' houses in black and white scenes. Then, the movie turns to an elegant low-profile color palette. Most of the movie happens in the police department, jails, and in the court. Both Gian Maria Volonté and Riccardo Cucciolla do a very good job in the leading roles, portraying characters with similar ideas but quite different personalities. Cyril Cusack shines in the role of obnoxious general attorney Frederick Katzmann.