Directed by Francesco Rosi • 1962 • Italy
July 5, 1950--Sicilian bandit Salvatore Giuliano's bullet-riddled corpse is found facedown in a courtyard in Castelvetrano, a handgun and rifle by his side. Local and international press descend upon the scene, hoping to crack open the true story behind the death of this young man, who, at the age of twenty-seven, had already become Italy's most wanted criminal and celebrated hero. Filming in the exact locations and enlisting a cast of native Sicilians once impacted by the real Giuliano, director Francesco Rosi harnessed the facts and myths surrounding the true story of the bandit's death to create a startling exposé of Sicily and the tangled relations between its citizens, the Mafia, and government officials. A groundbreaking work of political filmmaking, Salvatore Giuliano established Rosi's reputation and assured his place in cinema history.
Up Next in Explosive Political Cinema of the 1960s
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Harakiri
Directed by Masaki Kobayashi • 1962 • Japan
Starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Rentaro Mikuni, Akira IshihamaFollowing the collapse of his clan, an unemployed samurai (Tatsuya Nakadai) arrives at the manor of Lord Iyi, begging to be allowed to commit ritual suicide on the property. Iyi’s clansmen, belie...
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Hands over the City
Directed by Francesco Rosi • 1963 • Italy
Starring Rod Steiger, Salvo Randone, Guido AlbertiRod Steiger is ferocious as a scheming land developer in Francesco Rosi’s HANDS OVER THE CITY, a blistering work of social realism and the winner of the 1963 Venice Film Festival Golden Lion. This expose...
