Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini burst onto the international scene with Accatone, a startling film that was his debut.
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Promotional poster
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Creating his own style of neo-realism, imbued with a strong dose of Marxism, he eschewed the sentimentality of the post WWII Italian films (especially those by Vittorio De Sica), instead opting for a more searing, gritty and gutsy portrait of a new Italian anti-hero.
In this film, based on Pasolini’s novel “Una Vita Violente” (which translates into “One Violent Life”), Franco Citti plays the titular role of Accatone, the “Sponger” who lives off the earnings of a prostitute. After an attempt to go straight for the girl he falls in love with, he commits a robbery and is killed trying to escape from the police.
Pasolini uses classic music (mostly Bach) to counterpoint the sordid world of pimps, prostitutes and petty criminals, in this pointed jab at the upper class.
About Pasolini
Pasolini’s next film, Mama Roma, starring the great Anna Magnani, was more accessible and popular, both in and out of Italy.
He died in 1975, at the prime of his career, when he became a victim of brutal homicide (an event chronicled in several documentaries).
Cast
Franco Citti as Vittorio “Accattone” Cataldi
Franca Pasut as Stella
Silvana Corsini as Maddalena
Paola Guidi as Ascenza
Adriana Asti as Amore
Luciano Conti as Il Moicano
Luciano Gonini as Piede D’Oro
Renato Capogna as Renato
Alfredo Leggi as Papo Hirmedo
Galeazzo Riccardi as Cipolla
Leonardo Muraglia as Mammoletto
Giuseppe Ristagno as Peppe
Roberto Giovannoni as The German
Mario Cipriani as Balilla
Roberto Scaringella as Cartagine
Silvio Citti as Sabino
Monica Vitti (uncredited) as Ascenza (voice)
Credits
Directed, written by Pier Paolo Pasolini
Produced by Alfredo Bini and Cino Del Duca
Cinematography Tonino Delli Colli
Edited by Nino Baragli
Music by Johann Sebastian Bach
Production company: Arco Film
Distributed by Titanus
Release date: August 31, 1961 (Italy)
Running time: 117 minutes
