Shikeidai no merodi

Original title: Sacco e Vanzetti
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
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Gian Maria Volontè, Riccardo Cucciolla, and Rosanna Fratello in Shikeidai no merodi (1971)
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In 1920s Boston, Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are scrutinized for their anarchist beliefs while on trial for robbery and murder.In 1920s Boston, Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are scrutinized for their anarchist beliefs while on trial for robbery and murder.In 1920s Boston, Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are scrutinized for their anarchist beliefs while on trial for robbery and murder.

    • Awards
      • 6 wins & 3 nominations total
    Featured review
    10/10
    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"

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    • Trivia
      Giuliano Montaldo in a recent interview declared that the first shot of the Gian Maria Volontè monologue was cut, even if perfect, because one of the smaller players started crying due to the convincing performance.
    • 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, I didn't even have money to pay for the trip! After thirteen years, I would return to my homeland with nothing, just like I started.

    • Crazy credits
      The English-language prints begin with the following text crawl: "On January 2, 1920, U.S. Attorney General Mitchell A. Palmer, together with an army of government agents and anyone else who wanted to take part in "Palmer's Red Raids," launched simultaneous attacks in thirty-three cities across the country. The targets were radical and anarchist headquarters. Windows were smashed, property wrecked and resisters beaten. On the east coast, the raids were centered mostly in Massachusetts and New York. Thousands of chained aliens were marched through the streets of Boston and New York City on their way to Deer Island and Ellis Island for deportation."
    • Alternate versions
      The English version tones down some of the pro-anarchy sentiments of the Italian dub, most notably Bartolomeo Vanzetti's final words. In the English version, he simply says "I am innocent", which the real Vanzetti stated in his speech prior to his execution. In the Italian version, he states "Viva l'anarchia" ("Long live anarchy"), which was in fact spoken by Nicola Sacco.

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    • Runtime
      2 hours 5 minutes
    • Color
    • Sound mix
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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    Gian Maria Volontè, Riccardo Cucciolla, and Rosanna Fratello in Shikeidai no merodi (1971)
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    By what name was Shikeidai no merodi (1971) officially released in India in English?
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