Sacco e Vanzetti

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.

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

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.

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!