Sacco & Vanzetti (1971 film)

Sacco & Vanzetti
Italian film poster
Directed byGiuliano Montaldo
Screenplay byFabrizio Onofri
Giuliano Montaldo
Ottavio Jemma
Story byGiuliano Montaldo
Fabrizio Onofri
Mino Roli
Based onSacco and Vanzetti
by Mino Roli
Luciano Vincenzoni
Produced byArrigo Colombo
Giorgio Papi
StarringGian Maria Volonté
Riccardo Cucciolla
Cyril Cusack
Rosanna Fratello
Geoffrey Keen
Milo O'Shea
William Prince
Claude Mann
CinematographySilvano Ippoliti
Edited byNino Baragli
Music byEnnio Morricone (score)
Joan Baez (lyrics)
Production
companies
Jolly Film
Unidis
Theatre Le Rex S.A.
Distributed byItal-Noleggio Cinematografico (Italy)
Compagnie Française de Distribution Cinématographique (France)
Release date
  • 16 March 1971 (1971-03-16)
Running time
121 minutes
Country
    • Italy
    • France

Sacco & Vanzetti (Italian: Sacco e Vanzetti) is a 1971 historical legal drama film, based on the trial of Italian-American anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, whose guilty verdict and execution was considered a politically-motivated miscarriage of justice. The film is directed and co-written by Giuliano Montaldo, and stars Gian Maria Volonté and Riccardo Cucciolla in the title roles. The cast also features Cyril Cusack, Milo O'Shea, Geoffrey Keen and Rosanna Fratello.

An Italian and French co-production, the film is mainly shot in color although it both starts and finishes in black and white, and also includes period black and white newsreels. The musical score was composed and conducted by Ennio Morricone with the three-part ballad sung by Joan Baez.

The film was released to Italian theatres on 16 March 1971. At the 1971 Cannes Film Festival, Montaldo was nominated for the Palme d'Or and Riccardo Cucciolla won the Best Actor Award. It also won Nastro d'Argento Awards for Best Actor (Cucciolla), Best Score (Morricone), and Best New Actress (Fratello).