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Accattone

Play trailer Poster for Accattone 1961 2h 0m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 16 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
In the slums of Rome, Vittorio "Accattone" Cataldi (Franco Citti) supports himself as a pimp for his longtime girlfriend, Maddalena (Silvana Corsini). When his meal ticket goes to jail after being assaulted by a pack of thugs, Accattone scrambles to survive, reduced to begging for food from his ex-wife, Ascenza (Paola Guidi). When he meets the virginal Stella (Franca Pasut), he sees a way back into his former profession. This is the first film by noted Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini.

Critics Reviews

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Variety Staff Variety 10/23/2007
This is a fascinating debut by writer-director Pier Paolo Pasolini, who has scripted some interesting pix. Go to Full Review
Time Out 06/24/2006
The character of Accattone himself, self-destructive and conscious of his situation within a class from which he cannot escape, embodies many of the contradictions in Pasolini's lifetime of coming to terms with Marxism and Catholicism. Go to Full Review
Renata Adler New York Times 05/09/2005
The result is uneven, but not without distinction. Go to Full Review
Scott Nye Battleship Pretension 06/29/2023
Pasolini frequently uses those who push themselves to the margins of society to expose our collective and individual weaknesses, and our determination to maintain the image of order. Go to Full Review
Fernando F. Croce CinePassion 02/06/2012
At once squalid and exalted Go to Full Review
Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com 03/08/2008
4/5
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Audience Reviews

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Stephen C @bob25009 Jul 24 Success in 2 hours even!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In Italian and American English audio options with American English subtitles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Vitor O Mar 19 Pasolini, in his debut as a director, already shows his genius in this classic film. See more 08/03/2018 Pasolini's first film as a director; he was previously a poet, writer, and screenwriter; for example, of Fellini's Nights of Cabiria (1957). Similar to that earlier film, Accattone focuses on people living on the lower rungs of society's ladder, but it isn't quite neo-realism. Instead, Pasolini's film has a lyrical and intense quality (and a startling dream sequence) that brings it closer to the films of the arthouse masters (Bergman comes to mind). Accatone himself (a charismatic Franco Citti) is a scumbag, convincing girls to become prostitutes because he doesn't want to work himself (his nickname equates to beggar/exploiter/freeloader). But Pasolini doesn't want to judge him - he shows us Accatone's tender side as well as his weaknesses. We see him try honest physical labour for pay (and give up on it straightaway). In his context, a bunch of shiftless guys on the street, some thieves, mostly the idle poor, he is the class clown, the butt of all jokes -- and he seems to relish it. Despite (or because of) the seediness of the milieu and the transgressive acts on display, the film is mesmerizing and probably shocking for its time (although Pasolini would shock even more in his later films). The cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli is beautiful (though the environs are not); the actors often look straight into the camera offering beautiful portraits for the viewer. In the end, this heightens our sympathy for those who are barely scraping by (and nevertheless often enjoying themselves) in line with Pasolini's Marxist philosophy. A great debut. See more 07/14/2017 A brutalidade e o desespero frígido deste filme de 1962 impacto cru e duro da realidade qur muitos ocultam See more 03/24/2017 The St Matthew Passion. The face of Franco Citti. The black and white roman suburb. The first film of Pasolini. See more 06/29/2016 Pier Paolo Pasolini's first foray into film holds all the hallmarks of the auteur's eventual genius - glimpsed long before he discovered his true calling. Accattone is a tale of desolate wasters in a desolate wasteland, thought to be adapted from the multi-platform poet's early novels. The film plays out like a traditional neo-realist flick, but with a pitch-black twist. Pasolini's neo-realism is gritty, and far grimmer than the great auteur's soul would prove to be in its prime. Accattone is an anti-movement film, yet it aches of a meandering yearning for focus - much like Pasolini's modern-day fans will while watching it. See more Read all reviews
Accattone

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Movie Info

Synopsis In the slums of Rome, Vittorio "Accattone" Cataldi (Franco Citti) supports himself as a pimp for his longtime girlfriend, Maddalena (Silvana Corsini). When his meal ticket goes to jail after being assaulted by a pack of thugs, Accattone scrambles to survive, reduced to begging for food from his ex-wife, Ascenza (Paola Guidi). When he meets the virginal Stella (Franca Pasut), he sees a way back into his former profession. This is the first film by noted Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini.
Director
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Producer
Alfredo Bini, Cino Del Duca
Screenwriter
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Italian
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 22, 1961, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Apr 4, 1968
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 22, 2019
Runtime
2h 0m