The Conformist

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The Conformist

R

Released Oct 22, 1970

1h 51m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

98%

Tomatometer

60 Reviews

90%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

In Mussolini's Italy, repressed Jean-Louis Trintignant, trying to purge memories of a youthful, homosexual episode -- and murder -- joins the Fascists in a desperate attempt to fit in. As the reluctant Judas motors to his personal Gethsemane (the assassination of his leftist mentor), he flashes back to a dance party for the blind; an insane asylum in a stadium; and wife Stefania Sandrelli and lover Dominique Sanda dancing the tango in a working class hall. But those are only a few of this political thriller's anthology pieces, others including Trintignant's honeymoon coupling with Sandrelli in a train compartment as the sun sets outside their window; a bimbo lolling on the desk of a fascist functionary, glimpsed in the recesses of his cavernous office; a murder victim's hands leaving bloody streaks on a limousine parked in a wintry forest.

Critics Consensus

A commentary on fascism and beauty alike, Bernardo Bertolucci's The Conformist is acclaimed for its sumptuous visuals and extravagant, artful cinematography.

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Aja Romano

Vox

It's easy to overlook how stark The Conformist's political and allegorical message is because it's just so damn beautiful.

Dec 3, 2018

Full Review

Keith Phipps

The Dissolve

It's yesteryear remembered with a combination of nostalgia and repulsion, a queasy combination that defines the film and gives it a kind of hideous allure.

Rated: 5/5

Nov 24, 2014

Full Review

Andrew O'Hehir

Salon.com

The unsettling blend of images and ideas in this movie cannot satisfactorily be disentangled or decoded, and it's the very strangeness of Bertolucci's masterpiece that has made it so influential in cinema history.

Aug 29, 2014

Full Review

Ray Pride

Newcity

Lush, even drenching 1970 masterpiece... A cinematic confection of near-perfection at high velocity, its stylistic prowess and textural largesse is often cited as a major influence by [may major] directors including Steven Spielberg.

Rated: 10/10

May 14, 2023

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

All this adds up to something more than mere style, or mannerism—even if it was not a very precise match to Moravia’s coolly detached prose, which perhaps more exactly portrayed Marcello’s amoral soullessess...

Apr 20, 2023

Full Review

Noah Gittell

Washington City Paper

In lesser hands, The Conformist would be a first-rate political thriller, and while there are moments of tension, Bertolucci finds more drama in the thrills of human psychology.

Mar 3, 2023

Full Review

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Tom F

Jean-Louis Trintignant brings a strange energy to this meandering story about a man who yearns for a normal life as a good fascist.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/21/24

Full Review

Alec B

Shot and edited brilliantly, Bertolucci crafted the perfect narrative about how totalitarian regimes are powered both by a small group of committed ideologues and by a large number of people performing as committed ideologues.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/10/24

Full Review

mary m

I had a chance to see the 4K restoration of this and it's magnificient. The film was beautiful in the crappy 35mm I originally saw it in, but this was a revelation. It's good to see attention being paid to classics.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

ron r

one of my top 10 favorites

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/17/22

Full Review

Shioka O

Watch this for the cinematography. Color and light. Applause for Storaro.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/26/22

Full Review

dave s

Set in 1938, an agent of Benito Mussolini's secret police is dispatched to France to kill an outspoken professor who is opposed to Italy's Fascist regime. The agent, a former student of the intended target, rekindles his friendship with the victim and falls in love with the target's beautiful wife, all while beginning to question his loyalty to the regime. Once you get past the first half of the film, which may feel disjointed at times due to the number of flashbacks, Bernardo Bertolucci's The Conformist is a gripping political thriller about loyalty and self-doubt. More importantly, it is filled with some truly stunning visuals thanks to Vittorio Storaro's beautiful cinematography and some bold directorial choices made by Bertolucci. If interested in checking out Bertolucci's oeuvre, The Conformist is probably the place to start.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Bernardo Bertolucci

Director

Jean-Louis Trintignant

Marcello

Stefania Sandrelli

Giulia

Dominique Sanda

Anna Quadri

Pierre Clémenti

Lino

Gastone Moschin

Manganiello

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The Conformist: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

In Mussolini's Italy, repressed Jean-Louis Trintignant, trying to purge memories of a youthful, homosexual episode -- and murder -- joins the Fascists in a desperate attempt to fit in. As the reluctant Judas motors to his personal Gethsemane (the assassination of his leftist mentor), he flashes back to a dance party for the blind; an insane asylum in a stadium; and wife Stefania Sandrelli and lover Dominique Sanda dancing the tango in a working class hall. But those are only a few of this political thriller's anthology pieces, others including Trintignant's honeymoon coupling with Sandrelli in a train compartment as the sun sets outside their window; a bimbo lolling on the desk of a fascist functionary, glimpsed in the recesses of his cavernous office; a murder victim's hands leaving bloody streaks on a limousine parked in a wintry forest.

Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Producer: Maurizio Lodi-Fè
Screenwriter: Bernardo Bertolucci, Alberto Moravia
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Mars Film, Maran Film, Marianne Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Italian
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 22, 1970, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Jan 6, 2023
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 24, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $179.7K
Runtime: 1h 51m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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