Sacco e Vanzetti (1971). Photofest
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(Giuliano Montaldo, Italy/France 1971, 120 min., English, Italian w/subtitles)
Based on the true story of one of the most notorious trials in American judicial history, this retelling is a classic not only of labor films, but of Italian cinema. Nicola Sacco (Ricardo Cucciola) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (Gian Maria Volonte) were Italian immigrants in 1920 Massachusetts. Admitted anarchists, Sacco and Vanzetti were arrested for a robbery-murder based on presumption and specious evidence. The court, concerned as much with the men’s political orientation as the evidence at hand, ultimately finds them guilty and sentences them to death. Bolstered by a score from Ennio Morricone, the music also features lyrics written and sung by Joan Baez, including “The Ballad of Sacco and Vanzetti” and “Here’s to You.”