Accattone

1961 1h 57m IT

🙌

7.7

BANGER

★7.7TMDB · 529

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A pimp with no other means to provide for himself finds his life spiralling out of control when his prostitute is sent to prison.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Franco Citti
Vittorio 'Accattone' Cataldi
Franca Pasut
Stella
Silvana Corsini
Maddalena
Paola Guidi
Ascenza
Adriana Asti
Amore
Luciano Conti
Il Moicano
Luciano Gonini
Piede d'Oro
Renato Capogna
Il Capogna

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Writers: Pier Paolo Pasolini, Pier Paolo Pasolini
Languages: Italian
Countries: Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 5

ERA

Did you know

65 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 5

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, shot by Tonino Delli Colli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 5

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nino Baragli shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 5

CAST

Did you know

Franco Citti and Franca Pasut and Silvana Corsini carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 5

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0054599 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Pier Paolo Pasolini directs. Tonino Delli Colli behind the camera. Nino Baragli cuts. Produced in Italy. Dialogue in Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

165 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, shot by Tonino Delli Colli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Editor Nino Baragli shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
4Franco Citti and Franca Pasut and Silvana Corsini carry the top of the cast.
5IMDB entry: tt0054599 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Tonino Delli Colli
Editing: Nino Baragli
Production design: Flavio Mogherini
Makeup / hair: Cesare Biseo
Runtime: 117 min · 1h 57m
Status: Released
Original language: IT
IMDB: Accattone (1961)

Also by

Pier Paolo Pasolini

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-05-04
★ 7/10
The eponymous creature (Franco Citti) is a bit of a malevolent sponge. Hs has deserted his wife and child so he can sit with his mates carousing and playing cards whilst he pimps out "Maddalena" (Silvana Corsini) and lives off her ill-gotten gains. He's quite content with this arrangement until she has an altercation with a Vesper and then finds herself rather unjustly locked up for a year. With his income dried up, he has to make some changes. He's ill equipped to get himself a job, and isn't really motivated either. Until, that is, he meets the wandering "Stella" (Franca Pasut). There are certain similarities between her and his incarcerated meal ticket, but she's no hooker nor anywhere near as green as he'd initially thought. He gradually starts to fall for her but can he sort himself out and jettison the worst elements of his past before she tells him to take a run and jump? Though it's hardly a jolly affair, I found this first of his movies to be one of Pasolini's merrier affairs that allows some humour to pepper a narrative of exploitation and manipulation. There's little doubt that the "Accattone" is a pretty odious man, but as the film moves along there's a sense that begins to creep in that he's not beyond redemption - and both the intimate photography and the engaging talent of the boyish Citti help bring that out slowly but surely. Pasut and Corsini both play well with parts that are gritty, earthy and devoid of anything that might really offer them any hope, and on the sidelines his young son "Iaio" (Danilo Alleva) often serves as the most of unlikely of anchors for his selfish father. There's always space for a comment on the place of the church in society, and here there's a distinct parody being drawn between sainthood and, well you decide... Hardly ever seen these days but well worth a couple of hours to see a Rome that Nero might well have been proud of.

Production companies