Rocco and His Brothers | |
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Italian theatrical release poster
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Directed by | Luchino Visconti |
Produced by | Goffredo Lombardo |
Screenplay by |
Luchino Visconti Suso Cecchi D'Amico Pasquale Festa Campanile Massimo Franciosa Enrico Mediola |
Story by |
Suso Cecchi d'Amico Luchino Visconti Vasco Pratolini |
Based on |
Il ponte della Ghisolfa by Giovanni Testori |
Starring |
Alain Delon Renato Salvatori Annie Girardot Katina Paxinou Spiros Focás Max Cartier Rocco Vidolazzi |
Music by | Nino Rota |
Cinematography | Giuseppe Rotunno |
Edited by | Mario Serandrei |
Production
company |
Titanus
Les Films Marceau |
Distributed by | Astor Pictures Corporation |
Release date
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Running time
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177 minutes |
Country |
Italy France |
Language | Italian |
Box office |
2,173,480 admissions (France) $11,328 gross (Italy) |
2,173,480 admissions (France)
Rocco e i suoi fratelli (English: Rocco and His Brothers) is a 1960 Italian film directed by Luchino Visconti, inspired by an episode from the novel Il ponte della Ghisolfa by Giovanni Testori. Set in Milan, it tells the story of an immigrant family from the South and its disintegration in the society of the industrial North. The title is a combination of Thomas Mann's Joseph and his Brothers and the name of Rocco Scotellaro, an Italian poet who described the feelings of the peasants of southern Italy.
The film stars Alain Delon, Renato Salvatori, Annie Girardot, and Claudia Cardinale, in one of her early roles before she became internationally known. The film's score was composed by Nino Rota.
Parts of the movie scenes were filmed in Lierna, Lake Como.
After the death of his father, Rocco Parondi (Alain Delon), one of the five sons of a poor rural Italian family travels north from Lucania to join his older brother Vincenzo in Milan, led by the matriarch Rosaria (Katina Paxinou). She is the "hand to which the five fingers belong" as she states in the film and she has a powerful influence on her sons. Presented in five distinct sections, the film weaves the story of the five brothers Vincenzo, Simone, Rocco, Ciro and Luca Parondi as each of them adapts to his new life in the city.
Vincenzo, the eldest brother, is already living in Milan when his mother and brothers come to join him expecting to move in with him. An initial scene ensues between the Parondi family and Vincenzo's fiancée Ginetta's family, and the whole Parondi family moves in together. Despite early friction between Rosaria and Ginetta, he soon gets married and starts a family of his own. After settling down, Vincenzo doesn't interact much with the Parondi brothers. Simone struggles to adapt to urban life, and the arrival of Nadia (Annie Girardot), a prostitute from Cremona will lead to his tragic downfall. She incites him to pursue a career in boxing as a fast way to reach fame and wealth, which his mother also encourages. After initially pursuing Vincenzo only to find him happy in his new family life, Nadia turns her interest to Simone. Simone falls in love with Nadia and demands for more than a casual relationship, but she rejects him.