PIER PAOLO PASOLINI

Bil’s rating (out of 5): BB.5

Italy, 1961.  Arco Film, Cino del Duca.  Screenplay by Pier Paolo Pasolini, based on his story, additional dialogue by Sergio Citti.  Cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli.  Produced by Alfredo Bini, Cino del Duca.  Music by Carlo Rustichelli.  Production Design by Flavio Mogherini.  Film Editing by Nino Baragli.  

Overlong and undernourished film debut of Pier Paolo Pasolini, adapting his own novel about a pimp in Rome who is at his wits’ end in dealing with his degrading life. Tired of being mistreated by society, he attempts to go straight but finds the path extremely difficult.

Pasolini uses mostly non-professional actors and presents a gritty, realistic Rome that out-neorealizes Rossellini and De Sica (not to mention making Antonioni and Fellini look like Hollywood musicals), but the momentum of the story doesn’t stick and makes for a very uneven film.