Rocco and His Brothers (1960) – Film Review

Director: Luchino Visconti
Cast: Alain Delon, Renato Salvatori, Annie Girardot
Certificate: 15

By Sarah Morgan

Luchino Visconti is undoubtedly one of the greatest directors of all time, but he didn’t make his films alone.

One person whose name is largely forgotten but deserves as much credit is Suso Cecchi d’Amico, a screenwriter who worked with most of the famous post-war Italian directors, including Franco Zeffirelli, Vittorio de Sica and Michelangelo Antonioni, on some of their most celebrated movies. She also contributed to one of my favourite films of all time, William Wyler’s romantic comedy Roman Holiday, for which Audrey Hepburn won her only Oscar.

So it’s rather wonderful to see that, among the special features on this beautifully restored 4K Blu-ray presentation, d’Amico’s daughter, Caterina, is on hand to discuss her mother’s legacy which, of course, includes Rocco and His Brothers.

The film begins with four of the siblings and their beloved mama arriving in Milan, having left their home in the south of the country following their father’s recent death. They’re looking for a new start and, hopefully, better prospects in the city, where they are reunited with their eldest brother, Vincenzo.

Initially, it seems to have been a wise move, with one of their number, Simone, turning out to be a good boxer with high hopes of becoming a champion. However, he falls in love with a prostitute called Nadia and hopes to persuade her to give up her life on the streets to be with him, but she isn’t serious about the relationship. Her ambivalence sparks an alarming decline in her lover.

“Shocks everyone”

Rocco, meanwhile, is a sensitive soul and the heart of the family. He’s called up for military service, near the end of which he bumps into Nadia; they begin to see each other and she, inspired by Rocco’s good-natured approach to life, decides to start afresh.

Fourth brother, Ciro, lands a job at a car factory and is engaged to a local girl, while the youngest, Luca, looks up to his siblings, particularly Rocco.

Unfortunately, when Simone, who has descended into alcoholism, hears about Rocco and Nadia, he reacts with an anger that shocks everyone he knows, setting in motion and desperate and tragic finale.

Just shy of three hours long, you need buns of steel to sit through it all in one go, but if you do, you’ll be rewarded with an epic family saga, one that despite receiving a lacklustre reception on its release in 1960, has since been lauded as one of the greats of the neo-realist movement. It’s also been an influence on both Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese.

Beautifully shot and wonderfully acted, it’s almost documentary in style. Look out for a young and almost unbearably beautiful duo in the cast too – Alain Delon, as Rocco, and Claudia Cardinale; Visconti certainly knew how to spot emerging talent.

As well as the interview with Caterina d’Amico, the special features include an insight into the film’s importance to both Delon and his director’s careers, archive interviews with some of its stars, and short factual films relating to the working-class Italian life so brilliantly depicted throughout.

Sarah Morgan( Writer )

Sarah Morgan studied film journalism at post-graduate level with the BFI and has been writing about TV and film for PA Media’s newspaper, magazine and new media customers since 1996. She’s also written for a wide range of other publications, both online and in print, including the book Offbeat and Intermission magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Talking Pictures TV podcast. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s collecting and reading vintage crime and horror paperback books or, for her sins, watching her beloved Sheffield Wednesday.

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