I cannibali
{{short description|1970 Italian film}}
{{Infobox film
| name = I cannibali
| image = The Cannibals.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Original film poster
| native_name =
| director = Liliana Cavani
| producer = Enzo Doria
Bino Cicogna
| writer =
| screenplay = Italo Moscati
Liliana Cavani
| story = Liliana Cavani
| based_on = Antigone
by Sophocles
| starring = Pierre Clémenti
Britt Ekland
Tomas Milian
Delia Boccardo
Marino Masé
Francesco Leonetti
| narrator =
| music = Ennio Morricone
| cinematography = Giulio Albonico
| editing = Nino Baragli
| studio = Doria-San Marco Film
| distributor = Euro International Films
| released = {{Film date|1970|04|25|Spoleto premiere|1970|04|30|Italy|df=yes}}
| runtime = 88 minutes
| country = Italy
| language = Italian
| budget =
| gross =
}}
I cannibali, English title The Cannibals or The Year of the Cannibals, is a 1970 Italian drama film directed by Liliana Cavani and starring Britt Ekland, Pierre Clémenti, and Tomas Milian.{{cite book|last=Elkan Allan|title=A Guide to world cinema|publisher=Whittet Books in association with the British Film Institute, 1985}} It is a modernized retelling of the Greek tragedy Antigone, set in contemporary Milan and drawing upon socio-political themes and imagery of the time, including the protests of 1968, the counter-cultural movement, and the Years of Lead.{{cite book|last=Luigi Ballerini|title=La lotta con Proteo|publisher=Cadmo, 2000}}{{cite book|author1=Paola Tallarigo|title=Lo Sguardo libero: il cinema di Liliana Cavani|author2=Luca Gasparini|author3=Primo Goldoni|publisher=La Casa Usher, 1990}}{{Cite news|last=Hoberman|first=J.|date=2014-01-31|title=Reissuing an Italian Renaissance|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/02/movies/homevideo/sophoclean-hippies-in-liliana-cavanis-i-cannibali-1970.html|access-date=2021-11-08|issn=0362-4331}}
Plot
The streets of the city are littered with corpses. It is the result of the repression of a protest by the police. A decree of law prohibits the removal of the bodies, under penalty of death, by supreme order of the totalitarian regime. People pass the macabre scene with indifference. Only Antigone wants to bury her brother, but neither her family, nor her fiancé - who is the son of the prime minister - will help her. She finds help from Tiresias, a mysterious stranger who speaks an unknown language. The two dedicate themselves to burying the dead and for this they are arrested and tortured; at first they manage to escape but then they are killed by the police. However, they become a symbol for many young people who, from that moment, begin to collect the corpses of the rebels to bury them.{{cite book |last1=Brioni |first1=Simone |last2=Comberiati |first2=Daniele |title=Italian Science Fiction : The Other in Literature and Film |date=2019 |publisher=Springer International Publishing AG |isbn=9783030193256 |pages=83-108}}
Cast
{{castlist|
- Britt Ekland as Antigone
- Pierre Clémenti as Tiresia
- Tomas Milian as Emone
- Delia Boccardo as Ismene
- Marino Masé as Ismene's Fiancé
- Francesco Leonetti as the Prime Minister
- Alessandro Cane as the Security Minister
- Cora Mazzoni as Antigone’s Mother
- Francesco Arminio as Antigone’s Father
- Giampiero Frondini as Television Speaker
}}
Release
I cannibali was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 1970 Cannes Film Festival.{{cite book|author1=Jean A. Gili |author2=Aldo Tassone |title=Parigi-Roma: 50 anni di coproduzioni italo-francesi (1945-1995)|publisher=Il castoro, 1995}}
A restored version of the film was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Kino Lorber in 2014.{{cite web|title=Raro Video to release|url=http://www.kinolorber.com/news.php?news_id=210|access-date=23 September 2015|archive-date=25 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925101637/http://www.kinolorber.com/news.php?news_id=210|url-status=dead}}
Soundtrack
A complete limited edition of the soundtrack has been released on vinyl by Spikerot Records in 2019.{{cite web |title=Ennio Morricone - I Cannibali - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/14669823-Ennio-Morricone-I-Cannibali-Original-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack?srsltid=AfmBOorSIEzRAw_0NOYwVfcSdwbG1Xq1vhQw8SpaBBi97QT9Zv4Is9MA |access-date=10 April 2025 |language=en |date=2019}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0065518}}
{{Liliana Cavani}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:cannibali}}
Category:Films based on Antigone (Sophocles play)
Category:Films directed by Liliana Cavani
Category:Films scored by Ennio Morricone
Category:Modern adaptations of Antigone (Sophocles play)
Category:Italian political films