Salvatore Giuliano
Director: Francesco Rosi
Year Released: 1962
Rating: 1.5
Emotionally dead portrait of Sicilian "hero" who, like Wyler's Christ in Ben Hur, is such a mystical figure that his face is never shown (like Christ, he's also betrayed by a close friend). The stern tone and deliberate pacing make for lethargic viewing - you can't 'pick a side' to 'root for' because both the government and Giuliano and his people are all fascists of one kind or another, and there aren't 'people' fighting, only abstract masses shot from afar. This poses a problem in the second hour, when Rosi pulls off the inexplicable move of turning it into a courtroom drama (complete with flashbacks) where it finally gets around to introducing the rebels and getting into particulars ... but by that time it's too late.
