Accattone Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Accattone Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 10, 2023

Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Accattone" (1961) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include archival audio commentary by critic Tony Rayns; archival episode of the French TV program Cineastes de notre temps; vintage trailer; and more. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Hear what the prophet says, Accattone. Today you sell the ring, tomorrow the chain. In seven days, the watch too, and in seventy-seven days, you won't even have eyes to weep with.

Franco Citti is Accattone, a cynical and violent young pimp who spends his time in the slums of Rome. He is also a husband and father, but his wife has left him and taken their son with her. Her family has warned him to stay away from them and forget that they exist.

For a while Accattone does just that -- he hangs around with his lowly friends and spends the money his golden goose, the naive prostitute Maddalena (Silvana Corsini), gives him. Life is easy and fun and Accattone quickly forgets about his family.

But when Maddalena is arrested and jailed, Accattone’s life begins to spiral out of control. First he realizes that he can no longer support himself, and then his friends, who have been taking advantage of him, begin ridiculing him. Nevertheless, Accattone stays with them and together they wander around the streets of Rome, joking, laughing, and looking for the next easy score.

Eventually, Accattone meets Stella (Franca Pasut), a peasant girl who has come to the big city hoping to land a good job but is now collecting empty bottles and selling them for pennies. He takes her out dancing and later on shows her how much more she could make if she started seeing handsome gentlemen willing to pay for her company. Stella tries to become a prostitute but quickly realizes that she can’t and instead falls in love with Accattone.

Meanwhile, the frustrated and disillusioned Accattone manages to get a low-paying job at a scrapyard, but filled with anger and blaming everyone around him for his misery he immediately loses it. Left with no other options to make ends meet, he reunites with his old friends and they head back to the streets, looking to steal anything that they could sell.

Though it may seem like Pier Paolo Pasolini’s directorial debut has plenty in common with the films of the Italian Neorealists, it is actually a well scripted drama with a crystal clear political message. Small portions of it have that familiar raw and gritty look, but the rest of the film is infused with poetic beauty, at times even sensual melancholy.

Accattone is essentially portrayed as a corrupt martyr -- he isn’t an idealist, but he is firmly convinced that existing instead of living isn’t worth it. He has become a pimp -- and thus forced others to exist -- but out of necessity. Naturally, the point the film makes is that the real villain is the unjust socio-political system, which has created a vicious cycle and forced the poor in it.

While Accattone’s life slowly spirals out of control, various Catholic references are countered with Marxist rhetoric. However, the intensity with which Pasolini’s political views enter the film is hardly comparable to that of his latter films, and especially his controversial Salo, or The 120 Days of Sodom.

The cast of predominantly non-professionals is outstanding. Citti’s intense performance, in particular, transforms the entire film. Pasut is also very convincing as the naive peasant girl. A young Adriana Asti has a small but memorable role as well.

Bernardo Bertolucci acted as a production assistant in Accattone. This was his first big job in the movie business.

*Accattone premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 1961, where it immediately divided critics.

Accattone Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Accattone arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The release introduces a new 4K restoration of Accattone that was prepared at L'Immagine Ritrovata in 2020. According to technical credits that are included on the release, the 4K restoration was made from the original camera negative, which Studio Cine provided in Rome.

The only other Blu-ray release of Accattone that I have is this Region-B release, which Eureka Entertainment produced in 2012. Until now, the Region-B release offered the best presentation of the film.

The new 4K makeover has very strong organic qualities and offers good upgrades in several areas. For example, it has far more consistent density levels and all-around superior delineation. Clarity is better too, especially during footage with bright daylight and different ranges of darker nuances. The dynamic range of the visuals is more pleasing. However, I must mention something that I found quite interesting. I always suspected that the gamma levels on the Region-B release were not set properly but my previous player would make the adjustment on the fly, so this was not a serious issue. Now the gamma levels are clearly better and the visuals look more appealing, but there are still a few areas with small fluctuations that must be inherited. Also, it is quite easy to tell now that the older master that was used to produce the Region-B release must have been struck from an inferior source because it tends to exacerbate most of these small fluctuations. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is very good, but there are a few transitions with momentary drops in quality. All in all, I think the 4K makeover is clearly the best and most attractive presentation of the film. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Accattone Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Italian LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless audio is outstanding. All exchanges are very easy to follow and there are no age-related imperfections to report. Also, I thought that the audio is exceptionally healthy, though I could not identify any particular areas with key improvements. I ran a few quick tests with the older Region-B release of Accattone that I have and it just feels like the middle and upper registers are a tad more solid. (This is the only way I can describe what I heard).

Accattone Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage Italian trailer for Accattone. In Italian, with English subtitles. (2 min).

• Cineastes de notre temps - presented here is an archival episode of the French TV program Cineastes de notre temps that explores Pier Paolo Pasolini's socio-political views and understanding of cinema and its function. Included are clips from interviews with Pasolini, the great actor Toto, and other lesser-known collaborators. The episode was broadcast on November 15, 1966. In French and Italian, with English subtitles. (98 min).

• Commentary - in this archival audio commentary, film critic Tony Rayns discusses Accattone, its key themes and characters, the socio-political climate in Italy at the time the film was made, Pier Paolo Pasolini's controversial legacy, etc. The commentary track first appeared on Eureka Entertainment's Region-B DVD release of Accattone in 2011.

• Pasolini on Pasolini - in this new program, Tilda Swinton and writer Rachel Kusher read from Pier Paolo Pasolini's personal essays and journal entries. In English, not subtitled. (30 min).

• Book - a 100-page book featuring an essay and notes on the films by critic James Quandt, and writings and drawings by Pier Paolo Pasolini.

Accattone Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A few weeks ago, I had a very interesting discussion with a good friend, and in the middle of it, he asked me to name some of the most impressive directorial debuts that I have seen over the years. We agreed to limit them only to classic films that I have in my library and my top three picks were Pier Paolo Pasolini's Accatone, Roy Andersson's A Swedish Love Story, and Louis Malle's Elevator to the Gallows. While drastically different, these films are equally impressive cinematic statements from future masters. Accatone is not the first film to emerge in discussions of Pasolini's work, and given the controversy that surrounds his most extreme films it is entirely understandable, but I think that when examined together its style, attitude, and fearless objectivity remain unmatched. This upcoming release introduces a fabulous new 4K restoration of Accatone that was prepared at L'Immagine Ritrovata in 2020. It is included in Criterion's Pasolini 101, a nine-disc box set, which will be out next month. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.