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IMDbPro

The Conformist

Original title: Il conformista
  • 19701970
  • RR
  • 1h 53m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
30K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
6,815
597
Jean-Louis Trintignant, Dominique Sanda, and Stefania Sandrelli in The Conformist (1970)
Watch Trailer originale italiano [OV]
Play trailer1:12
2 Videos
99+ Photos
Drama
A weak-willed Italian man becomes a fascist flunky who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident.A weak-willed Italian man becomes a fascist flunky who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident.A weak-willed Italian man becomes a fascist flunky who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident.
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
30K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
6,815
597
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Bernardo Bertolucci
    • Writers
      • Alberto Moravia(novel)
      • Bernardo Bertolucci(screenplay)
      • Lee Kresel(written by: English version)
    • Stars
      • Jean-Louis Trintignant
      • Stefania Sandrelli
      • Gastone Moschin
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Bernardo Bertolucci
    • Writers
      • Alberto Moravia(novel)
      • Bernardo Bertolucci(screenplay)
      • Lee Kresel(written by: English version)
    • Stars
      • Jean-Louis Trintignant
      • Stefania Sandrelli
      • Gastone Moschin
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 127User reviews
    • 126Critic reviews
    • 100Metascore
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 10 wins & 8 nominations total

    Videos2

    Trailer originale italiano [OV]
    Trailer 1:12
    Trailer originale italiano [OV]
    The Conformist
    Trailer 1:41
    The Conformist

    Photos621

    Benedetto Benedetti and Dominique Sanda in The Conformist (1970)
    Dominique Sanda and Stefania Sandrelli in The Conformist (1970)
    Jean-Louis Trintignant, Dominique Sanda, and Stefania Sandrelli in The Conformist (1970)
    Stefania Sandrelli and Enzo Tarascio in The Conformist (1970)
    Dominique Sanda and Stefania Sandrelli in The Conformist (1970)
    Bernardo Bertolucci and Vittorio Storaro in The Conformist (1970)
    The Conformist (1970)
    The Conformist (1970)
    Jean-Louis Trintignant in The Conformist (1970)
    The Conformist (1970)
    The Conformist (1970)
    The Conformist (1970)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jean-Louis Trintignant
    Jean-Louis Trintignant
    • Marcello Clerici
    • (as Jean Louis Trintignant)
    Stefania Sandrelli
    Stefania Sandrelli
    • Giulia
    Gastone Moschin
    Gastone Moschin
    • Manganiello
    Enzo Tarascio
    • Professor Quadri
    Fosco Giachetti
    Fosco Giachetti
    • Il colonnello
    José Quaglio
    José Quaglio
    • Italo Montanari
    Yvonne Sanson
    Yvonne Sanson
    • Madre di Giulia
    Milly
    Milly
    • Madre di Marcello
    Antonio Maestri
    • Confessore
    Alessandro Haber
    Alessandro Haber
    • Cieco ubriaco
    Luciano Rossi
    Luciano Rossi
    • Biondo cieco
    Massimo Sarchielli
    Massimo Sarchielli
    • Cieco
    Pierangelo Civera
    • Franz
    Giuseppe Addobbati
    Giuseppe Addobbati
    • Padre di Marcello
    Christian Aligny
    • Raoul
    • (as Cristian Alegny)
    Carlo Gaddi
    • Hired Killer
    Umberto Silvestri
    • Hired Killer
    Furio Pellerani
    • Hired Killer
    • Director
      • Bernardo Bertolucci
    • Writers
      • Alberto Moravia(novel)
      • Bernardo Bertolucci(screenplay)
      • Lee Kresel(written by: English version)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The hospital that Clerici's father is at is actually the Teatro Libera (Free Theater) at the Palazzo dei Congressi in EUR, a massive complex on the outskirts of Rome that was begun as a monument to the Fascist Government. This massive, modernist white marble complex and theater have appeared in several other films and television shows.
    • Goofs
      A radio tower appears in a flashback to Marcello's Rome boyhood in 1917.
    • Quotes

      Italo: A normal man? For me, a normal man is one who turns his head to see a beautiful woman's bottom. The point is not just to turn your head. There are five or six reasons. And he is glad to find people who are like him, his equals. That's why he likes crowded beaches, football, the bar downtown...

      Marcello: At Piazza Venice.

      Italo: He likes people similar to himself and does not trust those who are different. That's why a normal man is a true brother, a true citizen, a true patriot...

      Marcello: A true fascist.

    • Alternate versions
      The "Dance of the Blind" sequence was restored for the 1994 re-issue of the film. This had been cut for the American release. Contrary to early reports, the DVD released by Paramount does include this scene.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002)
    • Soundtracks
      Chi È Più Felice Di Me?
      (uncredited)

      Composed by Cesare A. Bixio

      Arranged by Georges Delerue

    User reviews127

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    Visually amazing, great sets and sites and blocking, great light, and a very good story, too!
    The Conformist (1970)

    Well, the reputation this movie has for visual brilliance is well earned. There are whole scenes, lasting just seconds, that are breathtaking not only for the setting (or the sets) but for the way it's composed, a pair of figures in one place, a different scenario (and light) in the background. It's endlessly fascinating and evolving, this play of space and light and figures (actors, yes) moving through it all.

    It's also so stylized it becomes a force of its own, above the plot, which has its own kind of surreal fragmentation. So the end result is simply being there, somewhere, and having events twirl around you. This is almost enough. It's magical and moving and simply beautiful. The cinematographer was Vittorio Stararo, in one of his first films. He has worked with the director, Bernardo Bertolucci, on a whole bunch of films ("Last Tango in Paris" might be the most famous for American viewers), and also with other directors for some of their masterpieces: "Apocalypse Now" and "Reds" are just two.

    This large, controlling, sometimes self-serving style might not suit everyone, but it does me. And in this case ("The Conformist") it's actually the strongest element. The rest of the movie is really a little bit of a mixed bag. That the end result is pretty fabulous is a testament to making some odd pieces fit, or not fit, perfectly.

    What doesn't become clear for some time is the point of the title, which is the moving, significant point of the movie: the main character survives Fascist Italy and then post-War, anti-Fascist Italy, but "conforming," which is to say, he doesn't have particular beliefs, but he knows what will get him to survive. And for him, survival is all that matters, even if it means a watered down life. His professor of many years earlier is just the opposite, and is a kind of hero and de-facto enemy to him. This professor has left Italy in order to fight Mussolini, and he has to face death threats as a consequence.

    It's always interesting when the main character, this blow-with-the-wind Marcello, is not especially admirable or even interesting. He is surrounded by some quirky and inevitably interesting people, for sure, but even the two most important of these, his wife and his lover, are kind of symbolic and slightly unaffected types. I mean unaffected by all this terrible stuff going on in the lead up to the War.

    And so the end result is we are less affected than you would expect. Or like. Yes, I know this movie gets hugely appreciative reviews, and I think it's for the ambiance, and for the big anti-Fascist message (which is smart and powerful and I agree with). But as a drama between people trying to find themselves, to love the right people, to accomplish a violent political crime, it remains distant, at least most of the time.

    Another thing to note: even though the titles are in English, this was and is an Italian movie, with dialog in Italian and a little French. You'll find the sound is awkwardly dubbed--and I mean dubbed in the original language, a looseness of lip-synching that just wouldn't make it in Hollywood (and which you see in other earlier Italian films). Because in fact the dialog is often re-recorded later in movies like this (for superior sound, or because there was too much ambient interference), the synching becomes an issue. Ignore it if you can. It bugged me sometimes.

    Overall, yes, this is a kind of masterpiece--flawed, a little bit at arm's length, but stunning, too, and with an important theme.
    helpful•9
    4
    • secondtake
    • Sep 12, 2011

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 21, 1971 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Italy
      • France
      • West Germany
    • Languages
      • Italian
      • French
      • Latin
      • Chinese
    • Also known as
      • Der große Irrtum
    • Filming locations
      • Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy
    • Production companies
      • Mars Film
      • Marianne Productions
      • Maran Film
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $750,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $58,657
    • Gross worldwide
      • $400,747
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 53 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.66 : 1

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