I cannibali

1970 Italian film

I cannibali

Original film poster

Directed by| Liliana Cavani
Screenplay by| Italo Moscati
Liliana Cavani
Story by| Liliana Cavani
Based on| Antigone
by Sophocles
Produced by| Enzo Doria
Bino Cicogna
Starring| Pierre Clémenti
Britt Ekland
Tomas Milian
Delia Boccardo
Marino Masé
Francesco Leonetti
Cinematography| Giulio Albonico
Edited by| Nino Baragli
Music by| Ennio Morricone

Production
company

Doria-San Marco Film

Distributed by| Euro International Films

Release dates

* 25 April 1970 (1970-04-25) (Spoleto premiere)
* 30 April 1970 (1970-04-30) (Italy)

Running time

| 88 minutes
Country| Italy
Language| Italian

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.[1] 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.[2][3][4]

## Plot

[edit]

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.[5]

## Cast

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

I cannibali was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 1970 Cannes Film Festival.[6]

A restored version of the film was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Kino Lorber in 2014.[7]

## Soundtrack

[edit]

A complete limited edition of the soundtrack has been released on vinyl by Spikerot Records in 2019.[8]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Elkan Allan. A Guide to world cinema. Whittet Books in association with the British Film Institute, 1985.
2. ^ Luigi Ballerini. La lotta con Proteo. Cadmo, 2000.
3. ^ Paola Tallarigo; Luca Gasparini; Primo Goldoni. Lo Sguardo libero: il cinema di Liliana Cavani. La Casa Usher, 1990.
4. ^ Hoberman, J. (2014-01-31). "Reissuing an Italian Renaissance". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
5. ^ Brioni, Simone; Comberiati, Daniele (2019). Italian Science Fiction : The Other in Literature and Film. Springer International Publishing AG. pp. 83–108\. ISBN 9783030193256.
6. ^ Jean A. Gili; Aldo Tassone. Parigi-Roma: 50 anni di coproduzioni italo-francesi (1945-1995). Il castoro, 1995.
7. ^ "Raro Video to release". Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
8. ^ "Ennio Morricone - I Cannibali - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* I cannibali at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Liliana Cavani

* Francesco di Assisi (1966)
* Galileo (1968)
* I cannibali (1970)
* The Guest (1971)
* Milarepa (1973)
* The Night Porter (1974)
* Beyond Good and Evil (1977)
* The Skin (1981)
* Beyond the Door (1982)
* The Berlin Affair (1985)
* Francesco (1989)
* Where Are You? I'm Here (1993)
* Ripley's Game (2002)
* The Order of Time (2023)

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