Overview
Lubin Visconti was at the height of his powers when he directed Rocco and His Brothers in 1960. An epic of modern urban life, Rocco tells the story of a family of peasants uprooted from their village in southern Italy, and forced to battle for existence in the industrial metropolis of Milan.
Though fascinated by the social reality of modern Italy, Visconti had by this time thrown off the influence of the neorealist movement. He developed a style all his own, enriched by his experience of directing opera for the stage. As a result, the characters in Rocco are no longer held in check by the naturalistic conventions of neorealism.
Instead, they erupt on the screen with all the emotional power of heightened melodrama.
The violent sexuality was too much for the Italian censors, who cut several scenes. Sam Rohdie's informed and perceptive analysis of the full, restored version reveals the film as one of the greatest masterpieces of Italian cinema.