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Reviews Counted:25
Fresh:22
Rotten:3
Average Rating:7.1/10
Synopsis: Peter Miller directs this documentary about two Italian immigrant anarchists who were accused of murder in 1920 and executed seven years later. As Tony Shalhoub and John Turturro read the men's... [More]
Starring: Tony Shalhoub, John Turturro, Studs Terkel, Arlo Guthrie
Director: Peter Miller
A long-held cause celebre for leftists the world over, the story of immigrant activists Sacco & Vanzetti is told in Peter Miller's rote documentary as a reference point for the way immigrants are still mistreated in America.
Surprisingly, this is the first nonfiction film to tackle the subject and Miller manages to find the parallels to contemporary times without being too pedantic or heavy-handed.
Nicola Sacco, Bartolomeo Vanzetti, and the incredible firestorm of outrage generated by their criminal trials have been largely neglected in recent years, but Peter Miller's absolutely engrossing documentary Sacco and Vanzetti brings it all back.
But even those who might feel that the movie presents a one-sided view of the evidence would have to admit that the trial was a travesty.
A knee-jerk take that may touch many hearts but does not feed or satisfy the mind.
The meat-and-potatoes style of Sacco and Vanzetti seems less a failure of imagination than a means of putting in the foreground its intriguing subject matter.
Top CriticClick to read the article
Click to read the article
With cases of such importance, it's always a good idea to be reminded every now and then as to how things can go wrong, and justice means that just because a person is guilty of SOMETHING, doesn't mean that it's okay for the State frame them for something
Watching the film, it's hard not to feel a cold chill of recognition, particularly when Miller's interviewees discuss immigration, patriotism and war, and civil liberties versus homeland security in a time of national crisis.
Miller, a New Yorker, uses archival footage, dramatized readings and talking heads, including Sacco's niece and a neighbor of Vanzetti's, to get his point across.
Miller's film shows how quickly Americans facing perceived foreign threats are willing to ignore basic liberties. Sound familiar?
[Pic] does a superb job of condensing an overwhelming mass of documentation, archival imagery and artistic representation into a concise yet passionate history lesson whose relevance could not be timelier.
Top CriticOnly 81 minutes long, Sacco and Vanzetti is packed with information.
[Director Peter Miller] shrewdly exposes the monolithic, class-driven legal machinery that sent a pair of innocent, hard-working immigrants to the chair.
An excellent, disturbing documentary.
An informative expose' for those naïve enough not to know that the criminal justice system has always been stacked in favor of the rich, the white, and the well-connected.
The measured tone, though understatedly indignant regarding the miscarriage of justice, will likely draw viewers into the conversation.
rather too glib
A bit pedantic, but thorough and interesting throughout, a must for history buffs.
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