The Hawks and the Sparrows
Encyclopedia
The Hawks and the Sparrows is a 1966
Italian
film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini
. It was entered into the 1966 Cannes Film Festival
.
The movie is a post-neorealist
story about Totò
, the beloved stone-faced clown of Italian folk-stories. Totò and his son Ninetto, roam the neighbourhood and the countryside of Rome. During their walk they meet a talking crow, who, as seen on the intertitle
s, "Per chi avesse dei dubbi o si fosse distratto, ricordiamo che il Corvo è un intellettuale di sinistra -diciamo così- di prima della morte di Palmiro Togliatti
" ("For the benefit of those who were not paying attention or are in doubt, we remind that the Crow is a -to so call it- left-wing intellectual of the kind of those living before Palmiro Togliatti
's death").
The Crow tells them the tale of Ciccillo and Ninetto (still played by Totò and Ninetto), two franciscan friars, who were bid by San Francesco to preach to the hawks and the sparrows. They were successful in preaching the commandment of love unto them separately, but were not able to get them to love each other.
After the tale, the journey of Totò and Ninetto carries on, the Crow still following them and continuously speaking in an all-too-intellectually sounding way. They meet many other people in a deeply visionary setting, among which: land-owners who order them out of their land and end up shooting at Totò and Ninetto who wouldn't obey; a family living in a slum that Totò threathens to drive them out of their house; a group of travelling actors boarding a Cadillac; "1° convegno dei dentisti dantisti" (a wordplay, literally "1st convention of the Danteist dentists", with "Danteist" meaning "Dante scholar"); an engineer who is waiting for Totò to give him the money he owes him. After that, a brief extract of footage of Palmiro Togliatti's funeral. Then, after having met a prostitute, they end up killing and eating the Crow, whom they found to be unconscionably boring.
Pasolini declared that Uccellacci e uccellini was his favourite film, as it was the only one that did not disappoint his expectations.
Ennio Morricone's opening theme music comically features Domenico Modugno
singing the movie's credits in mock-operatic fashion, along with a few illustrative sound effects (i.e. a bird whistle for the title, laughter when Morricone's name is mentioned).
1966 in film
The year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini was an Italian film director, poet, writer, and intellectual. Pasolini distinguished himself as a poet, journalist, philosopher, linguist, novelist, playwright, filmmaker, newspaper and magazine columnist, actor, painter and political figure...
. It was entered into the 1966 Cannes Film Festival
1966 Cannes Film Festival
The 19th Cannes Film Festival was held on May 5-20, 1966. To honour the festival's 20th anniversary, a special prize was given.-Jury:*Sophia Loren *Marcel Achard *Vinicius de Moraes *Tetsuro Furukaki...
.
The movie is a post-neorealist
Neorealism (art)
In art, neorealism was established by the ex-Camden Town Group painters Charles Ginner and Harold Gilman at the beginning of World War I. They set out to explore the spirit of their age through the shapes and colours of daily life...
story about Totò
Totò
Prince Antonio Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno De Curtis di Bisanzio Gagliardi, best known by his stage name Totò and nicknamed il principe della risata was an Italian comedian, film and theatre actor, writer, singer and songwriter...
, the beloved stone-faced clown of Italian folk-stories. Totò and his son Ninetto, roam the neighbourhood and the countryside of Rome. During their walk they meet a talking crow, who, as seen on the intertitle
Intertitle
In motion pictures, an intertitle is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of the photographed action, at various points, generally to convey character dialogue, or descriptive narrative material related to, but not necessarily covered by, the material photographed.Intertitles...
s, "Per chi avesse dei dubbi o si fosse distratto, ricordiamo che il Corvo è un intellettuale di sinistra -diciamo così- di prima della morte di Palmiro Togliatti
Palmiro Togliatti
Palmiro Togliatti was an Italian politician and leader of the Italian Communist Party from 1927 until his death.-Early life:...
" ("For the benefit of those who were not paying attention or are in doubt, we remind that the Crow is a -to so call it- left-wing intellectual of the kind of those living before Palmiro Togliatti
Palmiro Togliatti
Palmiro Togliatti was an Italian politician and leader of the Italian Communist Party from 1927 until his death.-Early life:...
's death").
The Crow tells them the tale of Ciccillo and Ninetto (still played by Totò and Ninetto), two franciscan friars, who were bid by San Francesco to preach to the hawks and the sparrows. They were successful in preaching the commandment of love unto them separately, but were not able to get them to love each other.
After the tale, the journey of Totò and Ninetto carries on, the Crow still following them and continuously speaking in an all-too-intellectually sounding way. They meet many other people in a deeply visionary setting, among which: land-owners who order them out of their land and end up shooting at Totò and Ninetto who wouldn't obey; a family living in a slum that Totò threathens to drive them out of their house; a group of travelling actors boarding a Cadillac; "1° convegno dei dentisti dantisti" (a wordplay, literally "1st convention of the Danteist dentists", with "Danteist" meaning "Dante scholar"); an engineer who is waiting for Totò to give him the money he owes him. After that, a brief extract of footage of Palmiro Togliatti's funeral. Then, after having met a prostitute, they end up killing and eating the Crow, whom they found to be unconscionably boring.
Pasolini declared that Uccellacci e uccellini was his favourite film, as it was the only one that did not disappoint his expectations.
Ennio Morricone's opening theme music comically features Domenico Modugno
Domenico Modugno
Domenico Modugno was an Italian singer, songwriter, actor, and later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu "...
singing the movie's credits in mock-operatic fashion, along with a few illustrative sound effects (i.e. a bird whistle for the title, laughter when Morricone's name is mentioned).
Cast
- TotòTotòPrince Antonio Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno De Curtis di Bisanzio Gagliardi, best known by his stage name Totò and nicknamed il principe della risata was an Italian comedian, film and theatre actor, writer, singer and songwriter...
- Innocenti Totò / Brother Cicillo - Ninetto DavoliNinetto DavoliNinetto Davoli is an Italian actor who became known through his roles in several of Pier Paolo Pasolini's films.-Biography:Davoli was born in San Pietro a Maida, Calabria...
- Innocenti Ninetto / Brother Ninetto (as Davoli Ninetto) - Femi BenussiFemi BenussiFemi Benussi , is an Italian film actress. She appeared in 82 films between 1965 and 1983.She was born in Rovigno, Italy .-Selected filmography:* Bloody Pit of Horror * The Hawks and the Sparrows...
- Luna - Umberto Bevilacqua - Incensurato
- Renato Capogna - The medieval rude fellow
- Alfredo Leggi
- Renato Montalbano
- Flaminia Siciliano
- Giovanni Tarallo
- Vittorio Vittori - Ciro Lococo