Anna Magnani is Mamma Roma, a middle-aged prostitute who attempts to extricate herself from her sordid past for the sake of her son.
Filmed in the great tradition of Italian neorealism, Mamma Roma offers an unflinching look at the struggle for survival in postwar Italy, and highlights director Pier Paolo Pasolini’s lifelong fascination with the marginalized and dispossessed.
Though banned upon its release in Italy for obscenity, today Mamma Roma remains a classic, featuring a powerhouse performance by one of cinema’s greatest actresses and offering a glimpse at a country’s most controversial director in the process of finding his style. —The Criterion Collection
Cast: Anna Magnani, Ettore Garofolo, Franco Citti, Silvana Corsini, Luisa Loiano, Paolo Volponi, Luciano Gonini, Vittorio La Paglia, Piero Morgia, Franco Ceccarelli, Marcello Sorrentino, Sandro Meschino, Franco Tovo, Pasquale Ferrarese, Leandro Santarelli, Emanuele Di Bari, Antonio Spoletini, Nino Bionci, Nino Venzi, Maria Bernardini, Santino Citti, Renato Montalbano
Venice (In Competition)
About this movie
Title: Mamma Roma (1962)
Directed by: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Date of birth: 5 March 1922, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Date of death: 2 November 1975, Ostia, Latium, Italy
Writing credits: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Year: 1962
Country: Italy
Language: Italian
Color: Black and White
Runtime: 106 min.