Sacco and Vanzetti

The 1920 murder trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti logically shouldn't have created much in the way of public interest. A couple of Italian immigrant anarchists in the Boston area, the pair were not celebrities in their own right and the crime for which they were accused (the fatal shooting of a factory payroll master and a security guard) had the flavor of a local story, not an international scandal. Yet as Peter Miller's excellent documentary Sacco and Vanzetti details, the trial and subsequent death penalty brought against these men became a symbol of intolerance toward immigration and radical politics. Although evidence of Sacco and Vanzetti's participation in the crime was virtually nil, the prosecutors created their own and employed perjured testimony to convict the men. Anti-Italian sentiment from the era doomed the pair, and global protests on their behalf only seemed to harden the courts against their case. Sacco and Vanzetti combines prison writings (voiced by actors John Turturro and Tony Shalhoub), archival footage/stills, and commentary from the likes of Howard Zinn, Studs Terkel, and Arlo Guthrie (who also performs his father Woody Guthrie's “Red Wine”), as well as Italian filmmaker Giuliano Montaldo, who directed a long-forgotten 1971 film on the case. Sacco and Vanzetti is a disturbing film, particularly since there has never been an official posthumous exoneration of these framed men—even at this late date, justice is still being denied. DVD extras include an interview with the director, a FAQ file, and an archival photo gallery. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)