Rotten Tomatoes Logo Do you want to see ‘Sacco and Vanzetti’?

Sacco and Vanzetti (2007)

tomatometer

91

Average Rating: 7.6/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 1

No consensus yet.

audience

60

liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 1,680

My Rating

Movie Info

Filmmaker Peter Miller explores the crimes, trial, and execution of notorious 20th-century anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti in a documentary that highlights just how this landmark case came to symbolize the injustice and intolerance experienced by immigrants longing to pursue their dreams in the land of the free. It was 1920 when Italian immigrant anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti were accused of murder in Massachusetts. Seven years later, when the jurors delivered their final verdict

Unrated, 1 hr. 21 min.

Documentary

Aug 21, 2007

First Run

Cast

All Critics (29) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (26) | Rotten (4) | DVD (3)

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.

May 17, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | Comment
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

April 2, 2007 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

March 30, 2007 Full Review Source: New York Post | Comment
New York Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Miller's film shows how quickly Americans facing perceived foreign threats are willing to ignore basic liberties. Sound familiar?

March 30, 2007 Full Review Source: New York Daily News | Comment
New York Daily News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

[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.

March 30, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Only 81 minutes long, Sacco and Vanzetti is packed with information.

March 29, 2007 Full Review Source: Village Voice | Comment
Village Voice
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

April 26, 2009 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | Comment
ColeSmithey.com

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.

July 14, 2007 Full Review Source: Murphy's Movie Reviews | Comment
Murphy's Movie Reviews

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.

April 5, 2007 Comment

A knee-jerk take that may touch many hearts but does not feed or satisfy the mind.

April 2, 2007 Full Review Source: Film Journal International | Comment (1)
Film Journal International

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

March 31, 2007 Full Review Source: Entertainment Insiders | Comment
Entertainment Insiders

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.

March 30, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

An excellent, disturbing documentary.

March 29, 2007 Full Review Source: Film Threat | Comment
Film Threat
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Sacco and Vanzetti

A solid documentary about one of the worst miscarriages of justice in American history.

January 28, 2009
flixsterman
Randy Tippy

Super Reviewer

"Sacco & Vanzetti" is an informative documentary about Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, two immigrants and anarchists who were railroaded for a murder and robbery that happened near Boston in 1920 and executed in 1927.(Even though I heard of them, the particulars of the case were unfamiliar to me until now.)

April 5, 2008
Harlequin68
Walter M.

Super Reviewer

Sacco and Vanzetti Quotes

No quotes approved yet for Sacco and Vanzetti. Logged in users can submit quotes.

Latest News for Sacco and Vanzetti

What's Hot On RT

Critics Consensus
Critics Consensus

Journey 2 Not Worth the Trip

Luis Guzman
Luis Guzman

What are his 10 best movies ever?

<em>Amazing Spider-Man</em>
Amazing Spider-Man

See the all-new action-packed trailer!

The Avengers!
The Avengers!

Five new Marvelous pictures

Top Movie Quizzes

LEGO Mania: 2011 Best Picture Nominees
by natalie - 18,564 taken
created 12 months ago
How Much Do You Know About Leonardo DiCaprio?
by natalie - 44,424 taken
created 15 months ago
Pixar Movies!
by jdikwlzviv - 27,149 taken
created 15 months ago
The Wizards of Harry Potter
by jdikwlzviv - 27,649 taken
created 15 months ago
Help | About | Jobs | Newsletter | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Blog | Developers | Mobile