The Hawks and the Sparrows

One of the handful of films that found Pier Paolo Pasolini sustaining a merrier mode of cultural assault, Hawks and Sparrows [ Uccellacci e uccellini ] features Italy’s popular comic actor Totò (known to cinephiles as the star of Roberto Rossellini’s Dov’è la liberta…? ) and Pasolini regular Ninetto Davoli in a picaresque fable that lampoons politics, religion, and the legacy of neorealism. A crow gifted with the power of speech accompanies wandering duo Totò and Ninetto on a trail that leads to their roles as Franciscan friars who preach to the literal “hawks and sparrows”, before returning in time to gaze upon slum-dwellers, Danteist dentists, itinerant actor-hippies, and, ultimately, the state of the modern world. Featuring a score by the legendary Ennio Morricone, Pasolini’s anarchic comedy remains a time-capsule of the giddy tensions torqued by the dawn of the late Sixties. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Hawks and Sparrows in a special DVD edition from a new HD master.