53 Pier Paolo Pasolini Movies, Ranked Best to Worst

Based on ‘The Gospel of Matthew’ of the New Testament, this historical drama film revolves around the life of Jesus of Nazareth. As he continues performing miracles and preaching among the people,  Matthew, one of his disciples, portrays his life and his messages.

This Italian comedy drama film follows the life of a philandering paparazzo journalist living in Rome. Despite his carefree approach to living, and hedonistic attitude towards life, he does have some moments of quite reflection, which results in an intriguing cinematic study of his character. 

The Nights of Cabiria is an Oscar-winning Italian drama film, which tells the story of a prostitute who wanders the streets of Rome hoping to find true love. However, she only finds dejection and heartbreak. 

Mamma Roma is a former prostitute living in Rome, who tries to start a new life as a vegetable seller. However, when her son Ettore finds out about his mother’s past, he succumbs to his dark side, and becomes a petty criminal. Eventually, he is sent to prison, but Mamma Romma struggles to get him released and build the best life  possible for her son and herself. 

Vittorio lives a life as a pimp but things take a turn when his prostitute Maddalena, is hurt by his rivals and sent to jail. He finds himself without an income, but he still lacks the motivation to work for himself. When he meets a naïve woman named Stella, he tries to lure her into prostituting for him.

Alvaro Cosenza, who is also known by the name Hunchback from Quarticciolo, decides to revolt during Rome’s occupation by Nazis in 1943. He fights like a partisan till the Allied forces enter Rome. Although they expected a change after the arrival of the Allied Forces, Alvaro continues living the life of a rebel and eventually becomes a bandit.

A mysterious young man leaves an impact on each member of the Bourgeois family. When he leaves all of a sudden, their lives begin to change.

Italian writer and director Pier Paolo Pasolini travels through his country to explore people's attitude towards love and sex. He interviews children, young men and women, and the elderly to learn about their views on various topics ranging from where babies come from to marriage, legalization of divorce, woman's virginity, homosexuality, prostitution, and more.

The Decameron is an anthology film which tells us a series of stories with different characters, which are based on stories from ‘Decameron’, a collection of short stories written by Italian writer and poet Giovanni Boccaccio.

This documentary film which has been directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini was shot while he was scouting for locations for his film ‘The Gospel According to St Matthew’. However, he soon realizes that filming in the actual site of the story, i.e. Palestine, will not be a good idea, as the Biblical setting is no longer present due to modern invasions.  

A documentary by Pier Paolo Pasolini, the work comprises of the scenes filmed in Africa for a movie that was never made. Intending to make a film on Orestes, he had traveled to Tanzania and the film shows him scouting for locations and actors. It also enables us to meet ordinary people and intellectuals and hear their views on the subject, all woven into a beautiful fabric.  

The documentary chronicles the medieval culture and architecture of Yemen’s constitutional capital, Sana’a, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. After the North Yemen Civil War during the 1960s, the country’s modernization posed a threat to the 2,500-year-old history cherished within the walls of city center. The documentary-director Pasolini appeals to UNESCO to recognize Sana’a as a World Heritage Site.

Based on stories from the Arabian Nights, this fantasy adventure drama film tells us several different stories; the main story is about an innocent young man who falls for a slave girl, after she chooses him as her master. However, he makes a mistake, which leads to her being kidnapped. Soon, he sets out on a journey searching for her.

In this Italian documentary film, a left-wing and a right director ,offer contrasting analyses of why lives are characterized by discontent, anguish and fear and what the solution is. 

Revolving around a bomb blast that had occurred at the National Agrarian Bank in Milan’s Piazza Fontana in December 1969, the film examines the stepping up of a police and political campaign against the extra-parliamentary left in Italy, which had resulted due to the blast.

The Italian comedy film is comprised of six stories or episodes, directed by different directors. In ‘The Sunday Monster’ Toto deals with hippie youngsters, while ‘Why’ is about Italy’s automobile malpractice. ‘La Gelosia’ is a story of a wife’s jealousy; and ‘Monicelli’ depicts a rude governess. A theatrical performance forms the main part of ‘What Are the Clouds.’ 

The Canterbury Tales is a comedy drama film which is based on the medieval poem of the same name, by Geoffrey Chaucer, which consists of 24 stories. The stories shown in the film revolve around various kinds of characters, such as peasants, noblemen, clergy and even demons.

Also known as Kill and Pray, the story focuses on Jeremy, who has been adopted by a preacher after his whole village was massacred. Years later, he sets off to rescue his adopted sister and reaches a village controlled by a crazy ex-Confederate officer, who is stealing land from the locals with fake grants. Was he the man who killed his family?

This horror drama film takes us to Italy during the time of the Second World War. It revolves around four fascist libertines who round up nine adolescent boys and girls, and subject to them to physical, mental and sexual torture for 120 days. 

Silvana Mangano portrays different women in five short-films by different directors: inquisitive fans expose the physical imperfections of an unconscious actress; a woman carries a wounded man to pass traffic; a widower finds a new wife and a mother for his son; a father massacres a family for his seductive daughter; and a bored housewife lets loose a wild dream.

A peasant girl is deserted by her lover Gino after he learns about her pregnancy. In revenge, the girl reports his smuggling activities to the police. However, after some time, she is informed that Gino has escaped from the prison and is trying to find her to seek revenge.

The anthology of five short films is set against contemporary background. It shows indifference of people towards homeless suffering on road, and victims of car crash and a woman being targeted and attacked. It also depicts a man’s agony as he dies and sees a vision, while another film shows innocent youthful man robbed off his smile by the harsh war realities.