Overview
A family's struggle for survival in a new city leads to passion and betrayal.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- melancholic
- harrowing
- intimate
- classic cinema night
- arthouse film night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Visconti’s expansive social drama as a major Italian achievement, praising its direction, emotional realism, and powerful ensemble performances while noting occasional melodramatic excess.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Rosaria and her sons leave Lucania for Milan, where economic opportunity and metropolitan life intensify family tensions.
The film follows Rosaria, Vincenzo, Simone, Rocco, and Ciro through intersecting conflicts and contrasting responses to hardship.
Simone and Rocco's relationships with Nadia transform sibling tension into a bitter feud with lethal consequences.
The brothers pursue boxing, dry-cleaning work, study, and other fragile routes toward stability in Milan.
Films like Rocco and His Brothers, and why
The Leopard
shared neorealist social drama, rural-to-urban migration, family hardship, and expansive emotional storytelling
La Terra Trema
shared italian social realism, working-class struggle, migration, and tragic romantic conflict
The Grapes of Wrath
shared epic family melodrama, poverty, sibling tensions, and moral conflict
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
shared tragic crime drama, damaged masculinity, prostitution, and corrosive family loyalties
Movie Details
- Director
- Luchino Visconti
- Release Date
- 1960-10-07
- Runtime
- 178 min
- Rating
- 8.0 / 10 (684)
Cast
- Alain Delon
- Renato Salvatori
- Annie Girardot
- Katina Paxinou
- Alessandra Panaro
- Spiros Focás
- Claudia Cardinale
- Max Cartier
- Corrado Pani
- Rocco Vidolazzi
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Criterion Channel, OVID, Darkroom, Kino Film Collection
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Rocco and His Brothers about?
- A southern Italian family’s migration to Milan becomes a devastating portrait of poverty, desire, loyalty, and brotherly betrayal.
- What is Rocco and His Brothers like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Rocco and His Brothers as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Rocco and His Brothers violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Rocco and His Brothers as moderate.
- What did critics think of Rocco and His Brothers?
- Critics broadly regard Visconti’s expansive social drama as a major Italian achievement, praising its direction, emotional realism, and powerful ensemble performances while noting occasional melodramatic excess.
- Which films are like Rocco and His Brothers?
- Films with a similar feel include The Leopard, La Terra Trema, The Grapes of Wrath, and The Killing of a Chinese Bookie.
- How long is Rocco and His Brothers?
- Rocco and His Brothers runs 178 minutes.
- Where can I watch Rocco and His Brothers?
- In United States, Rocco and His Brothers streams on Criterion Channel, OVID, Darkroom, Kino Film Collection.
