Oedipus Rex (1967)

The Story

In pre-war Italy, a young couple have a baby boy. The father, however, is jealous of his son - and the scene moves to antiquity, where the baby is taken into the desert to be killed. He is rescued, given the name Edipo (Oedipus), and brought up by the King and Queen of Corinth as their son. One day an oracle informs Edipo that he is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. Horrified, he flees Corinth and his supposed parents - only to get into a fight and kill an older man on the road...

Film introduced by James Vaughan, a Sydney-based filmmaker. His debut feature, Friends and Strangers (2021) was the first Australian film to premiere in the International Film Festival Rotterdam's Tiger Competition and was named in Sight & Sound's annual critics' poll as one of the 50 best films of 2021.

Rating

CTC

Duration

Cast

Silvana Mangano, Franco Citti, Alida Valli, Carmelo Bene, Julian Beck, Luciano Bartoli, Francesco Leonetti

Director

Pier Paolo Pasolini