The Conformist

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The Conformist

film by Bertolucci [1970]

Also known as: “Il conformista”

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June 24, 2026

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The Conformist (1970) is a film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. It tells the story of a young civil servant in Fascist Italy who tries to fit in by conforming to the prevailing social norms. The film explores themes of conformity and the struggle with personal inadequacies within a totalitarian regime. Bertolucci achieved full artistic maturity with this work, which is considered a significant achievement in his directorial career.12

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Bernardo Bertolucci
His Il conformista (1970; The Conformist) is the film in which Bertolucci attained full maturity as a director. The film’s protagonist is a young civil servant who attempts to deal with his own inadequacies through conformity to the prevailing social order in Fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini. Ultimo tango…
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His Il conformista (1970; The Conformist) is the film in which Bertolucci attained full maturity as a director. The film’s protagonist is a young civil servant who attempts to deal with his own inadequacies through conformity to the prevailing social order in Fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini. Ultimo tango…
Read More

film
Film directing
…such as Il conformista (1970; The Conformist) and Luna (1979). The same might be said for Fellini, Andrey Tarkovsky, and Werner Herzog. Some critics feel that Coppola’s One from the Heart (1982) projects an intense, personal vision, which is much more interesting from the directorial point of view than his…
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…such as Il conformista (1970; The Conformist) and Luna (1979). The same might be said for Fellini, Andrey Tarkovsky, and Werner Herzog. Some critics feel that Coppola’s One from the Heart (1982) projects an intense, personal vision, which is much more interesting from the directorial point of view than his…
Read More

History of film
Italy
…films were Il conformista (1970; The Conformist), a striking dissection of the psychopathology of fascism, Ultimo tango a Parigi (1972; Last Tango in Paris), a meditation on sex and death, and Novecento (1976; 1900), a six-hour epic covering 50 years of Italian class conflict. Other important Italian filmmakers include Francesco…
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…films were Il conformista (1970; The Conformist), a striking dissection of the psychopathology of fascism, Ultimo tango a Parigi (1972; Last Tango in Paris), a meditation on sex and death, and Novecento (1976; 1900), a six-hour epic covering 50 years of Italian class conflict. Other important Italian filmmakers include Francesco…
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Jean-Louis Trintignant
…Bernardo Bertolucci’s Il conformista (1970; The Conformist). He appeared in several crime dramas and psychological thrillers as well as in films involving politics, the best known of which is Costa-Gavras’s Z (1969). Among his other better-known films were Les Biches (1968; The Does), L’Attentat (1972; The French Conspiracy), and Un…
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…Bernardo Bertolucci’s Il conformista (1970; The Conformist). He appeared in several crime dramas and psychological thrillers as well as in films involving politics, the best known of which is Costa-Gavras’s Z (1969). Among his other better-known films were Les Biches (1968; The Does), L’Attentat (1972; The French Conspiracy), and Un…
Read More