This ranking is based on an algorithm that combines various factors, including the votes of our users and search trends on the internet.

List of Pier Paolo Pasolini Movies: Ranked Best To Worst

1. The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)
20
4
The Gospel According to St. Matthew
20
4

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.

Starring:
Enrique Irazoqui, Margherita Caruso, Susanna Pasolini, Marcello Morante, Mario Socrate
Directed By:
Pier Paolo Pasolini
2. La Dolce Vita (1960)
16
6
La Dolce Vita
16
6

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. 

Starring:
Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Nico, Anouk Aimée, Yvonne Furneaux
Directed By:
3. The Nights of Cabiria (1957)
15
6
The Nights of Cabiria
15
6

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. 

Starring:
Aldo Silvani, Giulietta Masina, François Périer, Franca Marzi, Dorian Gray
Directed By:
4. Mamma Roma (1962)
15
3
Mamma Roma
15
3

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. 

Starring:
Anna Magnani, Ettore Garofolo, Franco Citti, Silvana Corsini, Luisa Loiano
Directed By:
Pier Paolo Pasolini
5. Accattone (1961)
15
4
Accattone
15
4

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.

Starring:
Franco Citti, Silvana Corsini, Adriana Asti, Franca Pasut, Paola Guidi
Directed By:
Pier Paolo Pasolini
6. The Hawks and the Sparrows (1966)
17
2
The Hawks and the Sparrows
17
2
Starring:
Totò, Ninetto Davoli, Femi Benussi, Umberto Bevilacqua, Renato Capogna
Directed By:
Pier Paolo Pasolini
7. Il gobbo (1960)
11
5
Il gobbo
11
5

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.

Role:
Monco
Starring:
Anna Maria Ferrero, Bernard Blier, Gérard Blain, Ivo Garrani
Directed By:
Carlo Lizzani
8. Oedipus Rex (1967)
13
2
Oedipus Rex
13
2
Starring:
Alida Valli, Silvana Mangano, Franco Citti, Julian Beck
Directed By:
Pier Paolo Pasolini
9. Teorema (1968)
15
2
Teorema
15
2

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.

Starring:
Massimo Girotti, Silvana Mangano, Terence Stamp, Anne Wiazemsky, Laura Betti
Directed By:
Pier Paolo Pasolini
10. Love Meetings (1964)
12
5
Love Meetings
12
5

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.

Role:
Himself / Interviewer (uncredited)
Starring:
Alberto Moravia, Lello Bersani, Cesare Musatti
Directed By:
Pier Paolo Pasolini
11. Appunti per un romanzo dell'immondezza (1970)
11
5
Appunti per un romanzo dell'immondezza
11
5
Directed By:
Pier Paolo Pasolini
12. Bell' Antonio (1960)
11
5
Bell' Antonio
11
5
Starring:
Claudia Cardinale, Marcello Mastroianni, Rina Morelli, Pierre Brasseur, Tomas Milian
Directed By:
Mauro Bolognini
13. The Decameron (1971)
14
2
The Decameron
R
14
2

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.

Starring:
Silvana Mangano, Franco Citti, Angela Luce, Ninetto Davoli
Directed By:
Pier Paolo Pasolini
14. Medea (1969)
14
2
Medea
14
2
Starring:
Massimo Girotti, Laurent Terzieff, Maria Callas, Giuseppe Gentile, Margareth Clémenti
Directed By:
Pier Paolo Pasolini
15. It Happened in '43 (1960)
11
5
It Happened in '43
11
5
Starring:
Andrea Checchi, Gabriele Ferzetti, Belinda Lee, Enrico Maria Salerno, Nerio Bernardi
Directed By:
Florestano Vancini
16. Sopralluoghi in Palestina per il vangelo secondo Matteo (1965)
11
5
Sopralluoghi in Palestina per il vangelo secondo Matteo
11
5

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.  

Role:
Himself (uncredited)
Starring:
don Andrea Carraro
Directed By:
Pier Paolo Pasolini
17. Notes Towards an African Orestes (1970)
11
3
Notes Towards an African Orestes
11
3

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.  

Starring:
Archie Savage, Yvonne Murray, Gato Barbieri, Donald F. Moye, Marcello Melis
Directed By:
Pier Paolo Pasolini
18. The Walls of Sana'a (1971)
10
5
The Walls of Sana'a
10
5

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.

Role:
Narrator (voice)
Directed By:
Pier Paolo Pasolini
19. Arabian Nights (1974)
13
2
Arabian Nights
NC-17
13
2

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.

Starring:
Franco Citti, Ninetto Davoli, Ines Pellegrini, Franco Merli, Tessa Bouché
Directed By:
Pier Paolo Pasolini
20. Porcile (1969)
13
2
Porcile
13
2
Starring:
Ugo Tognazzi, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Pierre Clémenti, Anne Wiazemsky, Alberto Lionello
Directed By:
Pier Paolo Pasolini
21. La rabbia (1963)
10
4
La rabbia
10
4

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. 

Starring:
Carlo Romano, Giorgio Bassani, Charles de Gaulle, Renato Guttuso, Gigi Artuso
Directed By:
Giovanni Guareschi, Pier Paolo Pasolini
22. The Big Night (1959)
10
5
The Big Night
10
5
Starring:
Anna Maria Ferrero, Elsa Martinelli, Jean-Claude Brialy, Rosanna Schiaffino, Laurent Terzieff
Directed By:
Mauro Bolognini
23. Ostia (1970)
10
5
Ostia
10
5
Starring:
Lamberto Maggiorani, Laurent Terzieff, Franco Citti, Ninetto Davoli, Anita Sanders
Directed By:
Sergio Citti
24. Woman in the Window (1961)
10
5
Woman in the Window
10
5
Starring:
Marina Vlady, Magali Noël, Lino Ventura, Bernard Fresson, Antonio Badas
Directed By:
Luciano Emmer
25. From a Roman Balcony (1960)
10
5
From a Roman Balcony
10
5
Starring:
Rik Battaglia, Lea Massari, Jean Sorel, Jeanne Valérie, Valeria Ciangottini
Directed By:
Mauro Bolognini
26. Ro.Go.Pa.G. (1963)
10
5
Ro.Go.Pa.G.
10
5
Starring:
Orson Welles, Alexandra Stewart, Rosanna Schiaffino, Bruce Balaban, Maria Pia Schiaffino
27. Calderon (1981)
10
5
Calderon
10
5
Starring:
Paolo Bonacelli, Carmen Scarpitta, Francesca Muzio, Adolfo Bonomo, Luciano D'Antoni
Directed By:
Giorgio Pressburger
28. 12 dicembre (1972)
10
5
12 dicembre
10
5

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.

Starring:
Edoardo Di Giovanni, Marcello Gentili, Augusto Ludovichetti, Rosa Malacarne, Liliano Paolucci
Directed By:
Pier Paolo Pasolini, Giovanni Bonfanti
29. Violent Life (1962)
10
5
Violent Life
10
5
Starring:
Alfredo Leggi, Franco Citti, Serena Vergano, Angelo Maria Santiamantini, Benito Poliani
Directed By:
Brunello Rondi, Paolo Heusch
30. Death of a Friend (1960)
10
5
Death of a Friend
10
5
Starring:
Didi Perego, Angela Luce, Spiros Focás, Gianni Garko, Anna Mazzuchelli
Directed By:
Franco Rossi
31. Milano nera (1961)
10
5
Milano nera
10
5
Starring:
Sonia Gessner, Alessandro Quasimodo, Adriano Fossati, Umberto Rocco, Libero Cipriani
Directed By:
Gian Rocco, Pino Serpi
32. The Grim Reaper (1962)
10
5
The Grim Reaper
10
5
Starring:
Alfredo Leggi, Gabriella Giorgelli, Francesco Ruiu, Giancarlo De Rosa, Vincenzo Ciccora
Directed By:
Bernardo Bertolucci
33. Capriccio all'italiana (1968)
10
5
Capriccio all'italiana
10
5

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.’ 

Starring:
Dante Maggio, Totò, Silvana Mangano, Sandro Merli, Ugo D'Alessio
Directed By:
Mario Monicelli, Mauro Bolognini, Pier Paolo Pasolini
34. The Canterbury Tales (1972)
12
2
The Canterbury Tales
NC-17
12
2

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.

Starring:
Hugh Griffith, Franco Citti, Laura Betti, Ninetto Davoli
Directed By:
Pier Paolo Pasolini
35. Giovani mariti (1958)
10
5
Giovani mariti
10
5
Starring:
Franco Interlenghi, Antonio Cifariello, Isabelle Corey, Gérard Blain, Raf Mattioli
Directed By:
Mauro Bolognini
36. Marisa (1957)
10
5
Marisa
10
5
Starring:
Renato Salvatori, Marisa Allasio, Francisco Rabal, Luz Márquez, Ángel Aranda
Directed By:
Mauro Bolognini
37. Requiescant (1967)
10
5
Requiescant
10
5

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?

Role:
Don Juan
Starring:
Mark Damon, Lou Castel, Barbara Frey, Rossana Martini
Directed By:
Carlo Lizzani
38. Manon: Finestra 2 (1956)
10
5
Manon: Finestra 2
10
5
Starring:
Arnoldo Foà
Directed By:
Ermanno Olmi
39. Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)
15
4
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
15
4

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. 

Starring:
Caterina Boratto, Paolo Bonacelli, Giorgio Cataldi, Umberto Paolo Quintavalle, Aldo Valletti
Directed By:
Pier Paolo Pasolini
40. Le streghe (1967)
10
2
Le streghe
10
2

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.

Starring:
Clint Eastwood, Silvana Mangano, Annie Girardot, Francisco Rabal, Massimo Girotti
Directed By:
41. La donna del fiume (1954)
9
5
La donna del fiume
9
5

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.

Starring:
Sophia Loren, Gérard Oury, Rik Battaglia, Lise Bourdin, Enrico Olivieri
Directed By:
Mario Soldati
42. Bawdy Tales (1973)
9
3
Bawdy Tales
9
3
Starring:
Gianni Rizzo, Franco Citti, Nicoletta Machiavelli, Ninetto Davoli, Sebastiano Soldati
Directed By:
Sergio Citti
43. Love and Anger (1969)
9
2
Love and Anger
9
2

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.

Starring:
Giulio Cesare Castello, Tom Baker, Julian Beck, Jim Anderson, Judith Malina
Directed By:
44. Il prigioniero della montagna (1955)
7
1
Il prigioniero della montagna
7
1
Starring:
Yvonne Sanson, Enrico Glori, Robert Freitag, Luis Trenker, Marianne Hold
Directed By:
Luis Trenker
45. Mulheres... Mulheres (1981)
8
1
Mulheres... Mulheres
8
1
Starring:
Rosângela Bernardes, Elys Cardoso, Cláudia Castelli, Dalia Drummond, Beatriz Facker
Directed By:
Carlos Imperial
46. Il carro armato dell'8 settembre (1960)
12
2
Il carro armato dell'8 settembre
12
2
Starring:
Dorian Gray, Yvonne Furneaux, Gabriele Ferzetti, Elsa Martinelli, Jean-Marc Bory
Directed By:
Gianni Puccini
47. La rabbia di Pasolini (2008)
10
2
La rabbia di Pasolini
10
2
Role:
Himself (archiveFootage)
Starring:
Giorgio Bassani, Giuseppe Bertolucci, Renato Guttuso, Vittorio Magrelli
Directed By:
Pier Paolo Pasolini, Giuseppe Bertolucci
48. Love Flesh (2011)
10
2
Love Flesh
10
2
Starring:
Irène Jacob, Marie-Agnès Gillot, Bobo', Margherita Delbono, Sophie Calle
Directed By:
Pippo Delbono
49. Le bassin de J.W. (1997)
8
2
Le bassin de J.W.
8
2
Starring:
Pierre Clémenti, João César Monteiro, Hugues Quester, Joana Azevedo, Jean Watan
Directed By:
João César Monteiro
50. Il pratone del casilino (1996)
8
2
Il pratone del casilino
8
2
Starring:
Antonio Piovanelli
Directed By:
Giuseppe Bertolucci
51. Complicity (1995)
6
1
Complicity
6
1
Starring:
Pascal Persiano, Zara Whites, Antonio Zequila, Emy Valentino, Maddalena Stradivari
Directed By:
Antonio D'Agostino

TV Movie(s)

1. L'altro enigma (1988)
8
2
L'altro enigma
8
2
Starring:
Vittorio Gassman, Annie Girardot, Fanny Ardant, Alessandro Gassman, Giusi Cataldo
Directed By:
Vittorio Gassman, Carlo Tuzii
2. Laboratorio teatrale di Luca Ronconi (1977)
8
2
Laboratorio teatrale di Luca Ronconi
8
2
Starring:
Antonello Fassari, Edmonda Aldini, Marisa Fabbri, Miriam Acevedo, Gae Aulenti
Directed By:
Miklós Jancsó