Socrates (1971) by Roberto Rossellini
Thursday, February 2, 1989, 8:00 pm
SOCRATES by Roberto Rossellini
1970, 120 min, color
Socrates was part of a group of historical films Rossellini made at the end of his life which charted key moments in the history of civilization as seen through the words and actions of great individuals. It follows the final days of Socrates, leading up to the philosopher’s condemnation and death, and is based largely on the Dialogues of Plato. Socrates functions on many levels: as a chronicle of details on Athenian political social and religious life; as an interpretation of the earliest system of Western philosophical thought; and as portrait of a defiantly solitary figure whose greatest love was for knowledge and the independence of the spirit.