Pasolini's Edipo Re: myth, play, and autobiography

The pervasive influence of the Oedipus complex on world culture is a given, yet throughout the long history of motion pictures only one major filmmaker has tackled the literary source that inspired Freud. The film, Edipo Re, directed by Italian poet, novelist, and social and political activist Pier Paolo Pasolini, not only reconstructs the myth and adapts Sophocles' tragedy, but uses both as a basis of cinematic autobiography. This paper is a detailed analysis of the formal, stylistic, and thematic dimensions of this film, illustrating the complex manner in which Pasolini interweaves myth, play, and autobiography into a unique cinematic achievement. This analysis is followed by speculations on the implications of the film's structure and techniques and on what they reveal about Pasolini's character, his sexual profile, and the ignominious murder that ended his life.