# We Still Kill the Old Way
**We Still Kill the Old Way** (Italian: *A ciascuno il suo*) is a 1967 Italian drama film directed by Elio Petri, freely adapted from Leonardo Sciascia's 1966 novel of the same name. It follows a provincial professor who investigates two murders in a Sicilian village and discovers that the killer's employer is the lawyer he has confided in; the film was one of the first serious Italian films about the Mafia and shared the screenplay prize at the 1967 Cannes Film Festival.[1](https://www.mymovies.it/film/1967/a-ciascuno-il-suo/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/it/title/tt0061320/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | *A ciascuno il suo*, from the novel by Leonardo Sciascia (Einaudi, 1966)[3](https://www.eliopetri.it/cinema-2/) |
| Director and screenplay | Elio Petri; screenplay by Petri and Ugo Pirro, freely adapted from the novel[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061320/fullcredits/) |
| Lead cast | Gian Maria Volonté (Prof. Paolo Laurana), Irene Papas (Luisa Roscio), Gabriele Ferzetti (Avvocato Rosello)[5](https://www.archiviodelcinemaitaliano.it/index.php/scheda.html?codice=AG2026) |
| Cannes 1967 | Prix du scénario (ex-aequo)[6](https://www.festival-cannes.com/f/a-ciascuno-il-suo/) |
| Nastri d'Argento 1968 | Best director (Petri), best actor (Volonté), best supporting actor (Ferzetti), best screenplay (Petri and Pirro)[7](https://www.cinematografo.it/film/a-ciascuno-il-suo-loeb5lpn) |
| Italian release | Censorship visa n. 48625 granted 11 February 1967; classified forbidden to minors under 18[8](https://cinecensura.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/A-ciascuno-il-suo-Presentazione-della-1%5E-Edizione.pdf) |
| Key crew | Cinematography Luigi Kuveiller (Technicolor), music Luis Enrique Bacalov, editing Ruggero Mastroianni, production Cemo Film[5](https://www.archiviodelcinemaitaliano.it/index.php/scheda.html?codice=AG2026) • [9](https://www.urbanskin.org/ep_english/ciascuno.html) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
In a village in Sicily, the pharmacist Arturo Manno and Dr. Roscio are shot dead during a hunting party, after both had received anonymous threatening letters. The police conclude the killings were a crime of honor against Manno, with Roscio killed as a witness. Paolo Laurana, a high school professor and friend of one victim, is not convinced: he reasons that the intended victim was Roscio, not Manno, and begins a private inquiry.[10](https://www.apav.it/mat/tempolibero/cinemaematematica/societaitalianaproblematiche/aciascunoilsuo.pdf)
Laurana confides his deductions to the lawyer Rosello, a cousin of Roscio's widow Luisa, and continues investigating with Luisa's help. He finds Roscio's diary, which records that Roscio intended to denounce Rosello for illegal activities, and realizes he has confided in the man who ordered the murder. He does not suspect that Luisa, in love with Rosello since childhood, is a accomplice. When Laurana decides to denounce Rosello, Luisa pretends to agree, betrays him, and abandons him in a lonely place where hired killers shoot him; Rosello and Luisa then marry with great ceremony in the village church.[10](https://www.apav.it/mat/tempolibero/cinemaematematica/societaitalianaproblematiche/aciascunoilsuo.pdf)
In the novel, the title is explained by the word "unicuique" (to each his own) that Laurana reads on the back of a newspaper clipping composing the threatening letter, which prompts his personal investigation; the film leaves this explanation out.[11](https://www.davinotti.com/film/a-ciascuno-il-suo-1967)
## Production
Petri was struck by Sciascia's detective novel, published in 1966 by Einaudi, and wrote the screenplay with Ugo Pirro, who later received two Oscar nominations.[3](https://www.eliopetri.it/cinema-2/) • [12](https://hotcorn.com/it/film/news/a-ciascuno-il-suo-film-petri-volonte-libro-sciascia-storia-vera/) It was the first time Petri worked with [Gian Maria Volonté](https://www.edgepedia.org/gian-maria-volonte) and Pirro; the trio went on to make *[Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion](https://www.edgepedia.org/investigation-of-a-citizen-above-suspicion)* (1970) and *[The Working Class Goes to Heaven](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-working-class-goes-to-heaven)* (1971), landmarks of Italian political cinema.[12](https://hotcorn.com/it/film/news/a-ciascuno-il-suo-film-petri-volonte-libro-sciascia-storia-vera/)
The film was shot in Sicily, with Cefalù standing in for the fictional village; the aerial opening shots reveal Piazza Duomo in Cefalù, which has since been associated with the film.[12](https://hotcorn.com/it/film/news/a-ciascuno-il-suo-film-petri-volonte-libro-sciascia-storia-vera/) • [13](https://festivalcinemacefalu.it/a-ciascuno-il-suo-piazza-duomo-cefalu-luogo-cinema) [The Italian](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-italian) censorship record lists a declared length of 95 meters-based reels and a visa issued on 11 February 1967, with the film barred to viewers under 18.[8](https://cinecensura.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/A-ciascuno-il-suo-Presentazione-della-1%5E-Edizione.pdf) Reported running times differ across catalogs: 92 minutes (Cinematografo), 93 minutes (MYmovies), and 99 minutes (the Petri retrospective record).[7](https://www.cinematografo.it/film/a-ciascuno-il-suo-loeb5lpn) • [1](https://www.mymovies.it/film/1967/a-ciascuno-il-suo/) • [9](https://www.urbanskin.org/ep_english/ciascuno.html)
## Adaptation and style
The film is substantially faithful to Sciascia's novel, with changes: Luisa's role is enlarged, the ending is more drawn out and melodramatic, and in the film Laurana meets Luisa at the Caffè Romeris before being abandoned on the beach, whereas in the book she fails to appear and he is ambushed without the meeting.[11](https://www.davinotti.com/film/a-ciascuno-il-suo-1967) • [14](https://culturificio.org/a-ciascuno-il-suo/) A contemporary review in *Cinema Nuovo* noted that Italian directors had until then ignored Sciascia's fiction, and the film became the first Sciascia adaptation to reach the screen.[1](https://www.mymovies.it/film/1967/a-ciascuno-il-suo/)
Petri uses the machinery of a detective story while subverting it. The reviewer Remy Dean of Frame Rated describes a film that looks like a murder mystery but leaves identifying the culprit to the viewer, who remains powerless to act, and reads it as a statement about 1960s Sicilian life, with its café culture, family secrets, political corruption, adultery, and the moral pretence of the [Catholic Church](https://www.edgepedia.org/catholic-church).[15](https://www.framerated.co.uk/still-kill-old-1967/) Critics have noted the visual style: overhead shots, surveillance-style tracking, and frequent zoom effects used to render sudden suspicion and general anguish, with a tight, nervous editing rhythm that gives the work an almost subjective key aligned with the protagonist's unease.[16](https://www.filmtv.it/film/22/a-ciascuno-il-suo/recensioni/905080/) • [17](https://fondazionecsc.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/BN_1967_03_04.pdf) The Electric Sheep review places the film as a deliberate turn for Petri away from the super-stylised pop-art of *The 10th Victim* (1965).[18](https://www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk/reviews/2014/07/07/we-still-kill-the-old-way/)
## Reception and awards
At the 1967 Cannes Film Festival the film shared the Prix du scénario (best screenplay).[6](https://www.festival-cannes.com/f/a-ciascuno-il-suo/) At the 1968 Nastri d'Argento it won four awards: best director for Petri, best actor for Gian Maria Volonté, best supporting actor for Gabriele Ferzetti, and best screenplay for Petri and Pirro.[7](https://www.cinematografo.it/film/a-ciascuno-il-suo-loeb5lpn) According to the Italian cinema dictionary entry on Petri, although the film presents itself as dealing with the Mafia, it actually examines broader webs of power, both lawful and criminal, and it was celebrated as an important work and earned a Palme d'or nomination at Cannes.[19](https://e-edu.nbu.bg/pluginfile.php/1390668/mod_resource/content/1/Italian_Cinema_Dictionary.pdf) A 1967 review by Ernesto G. Laura judged the reduction from the novel debatable but credited Petri with a compelling result, singling out Volonté's interpretation as of great intensity and Salvo Randone's brief appearance as the blind old oculist.[17](https://fondazionecsc.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/BN_1967_03_04.pdf) On FilmTV.it the film holds a public rating of 7.6 from 155 votes; IMDb lists 7.0/10 from about 2,200 users.[20](https://www.filmtv.it/film/22/a-ciascuno-il-suo/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/it/title/tt0061320/)
The film remains available in Italy on streaming and home video, including RaiPlay, Amazon Video, and CHILI.[20](https://www.filmtv.it/film/22/a-ciascuno-il-suo/)
## References
1. [A ciascuno il suo – Film (1967), MYmovies.it](https://www.mymovies.it/film/1967/a-ciascuno-il-suo/)
2. [A ciascuno il suo (1967), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/it/title/tt0061320/)
3. [Cinema – Elio Petri, eliopetri.it](https://www.eliopetri.it/cinema-2/)
4. [We Still Kill the Old Way (1967) – Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061320/fullcredits/)
5. [A ciascuno il suo (1967), Archivio del Cinema Italiano](https://www.archiviodelcinemaitaliano.it/index.php/scheda.html?codice=AG2026)
6. [A CIASCUNO IL SUO, Festival de Cannes](https://www.festival-cannes.com/f/a-ciascuno-il-suo/)
7. [A ciascuno il suo, Cinematografo](https://www.cinematografo.it/film/a-ciascuno-il-suo-loeb5lpn)
8. [A ciascuno il suo – Presentazione della 1ª Edizione, cinecensura.com](https://cinecensura.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/A-ciascuno-il-suo-Presentazione-della-1%5E-Edizione.pdf)
9. [Elio Petri – We Still Kill the Old Way (1967), urbanskin.org](https://www.urbanskin.org/ep_english/ciascuno.html)
10. [A ciascuno il suo – sinossi, APAV](https://www.apav.it/mat/tempolibero/cinemaematematica/societaitalianaproblematiche/aciascunoilsuo.pdf)
11. [A ciascuno il suo (1967), il Davinotti](https://www.davinotti.com/film/a-ciascuno-il-suo-1967)
12. [A Ciascuno il Suo – Gian Maria Volonté e la politica di Elio Petri, HotCorn](https://hotcorn.com/it/film/news/a-ciascuno-il-suo-film-petri-volonte-libro-sciascia-storia-vera/)
13. [A ciascuno il suo: Piazza Duomo a Cefalù, Festival del Cinema di Cefalù](https://festivalcinemacefalu.it/a-ciascuno-il-suo-piazza-duomo-cefalu-luogo-cinema)
14. [A ciascuno il suo, Culturificio](https://culturificio.org/a-ciascuno-il-suo/)
15. [We Still Kill the Old Way (1967), Frame Rated](https://www.framerated.co.uk/still-kill-old-1967/)
16. [Recensione di logos su A ciascuno il suo, FilmTV.it](https://www.filmtv.it/film/22/a-ciascuno-il-suo/recensioni/905080/)
17. [I FILM / «A ciascuno il suo», Bollettino CSC 1967](https://fondazionecsc.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/BN_1967_03_04.pdf)
18. [We Still Kill the Old Way, Electric Sheep](https://www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk/reviews/2014/07/07/we-still-kill-the-old-way/)
19. [PETRI, ELIO, Italian Cinema Dictionary](https://e-edu.nbu.bg/pluginfile.php/1390668/mod_resource/content/1/Italian_Cinema_Dictionary.pdf)
20. [A ciascuno il suo (1967), FilmTV.it](https://www.filmtv.it/film/22/a-ciascuno-il-suo/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 1960s films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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