WE ARE ALL IN DANGER

On November 1, 1975, from 4 to 6 in the afternoon, the filmmaker and writer Pier Paolo Pasolini was interviewed by the journalist and jurist Furio Colombo, just few hours before he was violently murdered. The last question was left unanswered.

Pier Paolo Pasolini: The Last Interview (1975)

This interview is nowadays known by the title “We are all in danger” (“Siamo tutti in pericolo”). That last inquiry was: “Pasolini, in the particular manner in which you see life – and I am not sure how to ask you this – what do you have in mind to avoid danger and risk?” It was never answered because it was getting late. Because of the decrease of the intensity of the light, for Furio Colombo it was difficult to take notes. So, Pasolini said “goodbye” taking the last question with him, and promising Colombo that he would give the answer on the next day, when he had something of a more concrete answer.

"Pasolini, se tu vedi la vita così - non so se accetti questa domanda - come pensi di evitare il pericolo e il rischio?

È diventato tardi, Pasolini non ha acceso la luce e diventa difficile prendere appunti. Rivediamo insieme i miei. Poi lui mi chiede di lasciargli le domande. 'Ci sono punti che mi sembrano un po' troppo assoluti. Fammi pensare, fammeli rivedere. E poi dammi il tempo di trovare una conclusione. Ho una cosa in mente per rispondere alla tua domanda. Per me è più facile scrivere che parlare. Ti lascio le note che aggiungo per domani mattina’. Il giorno dopo, domenica, il corpo senza vita di Pier Paolo Pasolini era all’obitorio della polizia di Roma."

This interview "Siamo tutti in pericolo. Intervista a Pier Paolo Pasolini" in L’Unità 1 novembre 1975, Archivio L’Unità, is only available in Italian.

Film still from Salò (1975)

THE VACUUM OF POWER / IL VUOTO DEL POTERE (Amended English Translation by Ruth Perez-Chaves)

This article under the title "Il vuoto del potere" ("The vacuum of power") was originally published in the newspaper Corriere della Sera the year of Pasolini's assassination. He had begun to collaborate with Italy's most renowned newspaper in 1974. This text is also known as "L'articolo delle lucciole" ("The article of fireflies") and was included in the thorough compilation known as Scritti Corsari (Corsair Writings) published two years afterwards by Garzanti ed. (Milano, 1977). It seems that the first edition of Scritti Corsari with an introduction by Piero Ottone was published by Epoca around 1975.