"Before the Revolution" premiered on 12 May 1964 at the 17th Cannes Film Festival during the International Critics' Week. Although it is now seen as belonging to the Italian Nouvelle Vague, "Before the Revolution" did not attract large audiences in Italy where it only received lukewarm approval from most of the critics. It did however enjoy an enthusiastic reception abroad. It has since become widely acclaimed by critics, and praised for its technical merit, although generally not viewed quite as well as some of Bertolucci's later films, due to his youth and lack of experience at time.