Gesuzza the Garibaldian Wife (1934)
"1860" (original title)

The story is the harried attempt of a Sicilian partisan, as part of the risorgimento, to reach Garibaldi's headquarters in Northern Italy... See full synopsis »

Director:

Alessandro Blasetti

Writers:

Alessandro Blasetti, Emilio Cecchi,

Stars:

Giuseppe Gulino, Aida Bellia, Gianfranco Giachetti

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Giuseppe Gulino	...	Carmelo Trau
Aida Bellia	...	Rosuzza Trau - Carmine's wife
Gianfranco Giachetti	...	Father Costanzo
Mario Ferrari	...	Colonel Carini
María Denis	...	Clelia
Ugo Gracci	...	The Follower of Mazzini
Vasco Creti	...	The Believer in Autonomy
Totò Majorana	...	Rosuzza's father
Otello Toso	...	Piemontese soldier
Laura Nucci	...	An incarcerated Sicilian girl
Cesare Zoppetti	...	The Follower of Gioberti
Umberto Sacripante	...	Patriot at the Caffe della Marina
Andrea Checchi	...	Another soldier
Luigi Erminio D'Olivo	...	Another patriot at the Caffe della Marina
Amedeo Trilli	...	A Sicilian citizen

Storyline

The story is the harried attempt of a Sicilian partisan, as part of the risorgimento, to reach Garibaldi's headquarters in Northern Italy... See full synopsis »

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Plot Keywords:

sicily italy | 1860 census | sicilian | italian history | italy | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian German

Release Date:

2 November 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gesuzza the Garibaldian Wife

Company Credits

Production Co:

Societa Anonima Stefano Pittaluga, Società Italiana Cines

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min 75 min (reissue)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in My Voyage to Italy (1999)

User Reviews

Pioneering Italian Cinema

1860 is a minor masterpiece, and it exerted a fundamental influence on Italian made epic films that came afterwards: Visconti's Senso, Bertolucci's similarly titled 1900, even Sergio Leone's westerns, all owe something to director Blasetti's feel for sweeping popular spectacle somewhat underscored and undercut by irony and melancholy ambivalence. The story charts the desperate attempt of a Sicilian partisan to reach Garibaldi's headquarters in Northern Italy, and to petition the great revolutionary to rescue his besieged land. Along the way, the peasant hero encounters a full spectrum of Italian regional types from all social strata, and holding political opinions of every stripe. A long scene on board a train forces many such folk into close proximity, and is memorable for its humor, and densely packed sociological observation: this uneasy coalition of people who barely speak the same language reminds the viewer of Italy's continuing fragility as a nation. After many picaresque episodes, 1860 resolves with an extended and exciting battle. The style of the film is an interesting, eclectic, and fairly successful mix of techniques learned from the likes of Eisenstein (quick cuts, and odd angles abound), Westerns of the Raoul Walsh variety, All Quiet on the Western Front. 1860 is also one of a very small batch of movies from Thirties Italy that are easily available on tape (in the US), and, though somewhat dated, is definitely worth a look.