Il Generale della Rovere (1959) Il generale della Rovere (original title)

Director:

Roberto Rossellini

Writers:

Sergio Amidei (writer)
Diego Fabbri (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

21 November 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

Victorio Bardone, a petty con man, is arrested by the Gestapo and coerced into impersonating a partisan leader in order to expose another resistance organizer.

Plot Keywords:

Resistance | Nazi | Gestapo | Partisan | General

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 11 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Vittorio De Sica	...	Victorio Emanuele Bardone / Grimaldi
Hannes Messemer	...	S.S. Colonel Mueller
Vittorio Caprioli	...	Aristide Bianchelli
Nando Angelini
Herbert Fischer	...	Sergeant
Mary Greco	...	Vera (the madam)
Bernardo Menicacci
Lucia Modugno	...	Partisan girl
Luciano Pigozzi
Kurt Polter	...	German officer
Giuseppe Rosetti	...	Pietro Valeri
Kurt Selge	...	Schrantz
Linda Veras	...	German attendant
Sandra Milo	...	Valeria
Giovanna Ralli	...	Olga
Anne Vernon	...	Clara Fassio
Ester Carloni
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Armando Annuale	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Baronessa Bazzani	...	Contessa Bianca Maria Della Rovere (uncredited)
Clarissa Corner	...	(uncredited)
Lina De Rossi	...	(uncredited)
Ivo Garrani	...	Partican chief (uncredited)
Franco Interlenghi	...	Antonio Pasquali (uncredited)
Piero Pastore	...	Prisoner (uncredited)
Roberto Rossellini	...	Man in Gestapo office (uncredited)

Directed by
Roberto Rossellini

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Sergio Amidei		writer
Diego Fabbri		writer
Indro Montanelli		novel
Indro Montanelli		screenplay
Roberto Rossellini		writer

Produced by
Moris Ergas	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Renzo Rossellini

Cinematography by
Carlo Carlini

Film Editing by
Cesare Cavagna
Anna Maria Montanari

Production Design by
Piero Zuffi

Art Direction by
Piero Zuffi

Costume Design by
Piero Zuffi

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tinto Brass	....	first assistant director
Ruggero Deodato	....	assistant director
Renzo Rossellini	....	first assistant director: second unit
Renzo Rossellini	....	second unit director

Production Companies

• Zebra Film
• Société Nouvelle des Établissements Gaumont (SNEG) (co-production)

Distributors

• Continental Distributing (1960) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Criterion Collection, The (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Les Acacias (????) (France) (theatrical)
• Divisa Home Video (2011) (Spain) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Il generale della Rovere" - Italy (original title)
"General della Rovere" - USA

Runtime:

132 min | USA:129 min | Italy:138 min (Venice Film Festival)

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian | German | French | Hebrew | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Zebra Film

Trivia:

As this was a French-Italian co-production, the first choice for Bardone was Lino Ventura.

Quotes:

S.S. Colonel Mueller:[Talking about Della Rovere] Listen, these notes mention that he speaks fluent English, French, and German.
Victorio Emanuele Bardone:I know a few words in French.
[Speaking in French]
Victorio Emanuele Bardone:Place your bets gentlemen. All bets have been placed.
S.S. Colonel Mueller:All bets have been placed, eh?
Victorio Emanuele Bardone:Do yopu know what is the cause of all my troubles? Gambling! I always lose! What's more, I always pay, and I've never cheated.
S.S. Colonel Mueller:I hope I won't be the first to find otherwise. This is no game we're playing, Colonel!

Movie Connections:

Version of Il generale della Rovere (2011) (TV)

A film of deep personal and spiritual transformation that is rarely, if ever, seen in today's films (especially from Hollywood).

I fully agree with all the glowing accolades of other commenters and totally disagree with the one commenter who thought it was "uneven." This is one of the greatest films ever made, partly because the humanity of the characters and the choices they must make are really what life is all about. If only present-day film makers (producers, directors, writers, etc) would concentrate their efforts towards making films of this caliber, what a much better world this would be. Instead, desiring profits over quality, they go for the lowest common denominator, and continue to make films bereft of the poetry of life, and full of gore, violence, guns, explosions, terror, and all sorts of ugliness and gratuitous noise. They think "this is what the public wants." How wrong they are. One interesting aside: I believe that Rosselini wasn't really as satisfied with this film as much as audiences are. If that rumor is true, it can only be an example of an artist not realizing the impact and importance of a particular work they have created.