Attack and Retreat (1964)
"Italiani brava gente" (original title)

Chronicle of the unheralded and unsuccessful invasion of the Soviet Union by the Italian army during World War II.

Director:

Giuseppe De Santis

Writers:

Ennio De Concini, Giuseppe De Santis,

Stars:

Arthur Kennedy, Zhanna Prokhorenko, Raffaele Pisu

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arthur Kennedy	...	Ferro Maria Ferri
Zhanna Prokhorenko	...	Katya
Raffaele Pisu	...	Gabrielli
Tatyana Samoylova	...	Sonya
Andrea Checchi	...	Sermonti
Riccardo Cucciolla	...	Sanna
Valeri Somov	...	Giuliani
Peter Falk	...	Medic Captain
Nino Vingelli	...	Amalfitano
Lev Prygunov	...	Bazzocchi
Grigory Mikhaylov	...	Russian Partisan (as Grigorij Mikhailov)
I. Paramonov	...	German Deserter
Gino Pernice	...	Collidi
Boris Kozhukhov	...	Major
Vincenzo Polizzi	...	Sicilian

Storyline

Chronicle of the unheralded and unsuccessful invasion of the Soviet Union by the Italian army during World War II.

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Plot Keywords:

italian | italian army | italian history | nazi | italian occupation | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Details

Country:

Italy Soviet Union

Language:

Italian Russian German Spanish

Release Date:

16 September 1964 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Attack and Retreat

Filming Locations:

Bessarabia, UkraineBug River, Ukraine

Company Credits

Production Co:

Galatea Film, Kinostudiya ''Mosfilm''

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Goofs

The Russian tanks featured in the film are T-34/85's, which were not produced until early 1944, a full a year after the events in this film took place.

User Reviews

A surprisingly beautiful film

I saw this many, many years ago under the title "Attack and Retreat". It is about the Italian participation in World War II on the Eastern Front - where Mussolini sent soldiers to die for his own grandiose vision of himself as an equal partner in German conquest.

I'm not able to recall many details, but there are a number of remarkable scenes that stand out in my memory. One was of a young soldier and a Russian girl in a field of high wheat. Quiet bullets whisper through the windblown stalks in deadly counterpoint to the young love of the boy and girl. In another scene Peter Falk, looking very small and lonely in a bleak and forbidding landscape of snow and ice, struggles to get to the rear while artillery rockets streak through the sky behind him. In still another scene, an Italian guard plays the Internationale on his harmonica to show some human solidarity to a group of Russian civilian prisoners. A mocking German guard demands that the prisoners sing, and a singer stands up to sing.

Shot in very striking black and white, it was an effective antiwar and anti-fascist film with powerful visuals and a strong message of humanity.

I liked it very much and wish it were shown more often.