The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978) L'albero degli zoccoli (original title)

Director:

Ermanno Olmi

Writer:

Ermanno Olmi (written by)

Release Date:

1 June 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Tagline:

Once in a generation, a work of art appears as if by magic, to move and inspire its audience. A work that returns to a exhausted humanity the possibility of simple grandeur. We invite you to visit a time and place when life was still a sacred matter. When the family of man was still - a family.

Plot:

The life inside a farm in Italy at the beginning of the century. Many poor country families live there...

Plot Keywords:

School | Italy | Money | Farm | Arthritis

Awards:

15 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Luigi Ornaghi	...	Batistì
Francesca Moriggi	...	Batistina
Omar Brignoli	...	Minec
Antonio Ferrari	...	Tuni
Teresa Brescianini	...	Widow Runk
Giuseppe Brignoli	...	Anselmo
Carlo Rota	...	Peppino
Pasqualina Brolis	...	Teresina
Massimo Fratus	...	Pierino
Francesca Villa	...	Annetta
Maria Grazia Caroli	...	Bettina
Battista Trevaini	...	Il Finard
Giuseppina Langalelli	...	La Moglie Finarda
Lorenzo Pedroni	...	Il nonno Finard
Felice Cervi	...	Uslì
Pierangelo Bertoli	...	Secondo
Brunella Migliaccio	...	Olga
Giacomo Cavalleri	...	Brena
Lorenza Frigeni	...	La moglie di Brena
Lucia Pezzoli	...	Maddalena
Franco Pilenga	...	Stefano
Guglielmo Badoni	...	Father
Laura Lecatelli	...	Mother
Carmelo Silva	...	Don Carlo
Mario Brignoli	...	Padrone
Emilio Pedroni	...	Fattore
Vittorio Capelli	...	Fritz
Francesca Bassurini	...	Luca Maria
Lina Ricci	...	Donna del Segno

Directed by
Ermanno Olmi

Writing credits
Ermanno Olmi		(written by)

Cinematography by
Ermanno Olmi

Film Editing by
Ermanno Olmi

Production Design by
Enrico Tovaglieri

Set Decoration by
Franco Gambarana

Costume Design by
Francesca Zucchelli

Makeup Department
Guiliana DeCarli	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Alessandro Calosci	....	production manager
Domenico Di Parigi	....	production supervisor
Attilio Torricelli	....	production manager

Art Department
Rossella Guarama	....	assistant production designer

Sound Department
Italo Cameracanna	....	sound effects
Amedeo Casati	....	sound engineer
Aldo Ciorba	....	sound effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Antonio Calzavara	....	chief electrician
Carlo Petriccioli	....	camera operator
Giovanni Spinelli	....	key grip
Enrico Visconti	....	assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Valeria Mariani	....	seamstress

Editorial Department
Elma Rigoni	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Johann Sebastian Bach	....	composer: additional music (as J.S. Bach)
Fernando Germani	....	musician: organ

Other crew
Enrico Leoni	....	production secretary
Fiorella Lugli	....	script supervisor
Giulio Mandelli	....	delegate: RAI
Archimede Orlando	....	administrator

Production Companies

• Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI) (as RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana)
• Ital-Noleggio Cinematografico

Distributors

• Ital-Noleggio Cinematografico (1978) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (1978) (France) (theatrical)
• New Yorker Films (1979) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Fox Lorber Home Video (1990) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• Istituto Luce (2003) (Italy) (DVD)
• Koch Lorber Films (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Carlotta Films (2006) (France) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (DVD)
• Homescreen (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Arrow Films (2011) (UK) (DVD)
• Medusa Video (2011) (Italy) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (TV)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (video) (VOD)

Other Companies

• Cinecittà  sound
• Costumi d'Arte  costumes
• Fox Lorber  package design
• Gruppo Produzione Cinema  executive production (as G.P.C. Gruppo Produzione Cinema ~ Milano)

Also Known As:

"L'albero degli zoccoli" - Italy (original title)

Runtime:

186 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Gevacolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Italy:T | Australia:G | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Cividate al Piano, Bergamo, Lombardia, Italy

Company:

Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI)

Trivia:

One of Al Pacino's favorite movies of all time.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the children are making music with pots and pans, the 'instruments' of the little girl are switching from one hand to the other when the camera looks at her from the other side.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Splendor (1989)

The film will be with me for a long time.

An artistic masterpiece that almost any observant Catholic will cherish, especially an Italian Catholic. It is unclear how nonbelievers will connect to the film. By watching the film one discovers that while material possessions may make life easier they certainly can be a stumbling block on the path to sanctity. These peasants really put late twentieth century American Catholics to shame.

The film slowly unveils to the viewers one year in the life of Italian peasants at the close of the nineteenth century. That's about it. There's no hero, no antagonist, and no great wrong that gets set right; it's simply a slice of life. I do not want to reveal too much of the story because I think it will spoil it for the viewer.

The film can serve as an educational tool for viewers with children. It's like going to an outdoor historical museum, only the viewer gets to see everything that it would take one whole year to see at the museum (without the crowds). For example, the director takes the time to show painstakingly what it was like to wash clothes one hundred years ago. It's essentially a living documentary of late nineteenth century Italian provincial life.

Most American audiences will have to get used to the slow pace of the film. Even the humor is extremely subtle. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the pace. The pace was silent, peaceful, and steadfast just as the families are in the film. To me it is an escape (ironically an escape from an escape) from many of today's films that just explode with sound effects and rock music; films that move at blurring speed with scene cuts that are made with the intent to maximize audience stimulation but often with the result of increasing our stress level. This movie is a restful reprieve.