Operación Ogro (1979)

Director:

Gillo Pontecorvo

Writers:

Julen Aguirre (book)
Giorgio Arlorio (writer)

Release Date:

28 September 1979 (Italy)

Genre:

History | Thriller

Plot:

As 1973 winds down, Franco is still governing Spain with an iron hand. Opposition parties are forbidden;...

Plot Keywords:

Historical | Terrorism | Revolution | Fascism

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Gian Maria Volonté	...	Izarra (as Gian Maria Volonte)
José Sacristán	...	Iker (as Jose Sacristan)
Ángela Molina	...	Amaiur (as Angela Molina)
Eusebio Poncela	...	Txabi
Saverio Marconi	...	Luque
Georges Staquet	...	El Albañil
Nicole Garcia	...	Karmele
Féodor Atkine	...	José María Uriarte (alias Yoseba) (as Fedor Atkine)
Estanis González
Agapito Romo	...	Carrero Blanco
José Manuel Cervino	...	Lechero
José Luis Pérez
Luis Politti	...	Profesor (as Luis Politi)
Agustín Navarro
Fernando Chinarro	...	Cirujano

Also Known As:

Ogro (International: English title) (Italy)
Operation Ogre

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

Spain | France | Italy

Language:

Spanish | French | Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Spain:13

Filming Locations:

Bilbao, Vizcaya, País Vasco, Spain

Company:

Action Film

Trivia:

Gillo Pontecorvo's last feature film.

Quotes:

Policeman #1 (on radio): K-18, K-18 here. We're heading towards Claudio Coello. Seems there's been an explosion.
Policeman #2 (on radio): J-15 here. Something's odd on Juan Bravo Velasquez, a big traffic jam.
Policeman #1 (on radio): Okay, okay.
Policeman #2 (on radio): Copy that.
Policeman #1 (on radio): H-20 for K-18. What happened on Claudio Coello? Claudio Coello is the route for the President. Give me news quickly. Over.
Policeman #2 (on radio): K-14 here, K-14. We're on Claudio Coello. There was a gas explosion, a big one. It lifted up the street. There's lots of destroyed cars. K-18's arriving. Over.
Policeman #1 (on radio): H-20 here. K-18, go to the Jesuit Church. If the President hasn't left, keep him there. There could be other explosions.
Policeman #2 (on radio): We're on our way.
Policeman #1 (on radio): H-20 calling K-11. Go to the President's house, on Hermanos Bequer. Quickly. Over.
Policeman #2 (on radio): K-18 here. The President has already left. Mass has been over some time. Over.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in La pelota vasca. La piel contra la piedra (2003)

A great movie

A Basque student I am living with right now explained a rough background behind the story of this movie and it made the experience of seeing it a whole lot more enjoying. I was astonished at the quality this movie had, the acting, directing, pacing, all impeccable and on a very impressive level. The story itself is simple, but the movie's tag line should be enough an explanation-an explosion that changed the history of Spain. The finale had me on the edge of my seat and the way the director chose to show certain time lapses was also very wise because the ending of the story, which indeed Was relevant to the movie's story, doesn't leave a bitter taste.

I highly recommend this movie, but before seeing it just find some rough info about this fascinating true story, it'll make the experience a whole lot more satisfying. 9/10