Three Brothers (1981) Tre fratelli (original title)

Director:

Francesco Rosi

Writers:

Tonino Guerra (story) &
Francesco Rosi (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

19 March 1981 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Three men face their mother's death.

Plot Keywords:

Death | Italy | Assassination | Corruption | Violence

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 10 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Philippe Noiret	...	Raffaele Giuranna
Michele Placido	...	Nicola Giuranna
Vittorio Mezzogiorno	...	Rocco Giuranna / Young Donato
Andréa Ferréol	...	Raffaele's Wife
Maddalena Crippa	...	Giovanna
Rosaria Tafuri	...	Rosaria
Marta Zoffoli	...	Marta
Tino Schirinzi	...	Raffaeles's Friend
Simonetta Stefanelli	...	Young Donato's Wife
Pietro Biondi	...	1st Judge
Charles Vanel	...	Donato Giuranna
Accursio Di Leo	...	1st Friend at Bar
Luigi Infantino	...	2nd Friend at Bar
Girolamo Marzano	...	Nicola's Friend
Gina Pontrelli	...	The Brother's Mother
Ferdinando Greco	...	2nd Judge
Cosimo Milone	...	Raffaele's Son
Ferdinando Murolo	...	Friend at Bar
Maria Antonia Capotorto	...	Post Office Clerk
Francesco Capotorto	...	Friend at Bar
Cristofaro Chiapparino	...	Friend at Bar

Directed by
Francesco Rosi

Writing credits
Tonino Guerra		(story and screenplay) &
Francesco Rosi		(story and screenplay)
Andrey Platonov		(inspired by the book) (as A. Platonov)

Produced by
Antonio Macri	....	producer: for Iter Film S.p.A.
Giorgio Nocella	....	producer: for Iter Film S.p.A.
Renzo Rossellini	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Piero Piccioni

Cinematography by
Pasqualino De Santis		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ruggero Mastroianni

Production Design by
Andrea Crisanti

Set Decoration by
Massimo Tavazzi

Costume Design by
Gabriella Pescucci

Makeup Department
Adalgisa Favella	....	hair stylist
Franco Freda	....	makeup artist (as Francesco Freda)

Production Management
Franco Ballati	....	production manager
Lynn Kamera	....	production supervisor
Alessandro von Norman	....	general organizer (as Alessandro von Normann)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gianni Arduini	....	assistant director

Art Department
Benito Leonardi	....	construction coordinator
Alberto Michettoni	....	property master
Oreste Quercioli	....	scenic painter

Sound Department
Mario Bramonti	....	sound
Romano Checcacci	....	sound mixer
Renato Marinelli	....	sound effects: Studio Sound s.r.l.
Giuseppe Muratori	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Renato Agostini	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Franco Boccini	....	electrician
Mario Cimini	....	camera operator
Aldo Colanzi	....	key grip
Bruno Colanzi	....	grip
Roberto Gengarelli	....	assistant camera
Luciano Leoni	....	key electrician
Sergio Marra	....	electrician
Mario Pezzotti	....	grip
Fiorangelo Plocco	....	electrician
Sergio Strizzi	....	still photographer
Angelo Tiberti	....	grip
Ettore Zampagni	....	electrician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Orsola Liberati	....	seamstress
Onelio Millenotti	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Andrea Gargano	....	final colorist
Lea Mazzocchi	....	assistant editor
Bruno Sarandrea	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Angelo Giovagnoli	....	musician: french horn

Other crew
Fausto Capozzi	....	production accountant
Lorenzo Errico	....	production secretary
Renata Franceschi	....	script supervisor
Enzo Lucarini	....	administrator (as Vincenzo Lucarini)
Mario Maldesi	....	voice dubbing: collaborator
Enzo Ocone	....	translator: novel
Matteo von Norman	....	assistant production secretary (as Matteo von Normann)

Production Companies

• Iterfilm (as Iter Film)
• Gaumont (as Gaumont, Parigi)

Distributors

• Concorde Filmverleih (1982) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Gaumont (1982) (France) (theatrical)
• New World Pictures (1982) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Artificial Eye (1983) (UK) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• DNC Home Entertainment (2003) (Italy) (DVD)
• Facets Multimedia Distribution (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Gaumont Video (2008) (France) (DVD) (box-set)
• Homescreen (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paris Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• PolyGram Video (1998) (Italy) (VHS)
• Primer Plano Film Group Video (2003) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Primer Plano Film Group Video (2003) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-edited)
• Primer Plano Film Group (2003) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)

Other Companies

• Cooperativa di Lavoro Fono Roma  post-production facilities (as Coop. di Lavoro ''Fono Roma'')
• Studio Sound  sound effects
• Annamode  costumes
• Stacchini  weapons (as Franco Stacchini)
• L.C.P.  shoes (as Ditta L.C.P. s.r.l.)
• Rocchetti e Carboni  wigs (as Rocchetti - Carboni)
• De Paolis, Rome  theater
• Forum Studio  music recording
• Orchestra dell'Unione Musicisti di Roma (U.M.R.)  orchestra
• Revelation Music  music publisher (as Revelation)

Also Known As:

"Tre fratelli" - Italy (original title)

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Matera, Basilicata, Italy

Company:

Iterfilm

Trivia:

In the French post-synchronized version, the Italian actors are dubbed by: Bernard Murat (Michele Placido), François Marthouret (Vittorio Mezzogiorno); Stefanie Kent (Marta Zoffoli); Perrette Pradier (Maddalena Crippa) and Véronique Chobaz (Rosaria Tafuri).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Baarìa (2009)

Soundtrack:

Je so' pazzo

Evocative film about life, its purpose, and how people can change

"Tre fratelli" is a most evocative film that poses to the viewer fundamental questions of life, relationships, and how both can unknowingly be lost.

Raffaele, Nicola, and Rocco, the three brothers, had emigrated from their hometown in Puglia. Raffaele, the judge, although outwardly sedate, is consumed by paranoiac fear for his life. That fear puts a strain on his marital life. While Raffaele lives in fear, Nicola dwells over his poor marriage. His pain is so terrible not only because he still has feelings for his wife, but also because of Marta, his daughter. As Marta and her father were driving in the car back to Puglia, there was an intense chemistry between the two. The love he felt for his daughter was genuine and pronounced. Rocco, the third brother, is somewhat of a radical. That's almost expected; he runs a reform school, a very tiring job. He clashes with his brother, Raffaele, who fears that he is one of the terrorists that would kill him. "Tre fratelli" is a very ironic title. The brothers are not at all similar. They do, however, have on thing in common. They're all unhappy people.

Donato, the father, is in a world completely different from that of his sons. He's not the most loquacious person. However, he is a man of tremendous faith. He has no part of the Northern/Southern Italian class conflicts. By remaining at home, has retained his values. That's not to say that anyone who moves away loses his values. But, in the brothers' case, they had truly forgotten the "paese" that they had left.

In the film, there was an underlying theme of cultural change. As the boundaries between the North and South became less defined, so would the bucolic life of the South that could so easily impart values upon its people. Marta and Donato's relationship grows out of that nostalgic reflection on days gone by. Marta's presence is crucial. She brings out her grandfather's character, so representative of traditional familial values, which otherwise would have been drowned by the bickering of the brothers. With Donato's flashbacks, it becomes evident that Marta reminds him so much of his deceased wife; both could live their life in a simplistic, yet joyful way. The technique of flashback clearly enriches the message of director Francesco Rosi. Sadly, the viewer becomes predisposed to the feeling that those traditional values will die with time. In one of the more important instances of flashback, Donato recalls the time when he was at the beach with his wife, and they found her ring. In its unadulterated form, that scene conveyed pure joy. The final scene in which Donato held the ring was incredibly symbolic. As he held it, he came to the bittersweet understanding that he had lived his life in search of happiness, had found it. No matter how much longer he had to live, he would know that he had lived a good life. Regional and class conflicts obviously manifest themselves in the relationships of the three brothers. Before they even realized it, they were deprived of the values and maturing experiences that their father treasured so dearly. When they went home to Puglia, they truly didn't go home. That small town had ceased to be their home a long time ago. But, Rome, Turin, and Naples were no longer true homes to the brothers, either. To truly be home, one must first know what he truly desires.

At the end of the mother's funeral, while mourning their mother, it seems as if the brothers understand the essence of their family, as envisioned by their father and mother. Paradoxically, it takes the death of their mother to catalyze a rebirth in the lives of the three brothers.

"Tre fratelli" is obviously not acclaimed because of a climactic plot. It is Francesco Rosi's masterful portrayal of two conflicting perceptions of life that are so very clear to the viewer. By juxtaposing the relationships between the three brothers and that of Donato and Marta, Rosi's theme is magnified, reminding the viewer that we should all have an idea of the life we wish to lead. Let's note, however, that Donato does not live in a world of ignorant bliss; he is not naive. He merely had a clear perception of his true, human desires. The end of "Tre fratelli" is quite hopeful. It shows the viewer that no matter how much we isolate ourselves, we can always return. The brothers returned home as strangers, but it's obvious that in Puglia, their memories of the past were ignited, beseeching them to return to way that beatifies the fundamental joy in life, a joy that is not excluseive to southern Italy. We can live happily anywhere. As "Tre fratelli" so heart-wrenchingly reminds us, our lives can slip by quickly, yet without meaning. However, by looking inside of ourselves, we can always regain that which we have lost.