The Great War (1959)

The Italian Army fought against the Austrians during World War I.

Director:

Mario Monicelli

Writers:

Agenore Incrocci (story and screenplay) (as Age), Furio Scarpelli (story and screenplay) (as Scarpelli)

Stars:

Alberto Sordi, Vittorio Gassman, Bernard Blier

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alberto Sordi	...	Oreste Jacovacci
Vittorio Gassman	...	Giovanni Busacca
Bernard Blier	...	Capitano Castelli
Folco Lulli	...	Bordin
Vittorio Sanipoli	...	Maggiore Venturi
Romolo Valli	...	Tenente Gallina
Mario Valdemarin	...	Sottotenente Lorenzi
Nicola Arigliano	...	Giardino
Livio Lorenzon	...	Sergente Barriferri
Tiberio Mitri	...	Mandich
Carlo D'Angelo	...	Capitano Ferri
Tiberio Murgia	...	Rosario Nicotra
Marcello Giorda	...	Generale
Achille Compagnoni	...	Il cappellano
Geronimo Meynier	...	Il portaordini

Storyline

Italy, 1916. Oreste Jacovacci and Giovanni Busacca are conscripted, as all the Italian youths, to serve the army in the WWI. They meet at the recruiting office where Giovanni bribes Oreste in the hope of securing a medical deferment, however the joke is on him when Oreste pulls off a hilarious double cross. Destine to serve as comrades in the same unit, they meet again on the train to the front. Despite the rocky beginning and the stolen money, they become friends and the comedic duo experience everything from blustery sergeants to bureaucratic requisition officers to the war weary lieutenant Hen. While in the village of Tigliano they spend some months in relative peace, and Giovanni attempts to gain the graces (and favors) of overworked prostitute Costantina, who also turns the tables to lighten his wallet. But war also brings with it gruesome sights and harrowing dangers. During the most important battle among Italians and Austro-Hungarians, as the Italians in retreat, Giovanni and ...

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Plot Keywords:

front | austrian | train | comrade | austro hungarian | 

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Taglines:

Captured with raging realism...filmed on a breathtaking scale! The monumental story of the giant men who fought the Great War...and the women who followed them into hell!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian German

Release Date:

28 October 1959 (Italy)

Also Known As:

La gran guerra

Filming Locations:

Dobbiaco, Bolzano, Trentino - Alto Adige, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica, Gray-Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

137 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Italian censorship visa # 30261 delivered on 16-9-1959.

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Connections

Referenced in Splendor (1989)

User Reviews

Ingenious characterization .....

To the ghost of Mario Monicelli,

Ciao ancora! The Great War/La Grande Guerra is the second movie directed by you that I watched over the last two weeks. I come from a patriotic country. And the only war films I have seen are mostly the American and British ones and the awful Indian ones. But your film was unique compared to all of them. It is almost a film which a commercial film audience could enjoy though I guess the hardcore patriots would not identify with the two cowardly lead characters. But they are characters anyone with a soul could relate to. Your film hardly ever had a dull moment. It was hilarious. There were so many instances when I laughed my ass off.

The traitorous deserting characters were so tongue in cheek. The characterization is pure genius. The Destouches character from Celine's Journey to the End of the Night came to mind while I watched Oreste and Giovanni stumble through their life in the army. You did a great job portraying the horror of war despite the antics of the two protagonists. It is always the poor and the wretched who are doomed to fight the wars of the rich. Not an original message, but your treatment of this theme was unique.

Vittorio Gassman is such an amazing actor. In India, someone who looked like him would never play a loser. Now I have watched three movies where he plays total losers.

I will be stealing more of your movies over the next few weeks, Mario.

Best Regards, Pimpin.