The Spider's Stratagem (1970)

A man returns to the place where his father was murdered and tries to find closure. But he finds himself in a similar predicament as his late father instead.

Director:

Bernardo Bertolucci

Writers:

Jorge Luis Borges (story "Tema del traidor y del héroe") (as J.L. Borges), Bernardo Bertolucci

Stars:

Giulio Brogi, Alida Valli, Pippo Campanini

Cast

Credited cast:
Giulio Brogi	...	Athos Magnani, father and son
Alida Valli	...	Draifa
Pippo Campanini	...	Gaibazzi
Franco Giovanelli	...	Rasori
Tino Scotti	...	Costa
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Allen Midgette	...	Sailor

Storyline

Athos Magnani, a young researcher, returns to Tara, where his father was killed before his birth, at the request of Draifa. The father, also named Athos Magnani and looking exactly like the son, was killed by a fascist in 1936 -- or so says Draifa (his mistress), the town statue, and everyone in town. As the son untangles the web of lies this story is constructed from, he finds himself ensnared in the same web.

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Plot Keywords:

vomiting | mistress | partisan | painting | italian partisan | 

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Taglines:

From Bernardo Bertolucci, the creator of "Before the Revolution," "The Conformist" and "Last Tango in Paris"

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

27 March 1973 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Spider's Stratagem

Filming Locations:

Sabbioneta, Mantua, Lombardia, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana, Red Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The short story "Tema del traidor y del héroe" (Theme of the Traitor and the Hero) by Jorge Luis Borges, that this film is based on, was set in nineteenth-century Ireland and was only 2 pages long.

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Quotes

Athos Magnani, father and son: There's phrase that..."A man is made of all men. He is equal to all and all are equal to him". I forgot my suitcase at the station.

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Connections

References Gone with the Wind (1939)

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Soundtracks

Rigoletto
Written by Giuseppe Verdi

User Reviews

Flat is the plane, flat is my story

Somehow I always thought this was Bertolucci's first film. It isn't. But it looks like it. Here's a director with a huge potential, a cinematographer who'll soon be one of the greatest, but they still have a long way to go. We were young and Bertolucci was very left-wing so it was de rigueur to find this great, but in fact it was boring. The plot meanders on, the acting is wooden, and in the end you don't know if there was a story there at all. Bertolucci has become an icon, maybe more because of the scandals adhering to his films than of the intrinsic worth of his cinematographic output (in contrast to for instance Ettore Scola). No scandalous scenes in this one though, just plain pretension and showing off.