1900 (1976)

The epic tale of a class struggle in twentieth century Italy, as seen through the eyes of two childhood friends on opposing sides.

Director:

Bernardo Bertolucci

Writers:

Franco Arcalli (screenplay by), Giuseppe Bertolucci (screenplay by)

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Gérard Depardieu, Dominique Sanda

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	Alfredo Berlinghieri
Gérard Depardieu	...	Olmo Dalcò (as Gerard Depardieu)
Dominique Sanda	...	Ada Fiastri Paulhan
Francesca Bertini	...	Sister Desolata
Laura Betti	...	Regina
Werner Bruhns	...	Ottavio Berlinghieri
Stefania Casini	...	Neve - Epileptic Woman
Sterling Hayden	...	Leo Dalcò
Anna Henkel-Grönemeyer	...	Anita the Younger (as Anna Henkel)
Ellen Schwiers	...	Amelia
Alida Valli	...	Signora Pioppi
Romolo Valli	...	Giovanni Berlinghieri
Bianca Magliacca	...	Peasant Woman
Giacomo Rizzo	...	Rigoletto
Pippo Campanini	...	Don Tarcisio

Storyline

Set in Italy, the film follows the lives and interactions of two boys/men, one born a bastard of peasant stock, Olmo, the other born to a land owner, Alfredo. The drama spans from 1900 to about 1945, and focuses mainly on the rise of Fascism and the peasants' eventual reaction by supporting Communism, and how these events shape the destinies of the two main characters.

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Plot Keywords:

class struggle | socialist | land owner | child murder | peasant | 

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Taglines:

A compelling, unforgettable story of human nature, of human existence, of the constant struggle against the oppression of tyranny.

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

After production shooting was completed, it was decided that this movie would be split into two halves for release as two separate films.

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Goofs

In the movie, Olmo is depicted as coming back from World War One, while Alfredo, even though conscripted, manages to stay at home thanks to his father's connections. In reality, people born in 1901 (like Olmo and Alfredo) were never conscripted to fight in the war, as they were only 17 when it ended in November 1918. The last ones to be conscripted in Italy where those born in 1899.

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Quotes

Ada Fiastri Paulhan: I love the smell of earth!
Olmo Dalco: That's dried shit.

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Alternate Versions

The German, Australian, Scandanavian, and Italian DVD releases are all the uncut 311-minute version of the film (302 minutes due to PAL speed-up) divided into two parts and featuring all of the above scenes including the main characters as young boys examining each other's genitals (this scene is much less graphic than many believe), and the prostitute masturbating Robert De Niro and Gérard Depardieu. However, they are not color corrected, hence there is a red tint on many scenes. The Paramount DVD, released in the U.S. on December 5th, 2006, is the completely uncut version and was color corrected for DVD.

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Connections

Referenced in C'è tempo (2019)

User Reviews

Under-rated epic

"1900" follows the lives of two friends (although sometimes they seem more like enemies!) born on the same day in a beautiful part of Italy. Olmo is born a bastard to peasant farmers and Alfredo is the son of a wealthy businessman. We watch their lives unfold with vivid cinematography and lush visuals of the exceptionally beautiful countryside. The movie jumps forward, to the end of World War 1, and Olmo returns home after fighting. And essentially the film follows the exploits of the two protagonists as they deal with love, friendship, money, death and the evils of war.

The film unfolds like a finely crafted book, taking its time to tell its story.

Unfortunately, the version that I watched was horrendously dubbed. It was so bad my brother couldn't continue watching. I tried to look past this major fault, as I started to love the film's story and visuals, and it does get better, but I'd be extremely disappointed to find out a subtitled version doesn't exist. And to make matters worse, it was also a Pan & Scan version. This doesn't bother me too much if I'm watching, say 'Mrs. Doubtfire', but "1900" is definitely a wide-screen movie. Some scenes were practically ruined as characters are framed to the extreme right or left. For example, at the beginning where Olmo lays on the train line, I couldn't see him in the wide shot! I couldn't see what was going on. Terrible! And the version I watched came in at about 4 hours and 35 minutes. So it was a cut version, and this is blindingly obvious. The cuts are dreadful. This has to be some of the worst editing I have ever seen in my whole movie viewing life.

But for all these problems (easily solvable problems that have nothing to do with the movie itself (unless the dub is the original)) I fell in love with this movie. I didn't really notice the hours passing by; the story and the characters suck you into their world, and don't let go until the final credits roll. And even then they are stuck in your head, along with the more memorable scenes. I couldn't help but be reminded of my own childhood, even when the scenes had no context to my memories. For instance, the simple setting of workers ploughing a field bought back memories of playing in a big dirt mound in our backyard as a child, or beautifully lit scenes at sunset; I could almost feel the warmth. These memories made me feel really good, and whether it was intended or not to remind the audience of their childhoods, the film certainly had this wondrous effect on me.

I was quite shocked with some of the scenes in this film, especially the rape scene. While there is no sex shown at all (at least in this version), the crying eyes say more than any words or images could. You should be warned this film has some pretty graphic violence and contains a few explicit sex scenes. But the sex scenes are refreshingly realistic, as opposed to Hollywood's fraudulent version of sex.

The acting is, for the most part, admirably handled. Robert De Niro is convincing as the rich son with a poor peasant as his best friend. This role could have descended into cliché, but De Niro steers it clear of any such event. Towards the end of the film De Niro's performance is terrific. It's remarkable that in the same year that this was made, De Niro played a certain Travis Bickle in the seminal 'Taxi Driver.' 1976 was certainly De Niro's year! Gerard Depardieu is wonderful as Olmo. I have never seen a movie of Depardieu's where he was young, and I must say he was very handsome in his day! His performance elicits emotion without settling for sentimentality. The supporting cast do a good job. Burt Lancaster is both charming and divine, yet in one scene I was quite uncomfortable as to where it was going to lead. But he portrays this without the cliché of a `dirty-old-man' but rather a lonely man who may not remember where the line of decency may now lie. Donald Sutherland is disgusting beyond description. No, not his acting, but the character he plays. I haven't seen too many of Sutherland's films (unfortunately, off the top of my head I can only recall 'Fallen') but I'm keen to see more of his work, as his acting here is top notch. And the hunchback (sorry, can't remember his name) is delightfully endearing. Only some small characters have questionable acting talents, but in a film with so many bit parts this may well be expected.

The word 'epic' seems to imply greatly to this film. While the scope and size of the film is epic, the film relies heavily on the lives of the main protagonists. In a way this is an intimate epic, if such a thing could exist.

This is an excellent film that is highly recommended for people interested in Italian history, the landscape of Italy and beautifully crafted films. This particular version is recommended to people interested in gaining evidence that Pan & Scan is the work of Satan and that dubbing should be a sin.

If you enjoyed the films `Schindler's List' and `La Vita é Bella', then I'm sure you'll get something out of this film.

You shouldn't be turned off by the long running time of this film, you get so engrossed with the story the time just flies by. This is certainly an under-rated classic, treated poorly by some versions.

10/10 If in wide-screen, un-cut and subtitled. 9/10 If Pan & Scan, cut and dubbed.

But as I have to give one overall score, I'd have to say 10/10.

Details

Country:

Italy France West Germany

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

4 November 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

1900

Filming Locations:

Terme Berzieri, Salsomaggiore Terme, Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Produzioni Europee Associate (PEA), Les Productions Artistes Associés, Artemis Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

245 min (heavily cut) (R-rated) 317 min (2 parts) 250 min (heavily cut) 248 min (heavily cut) 162 min (Part I) 154 min (Part II)

Sound Mix:

Mono Dolby (English version)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1