Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersIndependent Spirit AwardsWomen's History MonthSXSWSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Tea with Mussolini

Original title: Un tè con Mussolini
  • 19991999
  • PGPG
  • 1h 57m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
14K
YOUR RATING
Cher, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Lily Tomlin, and Joan Plowright in Tea with Mussolini (1999)
An orphaned Italian boy is raised amongst a circle of British and American women living in Mussolini's Italy before and during World War II.
Play trailer2:10
1 Video
44 Photos
ComedyDramaWar
An orphaned Italian boy is raised amongst a circle of British and American women living in Mussolini's Italy before and during World War II.An orphaned Italian boy is raised amongst a circle of British and American women living in Mussolini's Italy before and during World War II.An orphaned Italian boy is raised amongst a circle of British and American women living in Mussolini's Italy before and during World War II.
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
14K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Franco Zeffirelli
  • Writers
    • John Mortimer(screenplay)
    • Franco Zeffirelli(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Maggie Smith
    • Judi Dench
    • Joan Plowright
  • Director
    • Franco Zeffirelli
  • Writers
    • John Mortimer(screenplay)
    • Franco Zeffirelli(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Maggie Smith
    • Judi Dench
    • Joan Plowright
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 168User reviews
    • 64Critic reviews
    • 53Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 BAFTA Award
      • 5 wins & 3 nominations total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:10
    Watch Trailer

    Photos44

    Maggie Smith and Claudio Spadaro in Tea with Mussolini (1999)
    Claudio Spadaro in Tea with Mussolini (1999)
    Judi Dench and Maggie Smith in Tea with Mussolini (1999)
    Judi Dench in Tea with Mussolini (1999)
    Maggie Smith, Paul Chequer, and Michael Williams in Tea with Mussolini (1999)
    Cher and Lily Tomlin in Tea with Mussolini (1999)
    Judi Dench and Franco Zeffirelli in Tea with Mussolini (1999)
    Judi Dench and Joan Plowright in Tea with Mussolini (1999)
    Cher in Tea with Mussolini (1999)
    Cher and Joan Plowright in Tea with Mussolini (1999)
    Maggie Smith and Joan Plowright in Tea with Mussolini (1999)
    Cher and Lily Tomlin in Tea with Mussolini (1999)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Maggie Smith
    Maggie Smith
    • Lady Hester
    Judi Dench
    Judi Dench
    • Arabella
    Joan Plowright
    Joan Plowright
    • Mary
    Cher
    Cher
    • Elsa
    Lily Tomlin
    Lily Tomlin
    • Georgie
    Baird Wallace
    • Luca
    Charlie Lucas
    • Luca (child)
    Massimo Ghini
    Massimo Ghini
    • Paolo
    Paolo Seganti
    Paolo Seganti
    • Vittorio
    Claudio Spadaro
    Claudio Spadaro
    • Mussolini
    Mino Bellei
    • Cesare
    Paul Chequer
    Paul Chequer
    • Wilfred
    Tessa Pritchard
    • Connie
    Michael Williams
    Michael Williams
    • British Consul
    Paula Jacobs
    • Molly
    Bettine Milne
    • Edith
    Hazel Parsons
    • Hazel
    Helen Stirling
    • Ursula
    • Director
      • Franco Zeffirelli
    • Writers
      • John Mortimer(screenplay)
      • Franco Zeffirelli(screenplay) (autobiography)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Ladies in Lavender
    7.0
    Ladies in Lavender
    My House in Umbria
    6.9
    My House in Umbria
    My Old Lady
    6.4
    My Old Lady
    Silkwood
    7.1
    Silkwood
    Mrs. Henderson Presents
    7.0
    Mrs. Henderson Presents
    A Room with a View
    7.2
    A Room with a View
    Enchanted April
    7.3
    Enchanted April
    Callas Forever
    6.4
    Callas Forever
    Zeffirelli's Inferno
    7.1
    Zeffirelli's Inferno
    From Time to Time
    6.7
    From Time to Time
    Storia di una capinera
    6.7
    Storia di una capinera
    Quartet
    6.8
    Quartet

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Cher has stated that the only reason she took the part of Elsa was because Writer and Director Franco Zeffirelli said he could only see her and no other actress in the role.
    • Goofs
      The tanks the Germans ride in are, in fact, U.S. Army M4 Shermans, not German-built Panzers.
    • Quotes

      Lady Hester: The Germans and the Italians couldn't get rid of us. There is absolutely no reason why we should surrender to the Scots.

    • Alternate versions
      The MGM DVD, ISBN 0-7928-4300-2, is missing least one shot: The original tea with Mussolini scene ends with Mussolini forcing himself upon the reporter, forcing her onto his desk (i.e., he rapes her.) This DVD omits that ending and leaves the reporter's change in behavior unexplained.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
    • Soundtracks
      Mattinata Fiorentina
      Written by Giovanni D'Anzi (as D'Anzi) and Michele Galdieri (as Galdieri)

      Performed by Alberto Rabagliati

    User reviews168

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Cher and an all-star cast make this wartime soaper memorable
    After nearly 20 years as a top pop and television star, Cher suddenly skyrocketed to film stardom in the mid-80's, walked off with an Academy Award, ranked among the top ten box-office stars and just as suddenly disappeared from the big screen in 1991 after one last hit "Mermaids"(1990) cleaned up at cinemas. In 1999 she made a tremendous comeback with a multimillion selling CD "Believe"(Warner Bros, 1998) and most impressively returned to the big screen with a luminous performance in Franco Zefferelli's "Tea With Mussolini"(MGM,1999). Reviews were mixed but after I saw this in the movie theater, I felt the film was rather good. Based on an autobiography by Zefferelli recounting his early years trying to survive the Nazi-Mussolini atrocities of WWII. During this dangerous time Zefferelli was protected by a coterie of socialite dowagers played splendidly by Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, Lily Tomlin and of course Cher who was perfectly cast as a gorgeous Jewish chanteuse. The story has some holes and the film was probably edited down too much for its US release that cause some continuity issues but this is overall a charming, thoughtful period piece highlighted by Cher at her latter day peak. Shame this success did not resuscitate her dormant film career. She has made nothing of note since.
    helpful•12
    0
    • Emaisie39
    • Jun 7, 2007

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 14, 1999 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Italy
      • United Kingdom
    • Official site
      • MGM
    • Languages
      • English
      • Italian
    • Also known as
      • Mussolini ile Çay
    • Filming locations
      • Florence, Tuscany, Italy
    • Production companies
      • Medusa Film
      • Cattleya
      • Cineritmo
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $12,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $14,401,563
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $1,633,183
      • May 16, 1999
    • Gross worldwide
      • $14,401,563
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 57 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Cher, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Lily Tomlin, and Joan Plowright in Tea with Mussolini (1999)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Tea with Mussolini (1999) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.