Tomorrow morning ‘Novecento’ will be broadcast on Sky Cinema Drama (6 am and then the second act at 8.45 am), directed in 1976 by Bernardo Bertolucci who would have turned 80 today. The film tells the life of Alfredo Berlinghieri (Robert De Niro) and Olmo Dalcò (Gérard Depardieu), born on the same day at the beginning of the 20th century: the first is the heir of rich landowners in the Emilian countryside, the second is the son of peasants who work the land of the Berlinghieri. The two grow up together and live in parallel all the main events of Italian history in the first half of the twentieth century: the struggles of the socialist leagues for the rights of the peasants, the First World War, the advent of fascism financed by the rich agrarians, the abuses of regime, the Second World War and the Liberation. Despite the difference in class, Alfredo and Olmo remain linked and mutually support each other even when the former undergoes the influence and diktats of the fascists and the latter first becomes an opponent of the regime and then a partisan. “Novecento” is a powerful and far-reaching historical fresco, with splendid images of the Emilian countryside. If the first part is fascinating and rich in style, the second one suffers too much from the ideology of the time, also betraying the myth of the Resistance which it also wants to celebrate. Despite this, the film, which lasts 5 hours and 17 minutes, is a peasant saga of great civil impact, with memorable shots and a stellar cast (in addition to De Niro and Depardieu, there are Stefania Sandrelli, Burt Lancaster, Donald Sutherland, Dominique Sanda , Alida Valli and Sterling Hayden). Unforgettable the figures of the two patriarchs, the “master” and grandfather Alfredo Berlinghieri (Burt Lancaster) and the farmer Leo Dalcò (Sterling Hayden). The film breaks the Italian box office and collects 4 billion lire. Waiting for the broadcast, here are 21 things you may not know.
December 15, 2021 | 07:42
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