Novecento (1976)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Bernardo Bertolucci

Writers:

Franco Arcalli (writer)
Bernardo Bertolucci (writer)

Release Date:

4 November 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Romance | War

Plot:

Set in Italy, the film follows the lives and interactions of two boys/men, one born a bastard of peasant stock (Depardieu)...

Plot Keywords:

Peasant | Friend | Italy | Enemy | Italian

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

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
Sterling Hayden	...	Leo Dalcò
Anna Henkel	...	Anita
Ellen Schwiers	...	Amelia
Alida Valli	...	Signora Pioppi
Romolo Valli	...	Giovanni
Bianca Magliacca	...	Peasant
Giacomo Rizzo	...	Rigoletto
Pippo Campanini	...	Don Tarcisio

Also Known As:

1900 (USA)
1900 - Gewalt, Macht, Leidenschaft (West Germany) (first part title)
1900 - Kampf, Liebe, Hoffnung (West Germany) (second part title)
1900: Seconde époque (France) (TV title)
Nineteen Hundred (USA) (alternative spelling)
Novecento - Atto I (Italy) (first part title)
Novecento - Atto II (Italy) (second part title)

Runtime:

USA:245 min (R-rated version) | 315 min (2 parts) (uncut version) | Argentina:250 min (heavily cut) | Australia:248 min (heavily cut)

Country:

Italy | France | West Germany

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:18 (DVD release) (2005) | West Germany:16 (video rating) (cut) | Germany:18 (uncut version) | New Zealand:R18 | France:-16 (uncut) | Hungary:18 | USA:NC-17 (re-rating) (uncut version) (1993) (rating surrendered) | Italy:VM14 (re-release) (uncut version) | Italy:VM18 (original rating) (uncut version) (1976) | Portugal:M/16 (uncut) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Singapore:R21 (cut) | West Germany:16 (f) (original rating) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Argentina:18 (re-rating) | Spain:18 | Australia:R | Finland:K-18 | Norway:18 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | Canada:R | USA:X (original rating) (uncut version) (1976) | USA:R (original rating) (edited version) (1976)

Filming Locations:

Busseto, Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Company:

Produzioni Europee Associati (PEA)

Trivia:

Bernardo Bertolucci had wanted Jack Nicholson to play Alfredo Berlinghieri.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: As Attila Mellanchini is shot by the communist partisans on VE Day, a close-up is shown of a man's hand holding the pistol to Attila's head. The pistol in his hand is a Beretta M951, which only began production circa 1953 - eight years after the war ended.

Quotes:

Olmo Dalco: This is my bride-trap.
Ada Fiastri Paulhan: Have you caught any brides?
Olmo Dalco: You're the first one.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in El diputado (1978)

Over-reaching epic with memorable vignettes.

Gifted filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci, along with his collaborators, probably bit off more than they could chew with this massive epic of politics, revolution, love and war, but it's nevertheless a fascinating entertainment for those with the constitution to sit through at least 4 hours (the original long version is 5 hours +!) of imperfect dubbing.

Robert DeNiro and Gerard Depardieu play, respectively, a rich landowner and a peasant, born on the same day of the new century. The story of their friendship takes them from bucolic idyll to the rise of Fascism, bloody war and its aftermath, and back again. Veterans Burt Lancaster and Sterling Hayden play their grandfathers, Dominique Sanda is the woman they both love, and Donald Sutherland inhabits the cartoonish character of Attila, their Fascist nemesis, with trademark fish-eyed malice and depravity.

Gorgeous cinematography by Vittorio Storaro and a gentle, evocative score by Ennio Morricone lend this disjointed story more appeal and dramatic clarity than it might otherwise merit. If the simplistic politics at the end leaves you cold, there will have hopefully been enough vivid and touching scenes along the way to make it worthwhile.