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5
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4 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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The
Italian armed forces performed poorly in the Second World War.
A corrupt, inefficient high command and a serious lack of modern
equipment contributed significantly to the defeat of Mussolini's
armies. But the main reason for Axis Italy's military woes was
the reluctance of the average soldier to fight. Thankfully for
the Allies, many of the "Macaronis" (as the British called them)
—
or "Eye-ties" (in the American slang vernacular) —
simply didn't believe in the fascist cause. Dying for Il
Duce's dream of a new Roman empire wasn't exactly a popular
notion. In 1940 the Italian invasion of Egypt, launched from
Libya, was badly bungled and later routed by numerically inferior
British and Commonwealth forces. 1941 saw a humiliating defeat
in Greece (requiring the intervention of Germany to save the
situation) and Mussolini's decision to commit an army to Hitler's
Russian campaign. Morale went into the toilet and never recovered.
Some Italian units continued to fight well, however (such as
the air force), and even pull off the occasional spectacular
success (as did the navy's elite frogmen, who pioneered underwater
commando tactics). It was never enough to inspire the common
soldier, though, who just wanted the war to end so he could
go home. If that meant the downfall of the government, so be
it. Let the Germans fight the Allies... Fritz seemed to have
a taste —
and talent —
for it. (Passi il vino, per favore!)
A dismal record
of incompetence and defeat didn't lend itself to cinematic portrayals
of battlefield heroism and adventure, as seen in the war films
made in droves by the nations of the victorious Allies both
during and for a long time after the conflict. The Italian film
industry really didn't turn to making war movies until the 1960s;
the majority of them were typically simple (and cheap) Dirty
Dozen-like action potboilers, usually featuring cynical
American characters as the heroes. Therefore it was with keen
interest that I sat down to watch Giorgio Ferroni's The
Battle Of El Alamein (1969). A lifelong WWII buff (cult
cinema isn't my only hobby), I was eager to see a film
about one of my favorite campaigns told from the Italian side,
a rare viewpoint in movies about the war. In the end I was pleased
that it makes attempts at historical verisimilitude... though
deficiencies in other respects result in a mediocre motion picture.
Summer, 1942:
Rommel's drive into Egypt is halted and both sides go over to
the defensive to rebuild their strength. One of the Italian
Army's best units, the Folgore Parachute Division, arrives
at the front and takes up positions at the southern end of the
Axis line. Lt. Giorgio Borri (Frederick Stafford), a patriotic,
by-the-book officer, isn't really liked by the soldiers he commands
despite the fact he's basically a decent, conscientious guy.
Green to the ways of the desert, Borri at first resents the
unsolicited advice of older brother Claudio (Bird
With The Crystal Plumage's Enrico Maria Salerno), a senior
sergeant in the Ariete Division who takes every opportunity
to visit Giorgio's platoon and offer his wisdom. But the brothers'
bond is a strong one. Giorgio gains confidence and comes to
appreciate having Claudio at his side; a platoon of Ariete
infantry under the grizzled vet is seconded to Giorgio's company
and the two men form a solid team. Meanwhile, at the very top
of the command chain, events are in motion that will ultimately
decide the Borri brothers' fates. The Axis C-in-C in North Africa,
Field Marshal Rommel (French actor Robert Hossein), knows that
the German and Italian forces under his command are not strong
enough to defeat the British 8th Army shielding Alexandria and
the Suez Canal. Panzerarmee Afrika lacks the necessary
tanks and, most critically, fuel. His newly appointed nemesis,
the eccentric General Montgomery (Michael Rennie), will merely
bide his time, probing the Axis line as his British forces inexorably
build up enough strength and supplies to launch a major offensive.
When the big attack finally does come, Rommel is away in Germany
—
having been recalled for health reasons by Hitler —
while the Borri boys stand directly in the path of a large enemy
tank assault.
Populated by faces familiar to Euro-Cult/spaghetti western fans,
The
Battle Of El Alamein will
likely
appeal only to military history buffs and war film aficionados,
primarily due to its Italian perspective. Understandably
the film's view of WWII is not a positive one; war isn't glamorized
as an adventure. The Italian soldiers aren't fighting for Mussolini
(or even Italy) but rather for themselves and their fellow soldiers.
They have no love for their German allies but respect them for
their martial abilities. Their British enemies are not hated,
but also looked upon with respect as honorable foes; this is
personified in giallo veteran George Hilton (Case
Of The Bloody Iris, The
Killer Must Kill Again), here playing a chivalrous British
lieutenant who briefly captures Giorgio, treating him with dignity.
Rommel, too, is painted as a sympathetic figure, clashing with
a diehard Nazi on his staff (the fictional "Gen. Schwarz", played
by Gerard Herter) and frustrated by the ludicrous orders emanating
from Berlin. The script's only real ire is leveled at Montgomery,
who, as portrayed by Rennie (The Day The
Earth Stood Still), is depicted as a callous, arrogant,
thin-skinned martinet. Curiously enough, the film does a far
better job presenting the strategic overview of the North
African campaign than it does the titular, operational-level
battle. Montgomery's offensive, which ultimately sent Rommel's
forces on an epic 1,500-mile retreat, is given only the most
cursory of explanations. We're never shown a map of the objectives,
or even what the plan was other than to break through the Axis
lines. Anyone unfamiliar with the history of the Desert War
will be left clueless as to exactly where and how
this critical battle was fought. Also, time seems remarkably
compressed. The movie begins in the summer of '42, yet by all
appearances the big British attack that climaxes the film comes
only days, or at most weeks, later... In reality the battle
began in late October.
El
Alamein
runs a lean 96 minutes; this is no 3-hour epic like The
Longest Day or A Bridge Too Far.
Some of the dubbing is dodgy but Stafford and Salerno give solid
performances in the key roles of the two brothers. The score
by composer Carlo Rustichelli (The Whip
And The Body) sounds more appropriate for a Maciste/Hercules
flick than a war film. While there's plenty of action, the biggest
set-pieces are clumsily staged — it's as if director Ferroni
was mainly concerned with getting sprawling shots of tanks and
troops stretching across the horizon instead of making these
battle sequences look realistic. (Some rather brave stuntmen
engage in particularly dangerous 'gags' involving tanks, however,
as they leap on and off the fast-moving vehicles, rolling out
of the way of the onrushing treads at the last moment.) The
use of modern armored personnel carriers to represent British
Bren carriers is an especially glaring anachronism, though I
was quite surprised to see actual WWII Italian tanks (the infamous
"Mobile Coffins") make an appearance during the Ariete's
doomed counterattack. I had to laugh at the little radio-controlled
toy panzers seen trundling across the sand in one scene; they
look ridiculously fake.
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| Released
on DVD by Marengo Films, a company specializing in older (i.e.,
'classic') public domain fare, The
Battle Of El Alamein
is paired on a double feature disc with 1951's Go
For Broke!, a U.S.-made B&W World War II drama starring
Van Johnson. The disc isn't a 'flipper', so you don't have to
turn it over to play one of the titles. No extras are included
for either film; each is given 6 chapter stops. The good news
here is that El
Alamein
is presented widescreen, in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio.
To my knowledge this marks the first time since its theatrical
release that the flick hasn't been seen in pan & scan mode in
the States. Like most movies shot in 'Scope, visuals are horribly
compromised when shown fullframe... So at least we don't hear
characters talking but only see the tip of their noses on one
side of the screen, and the large-scale battle scenes are given
the proper elbow room. Sound quality is adequate, too, without
any major hiss or distortion to report. And the bad news? El
Alamein's
transfer appears to have been lifted from videotape. Colors are
mostly weak or just plain off; contrast is jacked too high. (Shadowed
faces are often just black blobs.) It's not absolutely terrible,
mind you — it's watchable, but certainly less than satisfactory.
(Though not reviewed here, the fullframe print used for Go
For Broke! looks worse, taken from an even shoddier dupe.
NOTE: The DVD Rating of '4' factors in the disc's value as a double
feature.) 1/21/05 |
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