Reviews and  Analysis of Movies about Italy at War

    This page covers the movies about Italy in World War II; both pre-war colonial campaigns and the years during WW2.  The selection includes a variety of old and modern movies that tell the story of the war in Italy.   These movies are ones about American soldiers fighting in Italy or Italian soldiers fighting in North Africa. 
   Some movies include a detailed review with analysis of the historical context and any technical bloopers.    Eventually, I hope to at least mention every movie that covers this subject.  I can not list all the foriegn films as most Americans do not have access to these movies.

 

  

Main List of Movies

Legend
                 Black & White movie.
             *TV*   Made-for-TV movie.
               TV     TV episodes or mini-series.
          ACADEMY    Refers to the Oscar awards or nominations.

       

"Miracle at St. Anna"              Directed by Spike Lee.       Release date September 26, 2008   While investigating a black man for murder, detectives find an ancient artifact in his apartment.  This leads to the story of four black American soldiers who were part of the all-black 92nd "Buffalo Soldier" Division. These soldiers experienced the tragedy and triumph of the war as they became trapped behind enemy lines and were separated from their unit after one of them risks his life to save an Italian boy.     The story takes place in the village Sant' Anna di Stazzema, located north of Lucca (or simply Stazzema on modern maps).  On August 12, 1944, St. Anna  was the scene of a brutal attrocity when the 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division killed 560 citizens in reprisals for partisan raids.   It was later in December 1944 when the US 92nd Division was located in this area of the Serchio Valley of Northern Italy.  The Germans launched a surprise attack on the 16th and over-ran a regiment of the 92nd Division. Photo downloaded from movie's website:  http://miracleatstanna.movies.go.com

"Captain Corelli's Mandolin" (Time to Kill)    2001.  Nickolas Cage, Penélope Cruise See detail:  Click Here

“The English Patient”  1996  -                        9 ACADEMY AWARDS:  BEST PICTURE    A mysterious stranger is rescued from a fiery plane crash and is cared for by a Canadian nurse.  His identity is slowly revealed, as his nurse struggles to overcome the lost in her life. See detail:  Click Here

"Patton"   1970.    George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Karl Michael Vogler.   7 ACADEMY AWARDS This film tells of the rise of a great commander, who believed he was destined to lead men into battle.  The story begins with the battles in North Africa and when Gen. Patton takes command of the II Corps.  Then it covers a brief campaign in Sicily and his punishment for slapping a soldier before moving on to France. See detail:  Click Here

"The Fallen"      2006.    Directed by Ari Taub. The war in Italy is seen from four different points of view: German, Italian, and American soldiers and Italian civilians.  Historical context is the battle for the Gothic Line in Northern Italy.  This B movie has no established actors and no more than 25 are on the screen at one time.

"Indigènes" or "Days of Glory"     2006.     Arabs volunteer to fight Nazis to liberate France, their motherland.  They battle both the enemies on French soil, as well as enemies of men's heart.  The final battle would please most action fans. However, there are not many actors or extras in this film.  The film begins in Algeria, 1943, and goes through Italy and Alsace, France in early 1945.    USA:120 min NOMINATION ACADEMY AWARDS:  BEST FORIEGN LANGUAGE FILM CANNES FILM AWARD:  BEST ACTOR TO THE MALE ENSEMBLE CAST.

"Von Ryan's Express"  1965.  Frank Sinatra, Trevor Howard, Raffaella Carrà . Loads of action as Sinatra plays an American Colonel who leads a band of British POWs in the theft of a prisoner train and attempted escape to Switzerland.  Prior to the escape, the Germans disarm the Italian guards and imprison them, thus one of the first movies about the treatment of Italian soldiers after Italy's surrender.  The escaped PW's race their train from Pescara and shoots past Rome and then to Florence, Bologna, Milan.  Based on a true story, I believe.  Saw the movie on TV recently, and was surprised how much I enjoyed it.  Now I have a DVD of it.

“To Hell and Back”   1955  Audie Murphy, Marshall Thompson, Charles Drake, David Jansen Murphy portrayed himself in this autobiography of the most decorated soldier of WW2.  The story follows the life of Murphy from when he was orphaned and his service in the 3rd Infantry Division in Italy and France.  Good combat action for an old 1950's movie.

"A Walk in the Sun", 1945    Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, George Tyne, Lloyd Bridges. Follows an infantry platoon of the 36th Infantry Division for one day as they proceed with their mission.  The film begins with the men in the landing craft off the beach at Salerno.  As they proceed on their mission, you are privy to their innermost thoughts through conversations with each other.   Some critics say this makes this the best war film but as result it does have a lot of dialogue and not much action.  There are some live shots of P-38 and P-51 airplanes.    Director was Lewis Milestone, who also directed the war flicks "All Quiet on the Western Front" in 1930 and "Pork Chop Hill" after this one.  Narrator is Burgess Merideth.  Also known by the title "Salerno Beachhead".

"The Devil's Brigade" 1968. William Holden, Cliff Robertson, Vince Edwards, Claude Akins, Richard Dawson, Michael Rennie (playing  General Mark Clark) Story of  a group of American misfits and a group of Canadian troops who were forged into a crack team of commando warriors known as the First Special Service Force.  Depicts their special operations in Italy.

"Go For Broke"  1951   Van Johnson, Lane Nakano, George Miki The exploits of the Japanese-American troops of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team as they train at Camp Shelby, MS and fight through Italy, France and Germany, while still facing racial prejudices.

"Force of Arms"  1951   William Holden and Nancy Olson, Frank Lovejoy This tells the same love story as Hemmingway's "A Farewell To Arms" (see further below), which was set in WW1.  This story takes place in WW2 in Italy and the main character is a member of the 142nd Regiment, 36th Infantry Division.  This takes place during the time of the Battle of San Pietro.  Movie does a good job making you think the scenery and battles are in Italy.

"Darby's Rangers" 1958.  James Garner, Jack Warden, Stuart Whitman.  (English title: "The Young Invaders") The fictional story of Col. Darby and his elite rangers. The story begins with their training in Scotland. They land in North Africa in 1942, followed by the invasion of Sicily and then Italy itself, including the amphibious landing at Anzio.  (I need to watch this one again to get more details.)

"The Story Of G.I. Joe"     1945 Burgess Meredith as Ernie Pyle, Robert Mitchum, A view of the average G.I. through the eyes of war correspondent Ernie Pyle.  As the title suggests, this film focuses on the soldiers, the men of the 36th Division as they are pounded by artillery at Cassino and ends with the loss of a beloved platoon officer.  It is interesting that this movie was released the same year that Ernie Pyle was killed by a sniper at Okinawa.  This was the only movie that Robert Mitchum was nominated for supporting actor.  ACADEMY  Nominations for Supporting Actor.

"Anzio"  1968    Stars Robert Mitchum as a correspondent and Peter Falk as a corporal in the 1st Special Service Forces.  A battle-hardened war correspondent borrows a jeep and drives to Rome and back without meeting any German forces, but his report on this absence of the enemy is discounted. Then Mitchum joins the Rangers for an assault with Falk as their guide.   They are among the 7 survivors of the doomed mission.  Movie does not resemble any real history and the combat scenes is more pure Hollywood.

"The Hornet's Nest”   1970.   Rock Hudson, Sylvia Koscina     The opening scene is the massacre of the civilians in a small Italian town in 1944.  Rock Hudson is the lone survivor of an American commando team who planned to destroy a nearby dam.  The orphans of the town rescue the injured American from the Germans and the adult partisans.  There is a struggle between the two groups to seek revenge of the massacre and to carry out the commando mission.  They kidnap a lady doctor for their cause.     Good action movie with a lot of gun fights and explosions. Movie portrays the Italians in a positive content.  I'm surprised that I've never seen it before.  I don't quite understand the significance of the title.   Rock Hudson signed up for this film after "The Undefeated" and "Darlin Lili" but before switching over to TV.  Orginally, the actress selected to play the Italian doctor was Sophia Loren but she backed out.     Historical Context:  Massacre scene was identified as "Reanoto", but I could not locate a town by this name.

“A Beautiful Life”   or  Vita è bella, La  1997.   Roberto Benigni. A fanciful account of an Italian Jew who is sent to concentration camp and tries to hide his son from detection.  Somewhat silly view of concentration camps.  However, it does shed light on the Italian Jews who were persecuted by the Germans.

“The Big Red One”   1980.   Lee Marvin, Robert Carradine, Mark Hamill ('Luke' of Star Wars). Follows an old sergeant in the 1st Infantry Division as they fight in Sicily and then at D-Day landing and a final scene in Germany.   First war film with realism and non-hero soldiers.

"Tuskeegee Airmen"  *TV*  1995   Laurence Fishburne, Allen Payne, Malcolm-Jamal Warner. The true story of how a group of African American pilots overcame racist opposition to become one of the finest US fighter groups in World War II.  The Tuskegge Airmen were based in Italy.

"Commandos"  1968.  Lee Van Cleef, Jack Kelly Action-packed war drama about a sergeant who trains a platoon of Italian-American misfits for a dangerous mission disguised as Italians to infiltrate behind enemy lines in North Africa. His authority is suddenly undermined by the inexperienced Italian Captain.

"The Desert Rats" 1953  Richard Burton,  Charles Tingwell and Chips Rafferty (Aussies) The story of a British Officer who takes command of the 9th Australian Division of Tobruk in North Africa in 1941. When he is captured by Rommel's Africa Corps, the men set out to rescue him and thus earn his respect.  Burton leads a raid to destroy a ammo dump disguised as Italians.  Good action and spectacular artillery barrage effects.  (Caught the movie on TV recently.)

"Lion in the Desert"  1981   Anthony Quinn, Oliver Reed, Rod Steiger. Story about the Libyan resistance leader, Omar Mukhtar, who led the Libyans fight against the Italian opressors from 1911-1931. Rod Steiger plays the role of Mussolini and Reed plays General Rodolfo Graziani.  Portrays the conflict of the Arabian and European cultures. One of the largest financial disasters.

"Secret of Santa Vittoria"  1969     Anthony Quinn, Anna Magnani, Giancarlo Giannini. At the last days of WW2, the town drunk is trusted with the hugh wine supply from being confiscated by the German Army.   139 Min.   ACADEMY- 2 Nominations.  GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD:  BEST COMEDY

“Tea with Mussolini”  1999    Joan Plowright, Maggie Smith, Lily Tomlin. An Englishwoman lives with other nationalities in Florence in pre-WWII Fascist Italy.  This group live a sheltered existence as they believe they are guaranteed personal protection after meeting Il Duce in a tea reception.  However, as the war breaks out and the British become the enemy of the Fascists, the woman is interned.  Comdeian Lily Tomlin plays a serious role as an American archaeologist.

“El Alamein: The Line of Fire"  2003   An Italian film with English subtitles.  117 Min. An Italian student joins the entrenched Piave Division that is defending El Alamein, Egypt.  The story follows a company of Italian soldiers as they fight the desert and thrist while waiting for the British to attack. Has some parallels to "Platoon" and other similiar war themes.  Good quality but not a big-budget film.  Accurate in uniforms and historical setting. ITALIAN ACADEMY AWARDS - 3 .

“Catch 22”  1970  Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Bob Newhart, Anthony Perkins, Jon Voight, Orson Welles.    An anti-war parody of a "military mentality" and of a bureaucratic society in general as protrayed through the eyes of American airmen flying out of a base in Italy.  Scenes with B-25 bombers is the only thing that interested me about this movie.

“A Bell For Adano”    1945.   Gene Tierney,  John Hodiak    Screen adaptation of John Hershey’s novel about an American Major in charge of restoring order to a liberated Italian town and replacing its bell. Miss Tierney was not convincing as a blonde Italian girl.  Released as *TV* movie in 1967 starring John Forsythe.

“The Man Who Never Was”    1956 British film. Clifton Webb, Gloria Grahame, Robert Flemyng An British espionage movie about the elaborate scheme to masquerade a corpse as a dead Royal Marine officer carrying papers that would deceive the enemy into thinking that the invasion of Sicily would take place somewhere else.  Good acting. Film is not exactly about Italy but relates to the invasion of Sicily. Based on a book by the same title.

“The Pigeon That Took Rome” or  1962.   Charleston Heston, Harry Guardino An American soldier behind Italian lines tries to communicate to the Allies using carrier pigeons.  He stays with an Italian family and grows in love with the daugther.  A comedy view of the war. ACADEMY NOMINATION - Best Art Direction.   GOLDEN GLOBE - Best Actor in a Comedy

“Cry Havoc”  1999.     61 minute film. An American sniper struggles to keep alive during the harsh Italian winter.  He closely observes one of his intended targets and developes an interest in him until he suddenly realizes the German is retarded.   Have not seen this movie.   There is a 1943 war movie by the same title that is about nurses on Bataan.  Also a 1947 TV movie by the same title based on a play.

“Mussolini” or   “Mussolini and I”  British *TV* 1985 Susan Sarandon and Anthony Hopkins portray the daughter and son-in-law of Mussolini shows his family life during his years as Italy's leader.

“Mussolini; the Untold Story”  7-hour Mini-series TV 1985.   George C. Scott and Lee Grant  Scott plays the role of Mussolini from his rise to power to his fall.

“The Last Days of Mussolini” or “The Last Four Days” or “Mussolini: Ultimo atto”  1974.  Rod Steiger, Henry Fonda.   Movie portrays the last days of Mussolini and his dialogue as to his guilt or innocence.   It does not portray his execution.

“Benito: The Rise and Fall of Mussolini” -    released on DVD.  307 Minutes.       or “Il Giovane Mussolini”   1993 TV series.    Antonio Banderas in title role.      Rated R for some sexuality/nudity. The movie only covers Mussolini's life when he was socialist and the director of the newspaper "Avanti!".  It begins with his struggles to find work in Geneva in 1905.  He becomes the local chief of the Italian Socialist Party and eventually the editor-in-chief of the country's largest socialist newspaper, "Avanti!" just before the outbreak of World War I.  He marries one of his former students, Rachelle, but he still flirts with other women including Margheretti.  I guess the movie had to end after the WW1 conflict because I can't imagine Anotino playing a short, bald man.  It is almost worth the $5 that I paid for it.

“Paisà” -or- “Paisan” (USA)  1946    134 min with subtitles.  A series of stories told from the viewpoint of the average Itailan citizen.  Each episode begins with a map that traces the advance of the Allies.  This is followed by a short story involving an American soldier.  The dialogue is in Italian and English.  For example, the fourth episode involves the partisans in Florence with excellent scenes of Florence in wartime. The monks in the fifth episode involves American chaplins who found rest at a monastery---filmed using authentic Franciscan monks from the Maiori convent, near Salerno. The last episode focuses on a group of partisans led an OSS officer and ends with the ambush of the unit.  ACADEMY  Nominations for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay.

"Two Women" (La Ciociara)  1960.                ACADEMY AWARDS:  BEST ACTRESS      Starring Italian actress Sophia Loren (her sister was married to Mussolini's son, Romano).   The tragic story of an Italian woman who tries to portect her 13-year-old daughter from the horrors of war.  They leave Rome after the allied bombing and return to her family near Fondi.  There the ravages of war overtakes them and they are accosted by Morrocan soldiers.  Best Actress Academy Award was the first Oscar ever given for a performance in a "foreign-language" film.  I found this on a 2-movies-for-1 DVD.

"Battle of San Pietro"   1945  Directed & narrated by John Huston while serving in the US Army. A documentary of the battle for the town of San Pietro Infine from October to December 1943.  Actual combat footage of the 36th 'Texas' Division scaling the rock terraces of Italy.  Music by the Army Air Force Orchestra, the Morman Tabernacle Choir and the St. Brendan's Boys Choir.  30 minutes.

"Thunderbolt"   1944   Documentary produced/directed by William Wyler. A wartime documentary filmed in color with the 57th Fighter Squadron based 60 miles from Italy at Alto airbase on Corsica.  This film was produced along the same lines as his "Memphis Belle".  A combination of propaganda and straight up honest filmmaking.  Shot on 16mm Kodachrome, the images and sound are not the best but it is exceptional for WW2 footage.   45 minutes, color.

"Stalingrad"   2006.      German movie w/subtitles just released on DVD.  I had hopes that it might show some of the Italian soldiers who fought there.  Opening scenes introduced the German company while they were at rest in Italy.   Intense fighting scenes in beginning, followed by struggle to survive the winter and capture.

"A Farwell To Arms"  1957.  Rock Hudson, Jennifer Jones. A story of the Italian army fighting in the Alps.  Okay, this is World War 1 movie, not WW2.  This color movie is a good study of the stiff, high-collar uniforms worn by the Italian army before the introduction of the new open-collar style in 1933.  "A Farwell To Arms"  1932.  Helen Hayes & Gary Cooper.  An earlier Black & White version of the same story, however this version has much darker scenes and none of the panaramic views of the Alps as in the later color version.

"The White Sister"  1933.  Helen Hayes, Clark Gable & Edward Arnold (also 1915 and 1923)    This is an old movie about a daughter of a rich Italian count who loses her inheritance to a half-sister. This movie is on the list as she is love with an Italian soldier who goes off to war and is missing. Without any means of support she is forced to join a convent.

H O N O R A B L E    M E N T I O N "The Great Raid"   2005.   Benjamin Bratt, James Franco. The story of a raid behind Japanese lines in the Philippines in January 1945 to liberate American prisoners held since fall of Bataan.  This was the first successful use of US Rangers in WW2.  Based on the book "Ghost Soldiers" by Hampton Sides.  This movie is mentioned because at the end it shows real footage of the prisoners returning after the raid and their treatment and then being sent back home aboard the troop ship USS General Alexander E. Anderson, the same ship that transported a portion of the 85th Division to Italy in 1943.

Other Movies "Play Dirty"    1969  Michael Caine.  Mercenary's disguised as Italian troops in North Africa. "Tunisian Victory"    1944  A propaganda film about the victory in North Africa that was released in response to the British movie, "Desert Victory".  Film inovled 5 directors including John Houston and Frank Capra.  Some of the actual war footage was lost at sea, so some scenes were shot in the Mojave Desert in the summer of 1943.  Men of the 85th Infantry Division were used as extras.  Thei CD patch can be seen on some close-up images. Engineers from the 310th Engineer Battalion, 85 ID, assisted Lee Zavitz with the pyrotechnics.   TV Land "Gallant Men" -  A weekly TV episode that aired in 1962-63, the same time as "Combat".  This show was about soldiers in the 5th Army in Italy.  Cast included Richard X. Slattery, Eddie Fontaine, William Reynolds and Bob McQueeney.

"Captain Corelli's Mandolin"     (also known as "Time to Kill")   2001

Cast:  Nickolas Cage, Penélope Cruise, John Hurt, Christian Bale, David Morrisey

Story Line:   An Italian officer, who loves life and singing Italian operas, finds himself as a hated occupier in Greece.  There he catches the heart of a local girl who is engaged to a soldier who has gone off to war.  Their world turns upside down when the Germans arrive to disarm the Italian soldiers. A battle breaks out between the Italians and their former allies.  A story of love, betrayal and sacrifice in time of war. Even though I find it hard to see Nicolas Cage as a tough soldier, such as his attempt in "Wind Talkers", he does portray an Italian very well (Oh, that's because he is of Italian descent). Favorite Quote:      German Captain Weber: 'Heil Hitler!'        Captain Corelli: 'Heil Puccini! '

Historical Context:   Italy invaded Greece on 28 October 1940 with 7 divisions of the 9th and 11th Armies.  By 22 November, the Italians were pushed back into Albania.   The Germans had to come to their aid.  But when the Italian government decidee to negotiate a surrender to the Allies, the German Army tried to disarm the Italians in what they called Operation ACHSE.   On September 29, 1943, on the island of Cephalonia, the Germans fought the Italians of the 33rd "Aqui" Division.  A total of 1315 were killed in battle, 3,000 were drowned when the German ships taking them to concentration camps were sunk by mines, and 5,325 were executed.  In general, the Germans did not battle or massacre the Italians in other areas. Blooper:   Most of the movie is historically accurate. The uniforms and small arms are accurate.  The color of the uniforms is a shade off but that happens with film developing.  However the chronological sequence gets a little out of order.  As the civilians listen to radio, they learn that the Allies invade Italy, then attack Rome and then the government surrenders.  Italy surrendered on 8 September 1943, before Rome was captured on 4 June 1944.

Uniforms & Equipment:   When I first saw the previews, I chuckled at the uniform details.  By the time I saw the movie, I learned that that I didn't know much about Italian uniforms.  Now, I own a tunic.  Unlike most armies, the Italians used Red for their elite troops & cavalry and Yellow for Artillery.  And what I thought was a large flaming insignia of the Carabinieri or the Bersaglieri was only the standard insignia for heavy artillery. A scene of Nickolas Cage on the beach. This view shows the Bustina cap worn by the Italin soldiers. The insignia is a flaming bomb above crossed cannons, the insignia for Heavy Artillery or also called Divisional Artillery.  The insignia for Regimental Artillery would have a smaller flame above the bomb and a number in the center of the grenade, whereas the divisional insignia was void of a numeral.  Yellow piping and colors were the branch color for artillery in the Italian Army. Not shown in this view is a patch placed diagonally on the L/H side of his cap that was his rank insignia;  3 stars for a Captain. Note the plain epaulets.  At this time, his Captain's rank would be worn on the cuffs of the sleeve(not shown in this view) and not on the epaulets. A scene of Nickolas Cage with Penelope Cruise. Uniform of an Artillery Captain in the 33rd Infantry Division. Here Captain Corelli is wearing the Model 1940 Tunic. The collar insignia or mostrine denotes his branch of service and his unit.  The background patch is a Yellow rectangle with a Black stripe, the insignia for the 33rd "Aqui" Infantry Division.  Mounted on top of this is a black triangular "flame", edged in Yellow, which identifies him as a member of the artillery.  The Star was worn by all soldiers of the Royal Army. The movie is accurate in that the 33rd "Aqui" Infantry Division did serve as occupation force in Greece. The only problem that I had was the color shade of the tunic.  Compare this photo with the above photo.  The shade shown in this photo and in the scenes of the night dances apear too BLUE.  It almost looks like an Air Force tunic.   Also, in the above photo, the material has the appearance of heavy cotton whereas the officer's tunic was made of gabardine.  In my collection, I have a Model 1940 tunic with the same Engineer branch collar flash. Reference Book:  "Mussolini's Soldiers" by Rex Trye.               Photos are from movie promotions.

"Patton"         1970.     7 ACADEMY AWARDS:  ACTOR, PICTURE, DIRECTOR & FILM EDITING.

Actors:  George C. Scott, Karl Malden & Karl Michael Vogler(as Rommel) Musical Score:  Jerry Goldsmith.  Great soundtrack that includes a rendition of Patton's speech.    Nominated for additional 3 ACADEMY AWARDS including Best Music & Visual Effects.

Story Line:   A great commander who felt he was destined to lead men in battle.  The movie is not about the glory of war as much as it is about a man who found glory in war.  The story revolves around the commanders but gives some personal view of the suffering of the average soldier.  There is one scene where Gen. Patton mourns the death of his chaffeur driver. Favorite Quote:     "There's only one proper way for a professional soldier to       die: the last bullet of the last battle of the last war."       (Ironic in the fact that Patton died so soon after the war was over.)

Historical Context:    Battles of North Africa in 1942/43, battle for Sicily in June-August 1943, and France and Germany. Blooper:   In one battle Patton leads the Americans in a victory over Rommel's army and he shakes his fist in the air saying "I read your book".  It was true that Patton read Rommel's book to learn more about his enemy's tactics.  But General Rommel returned to Germany for rest before Gen. Patton's army ever fought against him.

Uniforms & Equipment:   Very good details, with modern tanks, of course.  Also it has a scene with the Spanish version of the He-111 bomber, a left-over from "The Battle of Britian" movie.

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