1900 (film)

Plot

The two are friends throughout their childhood, despite the social differences of their families. Olmo enlists with the Italian army in 1917 during World War I and goes off to fight while Alfredo learns how to run his family's large plantation under the guidance of his father . Olmo returns from the war over a year later and his friendship with Alfredo continues. However, Alfredo's father has hired Attila Mellanchini (Donald Sutherland) as his foreman. A sadistic man who becomes taken with fascism, Attila eventually incorporates his new belief system in his dealings with the Berlinghieri workers; he treats them cruelly and later cages them in the Berlinghieri compound and accuses them of treason against fascist Italy. Several are killed by Attila himself. As the new padrone (master) of the plantation, Alfredo does little to challenge or halt Attila's actions.

During the late 1920s, the intimacy and lack thereof in their respective relationships with others is highlighted in their love lives. Alfredo marries a gorgeous, demure woman while Olmo marries Anita, who like him shares in the enthusiasm of the cause of workers' rights. Alfredo’s wife, Ada, sinks into alcoholism when confronted with the reality of the emptiness of her relationship with Alfredo. Anita, a strong and independent spirit dies tragically in childbirth, bringing another member into the community. As Olmo takes on his fateful role of leader among the poor farmers and their families, he clashes with Attila.

The power, however, shifts after World War II in 1945, and the ruling class is at the mercy of the jovial and bitter peasants in the agricultural estate. As padrone, Alfredo is captured by a teenage peasant boy carrying a rifle. Attila is also captured when he and his wife, the equally cruel and sadistic Regina (Laura Betti), try to flee the region. Attila is stabbed, non-fatally, several times by women wielding pitchforks and is imprisoned in the Berlinghieri pig sty. He is later executed by the peasants (while they cut off most of Regina's hair), who have discovered that Attila had raped and killed a young boy (ironically, the son of one of the most fervent supporters of fascism as an antidote to socialism) several years prior in a fit of rage and had also murdered a wealthy landowner's widow, Mrs. Pioppi (whose husband had been economically ruined by Alfredo), in order to steal her land and home.

Alfredo is brought before Olmo's workers tribunal to stand trial. Many workers come forth and accuse Alfredo of letting them suffer in squalor while he (and his social class) profited from their labors. He is sentenced to death, but his execution is prevented after Olmo explains that the padrone is already dead even though Alfredo lives - that is, the social system has been overthrown with the end of the war. As soon as the verdict is reached, however, representatives of the new government, which includes the Communist Party, arrive and call on the peasants to turn in their arms. Olmo convinces the peasants to do so, overcoming their skepticism. Alfredo declares, "The padrone lives."

Cast

Alternate versions

Grimaldi then locked Bertolucci out of the editing room, and assembled a 180-minute cut. Bertolucci, horrified at Grimaldi's cut, decided to compromise. His 255-minute version was the one initially released in the United States. In 1987, the Bravo channel broadcast the uncut version with dubbed dialogue. Later in 1991, the film was restored to its original length and shown in a limited release.

When Bertolucci released his 311-minute version to theaters the MPAA re-classified the film with an NC-17 rating; the 245-minute American cut, the other version officially available on video in the U.S., still retained its R rating. In 2006, Paramount surrendered the NC-17 rating of the uncut version, then released it as unrated on DVD on December 5, 2006.

See also

References

;Bibliography

External links

Category:1976 films Category:1970s drama films Category:1970s romance films Category:Italian films Category:French films Category:West German films Category:Italian-language films Category:English-language films Category:Films directed by Bernardo Bertolucci Category:Animal cruelty in fiction Category:Films about fascists Category:Films set in Italy Category:Films set in the 1900s Category:Films set in the 1910s Category:Films set in the 1920s Category:Films set in the 1930s Category:Films set in the 1940s Category:Italy in fiction Category:Romantic drama films Category:20th Century Fox films Category:Paramount films