To call it merely monumental would be an understatement. Bernardo Bertolucci's massive film is a masterpiece of movie-making. Richer even than his previous politically charged THE CONFORMIST. 1900 centers on the parallel lives of the wealthy bourgeois Alfredo (Robert DeNiro) and the peasant Olmo (Gerard Depardieu). They're the best of enemies growing up during the early part of the twentieth century. They share their dreams, their fears and even their women. Alfredo grows into his lifestyle quite nicely while Olmo becomes a revolutionary fighting the Fascists (embodied by cruel farm foreman Donald Sutherland as the aptly named Attila). It's brutal, horrifying, tragic and extremely well made with breathtaking cinematography by Vittorio Storaro and a jarring, sometimes perverse score by Ennio Morricone. There are scenes in this film that are very unsettling. DeNiro is excellent, capturing the passive, disengaged wealthy class that allowed Mussolini and his blackshirts to run amok. Better still is Depardieu, offering up the most passionate rebel on screen since Spartacus!
The large supporting cast include Dominque Sanda, Stefania Casini, Alida Valli and, as Olmo's fire breathing grandfather, Sterling Hayden. Burt Lancaster plays the tragic (very tragic) patriarch of Alfredo's wealthy family. His cameo is truly memorable. Be wary of cut versions of the film...there are many out there. The 315 minute version is surely one of the best films to ever come out of Italy.
The large supporting cast include Dominque Sanda, Stefania Casini, Alida Valli and, as Olmo's fire breathing grandfather, Sterling Hayden. Burt Lancaster plays the tragic (very tragic) patriarch of Alfredo's wealthy family. His cameo is truly memorable. Be wary of cut versions of the film...there are many out there. The 315 minute version is surely one of the best films to ever come out of Italy.