| 1860 | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Alessandro Blasetti |
| Written by |
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| Produced by | Emilio Cecchi |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Nino Medin |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Societa Anonima Stefano Pittaluga |
Release date |
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Running time | 80 minutes |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
1860 is a 1934Italianhistorical film directed byAlessandro Blasetti, starring Giuseppe Gulino, Aida Bellia andGianfranco Giachetti.
The film presagesItalian neorealism in that it was shot mainly on location while some scenes were shot at theCines Studios inRome. Also, most contemporaneous historical epics used a star to focus on grand historical characters.[1] This film focuses on a character who nobody knows or will ever know, a patriot riding to get the assistance ofGiuseppe Garibaldi. This film (in its heralding of neorealism) illustrates how the average man plays a part in grand histories. The film also uses non-actors (a key element ofItalian neorealism), a rarity for its time and era.
The story is the harried attempt of aSicilian partisan (as part of theRisorgimento) to reach Garibaldi's headquarters in Northern Italy, and to petition the revered revolutionary to rescue part of his besieged land. Along the way, the peasant hero encounters many colorful Italians, differing in class and age, and holding political opinions of every type.
The film ends on the battlefield, making Italian unification a success, despite brutal losses.
The film includes many non-professional actors, Gianfranco Giachetti (brother ofFosco Giachetti), Maria Denis, and Mario Ferrari. It was the last film of Ugo Gracci. A list of the non-actors includes Giuseppe Gulino, Aida Bellia and many others.
Gabriella Romani, in anItalica article from 2002 (part of theJSTOR arts and sciences complex), writes:
Certainly the film drew upon the Soviet films ofSergei Eisenstein and theMacchiaioli painters, but just as important may be, the "Risorgimento female iconography was produced by nineteenth-century patriotic painters and writers."[2][full citation needed]