Long Night in '43

Long Night in '43 (1960)

La lunga notte del '43

1943. The affair between Anna, unhappily married to wheelchair-bound Pino, and deserter Franco unfolds in foggy Ferrara, intertwining with the power struggle taking place within local Fascist ranks that culminates in a massacre of civilians, including Franco's father – Pino sees it all from his window, but will he tell anyone?

Date of release
1960-09-15
TMDB
7.1 / 10 (28)
Runtime
1h 45m
Genres
War, Drama, Romance
Director
Florestano Vancini

Casting

Interesting facts

Long Night in '43 is an Italian drama film of 1960 set in Ferrara, in the Italian Social Republic German puppet state during the late stages of the Second World War. It was directed by Florestano Vancini and adapted by Vancini, Ennio De Concini and Pier Paolo Pasolini from a short story by Giorgio Bassani. The film stars Enrico Maria Salerno, Gino Cervi, Belinda Lee, Gabriele Ferzetti and Andrea Checchi.

Production

The film was based on a 1955 novella by Giorgio Bassani, which was based on the real murder of eleven people in Ferrara on 15 November 1943 at Estense Castle who were killed by Fascists in response to the assassination of Fascist leader Igino Ghisellini.

The film was produced by Tonio Cervi who gave Bernardo Bertolucci his first chance to direct a film and was producer of the first films in colour by Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini and Francesco Rosi. Long Night in '43 was the directorial debut of documentary maker Florestano Vancini. It was one of a number of Italian movies made around this period to deal with World War Two. Filming took place in Italy in early 1960.

According to the Guardian, "Tonino's father played the role of a fascist bully, causing some controversy among those who identified him with the communist antagonist of Don Camillo."

The movie was a breakthrough credit for cinematographer Carlo di Palma.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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