Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Screenplay by: Franco Arcalli, Giuseppe Bertolucci & Bernardo Bertolucci.
Starring: Robert De Niro, Gérard Depardieu, Dominique Sanda, Donald Sutherland & Laura Betti.
Runtime: 301 minutes
The 20th century was a turbulent period of vast change across the world, but in Europe, the primary setting for two bloody, lengthy World Wars – that tumult was heightened. The social and political upheavals that took place across Europe set countrymen and family members against each other and it was amidst that chaos that Bernardo Bertolucci set his gargantuan historical epic, 1900 (Novecento).
In its ultimate theatrical cut, the film clocks in at a mammoth runtime of 5 hours, making it one of the longest films ever released in cinemas, so much so that most theatres opted to show it in two parts or in a much reduced cut. It’s a quite astonishing scope for a filmmaker to pursue, but in pursuing it Bertolucci allowed himself the licence to really get into the lives of his protagonists.
The film serves as a dual, contrasting set of bildungsroman stories following two men born on the same day, on the same estate but at opposite ends of the traditional social ladder. Alfonso (Robert De Niro) was the son of the wealthy ‘patrone’ – the land owner – and Olmo (Gérard Depardieu) was the son of a peasant family who worked that land.
Born at the turn of the 20th century, the two boys are unwittingly born into a tempestuous era for their native Italy and the rest of Europe, growing up at a time when worker led socialist revolts were rising up against their traditional wealthy masters and landowners.
The two boys form an unlikely ‘Prince and Pauper’ friendship in spite of their social differences. It’s this friendship and the developing tensions that arise which is tracked and explored through the following decades leading up to the final social overturning marked by 1945 and the end of the Second World War.
Bertolucci succeeded in presenting those tensions by personifying of the political strife through the characters. Olmo represented the socialist working class fighting against Alfredo’s rich, arrogant, upper class gentry. As the film progresses and the years pass, Olmo’s class steadily rise up against their masters forcing the angry upper class to increasingly sympathise with the new wave of anti-Communist, Mussolini inspired black shirt fascist thugs represented by Attila (Donald Sutherland) in order to keep down the revolt.
Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro helped to create the environment of beautiful rural landscapes that play host to the unfolding drama, creating a more gently lit, nostalgic feel to rural Italy. Combined with Ennio Morricone’s atmospheric and complimentary score, the film carries an evocative mood that transplants us to the setting and the era subsequently giving the drama all the more authenticity.
The additional important aspect of quality to help traverse the 5 hour story, is the assemblage of a quality cast to drive forward the growing divides and tensions playing out and give the film a stronger sense of character to accentuate the narratives. With such an extended runtime, we have many hours to connect with and relate to these characters, so it was imperative to hire talent capable of creating that connection with viewers to keep them invested in the plot.
Since truly breaking onto the scene in mainstream fashion with Mean Streets in 1973, Robert De Niro had been on a hot streak which made him one of the hottest commodities in Hollywood. The Godfather Part II (1974) and the iconic Taxi Driver (released earlier in 1976) cemented his status as a big talent, and 1900 came hot on the heels of those successes, showcasing him to be a bold acting presence who was keen to expand into more varied projects.
Gérard Depardieu was himself becoming a well known presence in French and European cinema and for him, 1900 marked a step into more mainstream films, introducing him to wider international audiences. Likewise, Donald Sutherland had been a hard working actor for many years, who was also starting to gather a status as an engaging screen presence after notable performances in M*A*S*H (1970), Klute (1971) and Don’t Look Now (1973).
The three principal male leads – all with varying degrees of burgeoning success – made for a fascinating combination of talent on screen. But it’s the integral relationship formed between De Niro and Depardieu on screen as the central protagonists that gave the film a real heart.
Bertolucci took the time required to establish depth to these characters. In following them from childhood – through the precocious performances of young Paolo Pavesi (young Alfredo) and Roberto Maccanti (young Olmo) – it is integral for the older leads of De Niro and Depardieu to carry on what the young boys had begun on-screen and between them, that transition is handled beautifully.
1900 is a film with a truly ambitious concept and it has become something of a cult classic for both having that ambition and largely executing it too. Narrating a story that ran the gambit of early 20th century politics, through two wholly different characters from vastly different backgrounds and still managing to keep it focused is a remarkable directorial achievement.
Given its ambition, its runtime is hardly surprising, but Bertolucci’s absolute determination that the film was as long as it needed to be and said everything it wanted to say, was highly commendable and largely vindicated whenever you can set aside a day to watch it.
The film has perhaps become more infamous over time due to that selfsame epic nature and the existence of multiple cuts ranging from a 180 minute cut – which Bertolucci played no part in and hated – to a compromised 247 minute cut for initial US release and finally to its ultimate behemoth director’s cut of 317 minutes.
The story of this film becomes a fascinating battle between a director’s vision and executive pressure to force him to compromise. The fact that we eventually got the film in its full, sweeping, meandering glory is testament to Bertolucci’s will. Cinema is all the better for having it in existence.
Through The 4th Wall 