Zwischen den Fronten

A historical premises.... After the armistice of the 8 th September 1943, Italys defeated army literally collapsed.Italy effectively had switched sides in the world war alliances,allied with USA against Nazi Germany,leaving many Italian army units in the lurch....and the Nazi German army invasion a few weeks later! Some units joined the the Anglo-Americans and valiantly fought with them,a few more joined the Fachist militias of the Salò regime in Northern Italy sustained by Nazi troops which together perpetuated massacres of civilians. However a large number of Italian army units,just melted like snow in a sunny spring day,disappearing or rather deserting in mass,prefering like the title of the film "..to return home". The films spirit is basically about a strong desire of war weary soldiers to return back home to their families. Something which apparently would seem an easy task....but not in this film!!

This film retaining a deep tragic undertone has also some hilarious scenes of the more tragi-comical style,which was typical of the post neo-realistic film scripts of Italian cinema in the 1950's and 1960's,(The best period of Italian cinema).An absolute "must see film" for Italo-philes and fans of Italian cinema.Strangely enough,this film has never been much appreciated in Italy,and it is hard to find as video-cassette both for renting or buying.My vote 9.

Black comedy set world war two with some botcher and coward soldiers masterfully played by Alberto Sordi , Serge Reggniani , Martin Balsam , Nino Castelnuovo , among others . All of them helped to launch the genre of Commedia all'Italiana ("comedy Italian-style"). Here Alberto Sordi as the officer who wouldn't fight...until he found the enemy . They both attempting a great number of schemes to get out for fighting and working and return home . When is signed the armistice by Mariscal Badoglio , there takes place the Nazi occupation . It is estimated that between September 1943 and April 1945, some 60,000 Allied and 50,000 German soldiers died in Italy . In the West, no other campaign cost more than Italy in terms of lives lost and wounds suffered by infantry forces of both sides, during bitter small-scale fighting around strong points at Winter positions, Anzio girth and Gothic Line . Then , there occurs a real chaos , as military trying go home . All of them try in every way to avoid serving the army but their circumstance dictates otherwise , as the destiny make them meeting again . As our main protagonists (Alberto Sordi and Serge Reggiani) find themselves in the mists of German front , much against their will . But war is getting everyday closer and unfortunately, they fall in the hands of a stiff enemy during Nazi occupied Italy . ¨Tutti a Casa¨ is hell at its hottest , men at their mightiest , the screen at its greatest!

This is an amusing Commedia all'Italiana about some rogues called to serve the army in the WWI , as the Italian Army fought against the Allied during World War II ; however , when it happens capitulation , one part army joins Allied and another unites Fascist forces . Being excellently re-enacted by including movements of large numbers of soldiers during battle frames that are well come-to-life . This is a zany Tragicomedy seeing the misfit group in all kinds of troubles involving Italian Army . This entertaining Alberto Sordi recital provides too much amusement in detailing the exploits of a band of Italian soldiers in the wartime front . Slightly muddled but generally nice performed dealing with a team of makeshift soldiers , which owed much of its success to the brilliant comic characterisations . Lots of comedy and hilarious dialog , including some spectacular battles with loads of extras provided by actual Italian infantry . The film relies heavily on the continuous relationship between Albert Sordi and Serge Reggiani , but it doesn't makes tiring , neither dull but entertaining . Very good Italian support cast such as Martin Balsam , Alex Nicol , Mario Feliciani , Claudio Gora , Carlo D'Angelo and the veteran Eduardo De Filippo . Special mention for Carla Gravina as the Jewish girl who falls in love for Nino Castelnuovo .

The main premise results to be two bungler as well as reluctant soldiers who under twisted circumstances turn into heroes . ¨Tutti a Casa¨ bears remarkable resemblance to "La Grande Guerra" or "The Great War" (1959) , set in WWI , by Mario Monicelli with Alberto Sordi , Vittorio Gassman , Silvana Mangano , Folco Lulli . Both of them share same starring , producer Dino De Laurentiis and screen-writers : Agenore Incrocci also known as ¨Age¨ and ¨Scarpelli¨ (Sergio Leone's usual writers) , they were Italy's most respected and prolific screenwriters who wrote touching , hilarious and amusing scripts . Two of Italy's leading satirical screenwriters , worked on the scripts of about 140 films and enjoyed a lengthy writing partnership , from 1949 until 1985 ,sometimes without a credit , and received three shared Oscar nominations , for I Compagni (The Organiser, 1963), Casanova '70 (1965) and Il Postino (1994) . The pair collaborated on the 1958 successful film I Soliti Ignoti (Big Deal on Madonna Street) .

Imaginative as well as sensitive original Music by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino , conducted by ordinary Franco Ferrara . Evocative and atmospheric cinematography by Carlo Carlini . The motion picture was very well directed by Luigi Comencini who gets to capture the same period feeling during the WWII . Comencini was born in Salò , Lombardy, Italy . He was a director and writer, who directed a lot of comedies and dramas , and his films often focused on the plight of children . He was a film critic before becoming a director . Luigi was one of the founders of the Cineteca Italiana , the first film archive in Italy . Being specially known for Cercasi Gesù (1982) , Traffic Jam (1979) , Casanova : His youthful years , The Sunday woman , El Commissario , Till marriage do us part , Don Camilo , Bread , love and dreams (1953) , Frisky , and several others . Rating : Above average . Well worth watching . Essential and indispensable seeing

I saw this film over 50 years ago and I have never forgotten it. It was a minor masterpiece in the full bloom of Italian cinema by independents among others Pietro Germi. 'Tutti a casa' is a comedy about four demobbed cowardly soldiers happy to get out of the war to get home to Naples. While I laughed at the self mockery of the main actors over their cowardice suddenly in the middle of a belly laugh an arresting scene occurs on a train when German soldiers take off a Jewish girl they had been befriending and shoot her off screen.Tragedy in the middle of comedy???? Hard to believe but the touch of genius by the producers of this stunning film got away with it. Our cowardly protagonists get home to Naples just at the same time that the Germans turn on the napolitani for their four day stand off and we see them picking up a gun at the end of a movie. all they ever wanted as delightfully cowardly Napoltani was to go home make love and eat spaghetti. Life and death superbly juggled in a film which opened a deep philosophical synergy in me by an unknown genius

Great movie, maybe the best of director Comencini. It's not different from what happens right now, a lot of people want a strong man to be ruled (Salvini? Meloni?). And then? The Commander does whatever he wants at his convenience and that's it. Sordi portrays an average italian man who believed in everything the Duce said. Luckily at the end he changes his mind.

This is possibly Comencini's finest work (which I watched in tribute to his recent passing), one of several contemporaneous Italian war-themed films - Mario Monicelli's LA GRANDE GUERRA (1959), Gillo Pontecorvo's KAPO' (1959), Roberto Rossellini's IL GENERALE DELLA ROVERE (1959) and ERA NOTTE A ROMA (1960), Florestano Vancini's LA LUNGA NOTTE DEL '43 (1960), Vittorio De Sica's LA CIOCIARA (1961), Luciano Salce's IL FEDERALE (1961), Nanni Loy's LE QUATTRO GIORNATE DI NAPOLI (1962), etc. Still, despite being awarded the David Di Donatello for best film (and other international prizes), it's not very well-known outside Italy!

The international cast assembled for the film is comprised of Italians (Alberto Sordi, Nino Castelnuovo, Edoardo De Filippo, Carla Gravina), French (Serge Reggiani) and Americans (Martin Balsam, Alex Nicol); Nino Manfredi was originally intended for the role eventually played by Reggiani - but Sordi apparently objected to the idea of having two comic stars in the film! Still, in spite of Sordi's reputation, it's not an out-and-out comedy but rather a tragi-comedy about the chaos which pervaded Italy in the final days of WWII - with most of the soldiers eager to go back home by every possible means, regardless of the risk of their being arrested for desertion!

The scene in which Sordi's father (celebrated playwright De Filippo) contrives to have his war-weary son join the resurging Fascist Army as soon as he arrives home is a moving depiction of the elders' illusion of their country's glory and, at the same time, the children's disenchantment with their own parents. Despite their inherent self-preservation and egotism (exemplified by Sordi's escapade with a lusty merchant), the soldiers are bound together by solidarity - and, eventually joining the partisans, he gets to indulge in some machine-gun action at the very end.

A wonderful dramatic sequence involves Jewish Gravina being hounded by the Germans: with the help of Sordi and his company, she flees their pursuit on various means of transportation - but this actually leads to Castelnuovo's demise. Similarly poignant is the night-time conversation between U.S. refugee Nicol and Sordi at Balsam's house - which is interrupted by the arrival of the Fascists, who promptly arrest the two American actors (though Balsam is actually playing an Italian, as is Reggiani).

The film's comic highlight, then, sees the boys pilfering Reggiani's precious food parcel while he's asleep and substituting it with rocks (an incident which has a tragic outcome later on). Another episode which mixes farce with suspense is the one where Sordi and other escaping prisoners take refuge inside a church (the star hides in a confessional and, mistaken for the parish priest by an old lady, she starts relating her sins to him!).

Unfortunately, the print I watched of this gem was rather soft and hazy - and I'm wondering what the quality of the bare-bones Italian DVD is like...