GENERALE DELIA ROVERE Movie Review

II Generate Della-Rovere

Many of us will always think of Generale Della Rovere, though it was directed by Roberto Rossellini, as a Vittorio De Sica picture. Not because he had a hand in the direction—he didn't—but because as the star of the film he turns in one of the most memorably magnificent portrayals in film history. Generale Della Rovere takes place during World War II, as the Italian resistance movement is taking a strong stand against the Nazi presence. When a resistance leader is shot, the Germans decide that no one has to know about it: By sending someone who can impersonate the dead man to a prison where other resistance members are being held, the fascists can get valuable information. The spy they settle on is Vittorio Emanuele Bardone, a thief and black marketeer played by De Sica. What the Nazis don't count on, of course, is that once he's surrounded by real heroes, all of whom believe that he's a hero, Vittorio will persuade himself to rise to the occasion and do the right thing. De Sica's transformation from lowlife to freedom fighter is brilliantly delineated—he'd given fine performances before, as in The Earrings of Madame de …, but his Vittorio is a spectacular, heartbreaking creation. If the film as a whole has occasional moments that are a bit heavy-handed, the same can't be said for De Sica's performance. He leads this Generale to a triumphant victory.

NEXT STOP … Open City, To Be or Not to Be (1942), Kagemusha

1960 139m/B IT Vittorio De Sica, Otto Messmer, Sandra Milo; D: Roberto Rossellini; W: Diego Fabbri, Indro Montanelli, Roberto Rossellini; C: Carlo Carlini; M: Renzo Rossellini. VHS NOS, CVC, HHT