Alberto Carlo Lolli Movies
War and Peace is a commendable attempt to boil down Tolstoy's long, difficult novel into 208 minutes' screen time. In recreating the the social and personal upheavals attending Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia, $6 million was shelled out by coproducers Carlo Ponti, Dino de Laurentiis and Paramount Pictures. Some of the panoramic battle sequences are so expertly handled by second-unit director Mario Soldati that they appear to be Technicolor-and-Vistavision newsreel footage of the actual events. Still, the film falters dramatically, principally because of a lumpy script and King Vidor's surprisingly lustreless direction. In addition, the casting is wildly consistent: for example, while Audrey Hepburn is flawless as Natasha, Henry Fonda is far too "Yankeefied" as the introspective Pierre. Proving too long and unwieldy for most audiences, War and Peace died at the box office; far more successful was the epic, scrupulously faithful 1968 version, filmed in the Soviet Union. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, (more)
- 1952
During the Vatican Holy Year of 1950, confidence trickster Joe Brewster (Paul Douglas) disguises himself as a priest and heads to the Holy City. It is Brewster's intention to use his faux clerical garb to evade arrest by the American authorities. But through the influence of American priest Father John (Van Johnson), Brewster experiences an epiphany and changes his ways. Reverent to a fault, When in Rome could have been insufferably saccharine, but the no-nonsense performances of Paul Douglas and Van Johnson carry the day. Enhancing the film is producer-director Clarence Brown's decision -- thankfully approved by the MGM front office -- to lens much of the story on location in Rome and Vatican City. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Johnson, Paul Douglas, (more)
- 1948
It was the consensus of opinion in 1946 that the turning point of the WW II Italian campaign was the battle of Montecassino. At great cost of both men and material, the Allies were finally able to capture the titular Nazi stronghold, an accomplishment summed up by the Bill Mauldin cartoon wherein two mud-caked GIs overlook the Italian landscape and exclaim "My God! There we wuz and here they wuz!" Most cinematic reenactments of Montecassino concentrated on the military aspects of the offensive. This Italian film takes a different approach, dwelling upon the suffering and travails of the local populace. The script also manages to weave in a romance between two of the beleaguered citizens. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alberto Carlo Lolli, Ubaldo Lay, (more)
