Enzo Peri Movies
- 1988
This Polish political melodrama examines the days leading up to the German invasion of Poland and centers upon two newlyweds. The husband is Uruguayan and comes from German-English parents. The woman is British. They have come to Poland to do some family business and end up visiting a good friend's country estate. There the woman is thrown from a horse and is critically wounded. Though her body heals, her mind is damaged. Her husband's cruelty toward her makes matters worse. The husband then learns that his factory is working with Germany as it plans a Polish invasion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julian Sands, Renée Soutendijk, (more)
- 1981
- R
German cabaret star Lili Marleen inspired a song that was extremely popular with the German soldiers during WW II. This war drama offers a fictionalized account of her story that begins in 1938 while she performs in a Zurich cabaret. It is her boyfriend, a Swiss Jew who also turns out to be a resistance fighter who pens her famous song. She sings it in Germany and it becomes a hit with the German troops. As a result, Hitler himself invites her to perform for him. This does not set well with the songwriter's powerful who, upon learning that Marleen has become a famed singer in Germany, seek to have her barred from Switzerland. This does not stop the songwriter from loving her though and desperate to see her one last time, he sneaks into Berlin for a tryst. Unfortuantely he is arrested and she gets blacklisted. They do not see each other again until after the war. By this time, their lives have changed considerably. This is not considered among the best of Fassbinder's best films. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hanna Schygulla, Giancarlo Giannini, (more)
Rod Steiger portrays Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in this internationally produced "how the mighty have fallen" biopic. In the waning days of the war, the once-strutting Il Duce hides from his pursuers like a common thief. He's hoping to fall into the hands of his former Axis comrades or the benign Allied troops, rather than suffer the vengeance of the out-for-blood Italian freedom fighters. But it is the latter group who reaches Mussolini first, ignominiously executing both the dictator and his mistress Clara Petracchi (Lisa Gastoni). This strangely cast period piece features Henry Fonda as a German cardinal and Franco Nero as an Italian officer. Originally titled Mussolini: Ultimo Atto, The Last Days of Mussolini was also issued as The Last Four Days. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
