Amazon.com: The bestseller from The Great Impostor's Robert Crichton inspired this leisurely serio-comedy, which takes up where Bernardo Bertolucci's The Conformist left off--with the death of Benito Mussolini. The dictator's departure should come as good news for the hilltop town of Santa Vittoria, but new problems lay ahead (Federico Fellini favorite Giuseppe Rotunno shot the sun-drenched movie in Italy). Feeling betrayed by Il Duce, wine merchant Italo Bombolini (La Strada's Anthony Quinn) drinks his disappointment away to the consternation of his rolling pin-wielding wife, Rosa (The Rose Tattoo's Anna Magnani). Nonetheless, the townspeople like the "drunken, stupid clown," as Rosa calls him, enough that they appoint Bombolini mayor. To prepare him for duty, the college-educated Fabio (Swept Away's Giancarlo Giannini) introduces the new civic leader to Machiavelli, who wrote, "Things are never what they seem." When Fabio brings news that the Nazis plan to raid their wine reserves, Bombolini and Tufa (Sergio Franchi), a former soldier, heed those words and arrange to hide one million bottles in a Roman cave. Capt. Von Prum (Hardy Krüger) suspects subterfuge, and orders a search of every nook and cranny, while attempting to woo war widow Contessa Caterina (Queen Margot’s Virna Lisi). At 139 minutes, Judgment at Nuremberg producer/director Stanley Kramer’s Golden Globe-winning picture seems longer than necessary, but Quinn, Magnani, and Krüger provide just enough nuance to prevent their characters from slipping into caricature, and the film’s celebration of solidarity lends it an enduring appeal. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Bravo! Bella! "Secret of Santa Vittoria" is a wonderfully flavorful comic drama whose major fault can be overlength which is apparent in the film's second half. Anthony Quinn, whose made a garden industry out of playing earthy peasant types(I wasn't a big fan of Zorba), is totally winning as the town clown, Italo Bombolini, foisted into the position of mayor on the eve of the German occupation in the waning days of World War II. The town's lifeblood is it's wine supply and the German's intentions are to abscond with it and it's up to the fool Bombolini to outsmart the master race. Hardy Kruger is equally fine as a German officer torn by gentility and his desire not to look foolish in front of these "barbarians". Anna Magnani shines as Bombolini's hard-bitten long-suffering spouse. The film looks great and you get a real sense of community here. A real gem.
Long, But Charming Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: From the Secret Files of Harry Pennypacker Shadow Watcher Nobody Drowns in Mineral Lake
THE SECRET OF SANTA VITTORIA (1969) is a long, but utterly charming WW2 comedy about a small Italian village and its attempt to hide its "pride," a million bottles of precious wine, from the Nazis.
Stanley Kramer directed this handsome adaptation of Robert Crichton's novel, which stars Anthony Quinn as the town's drunken "clown," who inexpiably becomes the mayor and chief mastermind in the plot to deceive the German troops. They are led by the honorable, but duty-bound, Hardy Kruger.
Also in the fine cast are Anna Magnani as Quinn's wife who initially can't stand the man, yet develops a new respect for him as he deals with the enemy, Virna Lisi as the daughter of the village's once aristocratic family, Sergio Franchi as the peasant soldier that she falls for and Giancarlo Giannini, playing a young villager in love with Quinn and Magnani's daughter.
purchase only The delivery time was excellent. I gave this as a gift, so I can't comment on the product.
Problems with the transfer to DVD Firstly, what a great film - finally available on DVD. Well worth getting even though you should please note the following:
There appears to be an entire 'reel' that has undergone a problem with transfer towards the end - there appears to be 'rain' on film (indoor scenes, too) and there are about three places during the film where the colour flickers momentarily.
I mention this simply to assure people who buy it that the error will probably be noticeable but won't detract from the film. It appears to be a fault of the transfer and not of the DVD itself.
'What kind of people are you?' When Fabio (Giancarlo Giannini) came screaming Mussolini's death, the villagers of Santa Vittoria were quiet indifferent... But when he returned much later shouting that the Germans are coming to take the wine of Santa Vittoria, this was different! It was the beginning of an amazing adventure...
Italo Bombolini (Anthony Quinn), is the beloved mayor of the hillside village of Santa Vittorio... He is in terrible crisis... Where to hide his precious wine? l,317,000 bottles more or less...
Tufa (Sergio Franchi), who has deserted the crumbling Italian army and has returned home in despair, recommends him to conceal a million bottles of wine in the tunnels of an old Roman cave outside of Santa Vittoria, and to hide them in such a way, that "if" the Germans enter the cave looking for the wine, 'they will see an empty cave!'
Rosa (Anna Magnani) enlists the entire town for that purpose... When German commander Sepp Von Prum (Hardy Kruger) arrives, it becomes a battle of wits for the possession of the wine...
Von Prum is distracted in his search by Bombolini's protests of ignorance and by the Contessa's obvious charms... The local Contessa, Caterina Malatesta is played by the exquisite blonde Virna Lisi...
The last scene of the film is hilarious!
We see the German Officer leaving, and Bombolini - a bottle of wine in his hand - addressing him: 'To the captain, from the people of Santa Vittoria. It's not a great wine but it's not bad!'
The captain receives the bottle whispering to Bombolini: 'You're sure you can spare it?'
Bombolini replies: 'Oh, there's one million more where this came from.'
You can imagine the face of Hardy Kruger--extremely good as the German Captain...
Maybe the film is too long... But it is a great joy to see two legendary stars, Quinn and Magnani, dancing with the whole town of Santa Vittoria...
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
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