La Grande Guerra (The Great War) (1959), is regarded as Monicelli’s finest work: featuring famous drama actor Vittorio Gassman, comedy superstar Alberto Sordi and the star of Neorealism Silvana Mangano, it excelled in the absence of rhetorical accents and for its sharp, tragicomical sense of history. The film also denounces the absurdity and violence of the conflict and the miserable living conditions of civilians and soldiers, but also speaks strongly about the friendships which grew up among soldiers from very different classes, cultures and regions of Italy. Forced to live side by side, the soldiers’ regional rivalries and provincial nature, never thrown together before for so long, helps to partly form a national spirit that before then was nearly non-existent.

The scenes were mostly shot in the province of Udine, at Gemona del Friuli, near Venzone, at Sella Sant’Agnese, in the fort at Palmanova and in the Nespoledo district of Lestizza from 25 May to mid-June 1959.

For the first time a representation of that war was purged of the rhetoric of Fascist and Second World War propaganda, which continued the myth of Italy fighting a successful and heroic war, meaning The Great War had problems with the censors and was banned for under 18s. Newspapers published articles calling for the film to be banned, claiming it would dishonor the memory of the fallen.

Despite the initial resistance, the film was a public success, which helped to challenge the romanticized and heroic image of World War I that had been perpetuated in Italian cinema and culture.

In the citation for an honorary degree from the University of Udine 2005, Monicelli was rewarded “for his extraordinary contribution to public knowledge of Italian history through his films, particularly The Great War. A master of cinematography and the course of history, but also … a kind of master … who taught us things we will remember for a lifetime”.

In 2008, the film was included on the Italian Ministry of Cultural’s Heritage’s 100 Italian films to be saved, a list of 100 films that “have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978.”

The Great War is presented in Italian with English subtitles, and introduced by Coro Polifonico di Ruda, an Italian male choir, who will perform 3 songs related to the movie.

Presented by Paolo Pascolo (President of Fogolar Furlan Great Britain), with the the participation of Dr. Rosa Mucignat (Lecturer in Comparative Literature King’s College London).

Doors open at 14.00. Programme starts at 14.30.

Refreshments will be available in our licensed cafe/bar.

TICKETS & PRICING

Tickets £10.

Advance tickets may be purchased from Ticketlab, or direct from the Museum by calling 020 7840 2200 in office hours.