The Battle of El Alamein (1971)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

The Worst Film Ever

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Lt. Borri (Frederick Stafford) is not so much a martinet as he is a relatively brave man who is ashamed of the Italian Army's accurate reputation for cowardice. Throughout the film, the Italians are excused for their cowardice by showing them as disillusioned and betrayed by their allies, the Germans. Rommel may be anti-Nazi, but he willingly sacrifices Italian troops to protect his own, which he really did. Borri tries to prove to his British foes and to himself that not all Italians are cowards, and winds up mistaking foolhardiness for courage.The Italians are shown as the only soldiers thinking about their families back home, like Borri's brother. This another attempt to show that they are not cowards, just peaceful, ordinary men - as if most Britons and Germans weren't. When Lt. Borri is captured by the British, no other Italian POWs will join him in his escape. They are all glad to be out of the war.In the end, Lt. Borri sacrifices his life in a heroic gesture history shows was ultimately futile. His brother and the others are taken prisoner, proud but no doubt also glad to be out of the war. Borri's brother will live to see his wife and child - if they aren't killed when the Allies invade Italy in 1943. They will spend the next 2 years slowly fighting their way against the Germans to the Alps. Italy will be ravaged in the process. That was the ultimate price Italian families paid for the cowardice of their soldiers, who mostly never expressed any regret.A well-acted, moving, if cheaply made film. However, like "Brave Gente", it is another apologia for the pathetic performance of the Italian Army. This "army" had to use poison gas to beat the Ethiopians.

This isn't a bad WWII adventure, in fact a fair imitation of the big-budget Hollywood films from that vintage; the international cast is second-rate but both Michael Rennie and Robert Hossein cut a serviceable figure as General Montgomery and Field Marshall Rommel respectively - and there's a good performance by Enrico Mario Salerno as an Italian officer of the Bersaglieri.The film deals with Rommel's famous North African campaign, in which the Nazis were 'aided' by the Italian forces (more precisely, the latter served as a shield to the former, with their largely disheveled armies being deemed disposable). Interestingly, but unsurprisingly, the Fascists are the heroes here (though Frederick Stafford is portrayed as a martinet) while the Allies, i.e. the British, are the villains (at one point, they're even shown massacring a group of unarmed Germans in cold blood) - but, at least, there's one sympathetic member in George Hilton; the Germans stand somewhere in the middle: Rommel is treated as a level-headed strategist who, however, is extremely critical of the Fuehrer's unrealistic orders (and, even if the film is clearly set in 1942, is already seen to be a willing participant in what eventually became the July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler). The cast also includes Gerard Herter (who, memorably, had been the aristocratic sharpshooter and Lee Van Cleef's alter-ego in THE BIG GUNDOWN [1966]) as a German officer who doesn't see eye to eye with Rommel.The action is frequent and well-handled, and there's even a healthy dose of comedy - at least among the Italian lines (which may well have been lost in the English translation!); besides, Carlo Rustichelli's upbeat score is a major asset...and surprisingly - but satisfactorily - the film provides a downbeat ending! I'll be following this with two other Italian war films - Enzo G. Castellari's EAGLES OVER London (1969), also with Stafford, and Sergio Martino's CASABLANCA EXPRESS (1989)...

Usually Italian films of the 60's, 70's, and 80's are considered sub par products primarily made for export to foreign markets. In many cases the WWII film followed the same formula. Take the plot of The Dirty Dozen, recycle it, add a trampoline and you have an entirely new and exportable film! (Yes, this is a dig at Cinque per l'inferno aka Five for Hell)La Battaglia di El Alamein struck me as different in that it focuses on the Italian army rather than German or American as usual for Italian war cinema of the time. The movie shows the Italian forces in a patriotic light. Some may balk at this portrayal as the Italian forces are generally characterized historically as inefficient units dogged by low morale. The movie has a generality of historical accuracy, embellished for cinematic reasons. The British are characterized as cold unfeeling soldiers, no worse than American directors portray Axis forces, though. Perhaps Battle of El Alamein portrays the Italian as a little too brave and heroic but this is the same heavy-handed treatment heroes in American films were given up until recently. The film stands out as an Italian production made for Italy's own populace. In this light any shortcomings can be overlooked. Yes, even miniature remote controlled model tanks that rumble across the desert can be overlooked. An Italian production heads and shoulders above many b-grade counterparts of this time period.

Italy, along with much of the rest of the world, was into producing lots of cheapo war movies (mostly WW2) during the late-60's. The trend died out with the disillusionment caused by the Vietnam war, as did the popularity of these "gung-ho" war films.Battle of El Alamein isn't such a film. It's probably the most objective and anti-war film made since ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT. While the battle sequences are big and exciting, there's nothing glamorous about fighting this kind of war. The soldiers are all shown as equally miserable, barely eeking out an existence in a network of trenches on the sunbaked deserts of North Africa. While it primarily focuses on the heroics of an Italian division (the real-life Italian army was best known as one of the most poorly-led and low-morale armies at the time), the film doesn't get too preachy and while it villifies no one, only showing how some generals (especially the fictional Schwartz) inevitably swung the battle in their enemy's favor due to their impatience and misguided ideals.THE BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN also does a great job of blending fictional characters with nonfictional ones (like Rommel, Montgomery, Von Thoma, and Stumme) in a nonfictional setting. While the battle itself is abridged and perhaps over-simplified to focus on the Italian division, that's perhaps best for the sake of narrative, character development, and making the emotional impact as strong as possible.Stylistically, the film is done fairly well in late-60's style, with plenty of zoom-lens technique, close-ups, etc. It does drag in spots but only due to the predictability because we KNOW that the axis is gonna lose, but it does a good job keeping the suspense high by showing the Italians taking heavy losses in every engagement. We never know which characters are gonna make it through and which ones aren't.Despite it's flaws, I doubt a better, larger, or more compelling depiction of the battle of El Alamein shall ever be made.