Neapolitans fight back against the Germans in this fantastic cinema verite film about the civilian uprising in Naples. The raw, unpolished (by Hollywood standards) cinematography lends it a documentary realism. The long-take, wide-angle shots of real locations in Naples, and scenes employing complex staging involving dozens or hundreds of people are awesome to watch. They give a real sense of the geography and rhythm of urban battle, a rock solid sense of time and place, like the action is happening for real and that you're actually there. Which is so different from the modern trend of hyperkinetic shakycam closeups that convey "chaotic busy-ness" while providing absolutely no sense of time, place, relative geography, or physical context.
Viewing recommendation: This film makes a great double feature with Everybody Go Home! (1960) aka Tutti a Casa, made two years earlier. The plot of that film takes you from the September 8, 1943 Armistice right up to the Naples uprising at the end of September.
Viewing recommendation: This film makes a great double feature with Everybody Go Home! (1960) aka Tutti a Casa, made two years earlier. The plot of that film takes you from the September 8, 1943 Armistice right up to the Naples uprising at the end of September.