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Massacre in Rome

January 01, 1970

Massacre in Rome (Italian: Rappresaglia) is a 1973 Italian war drama film directed by George Pan Cosmatos[1] about the Ardeatine massacre which occurred at the Ardeatine caves in Rome, 24 March 1944, committed by the Germans as a reprisal for a partisan attack against the SS Police Regiment Bozen.[2] The film was based on the 1967 book Death in Rome by Robert Katz.[3] An Italian court gave producer Carlo Ponti and director Cosmatos a six-month suspended sentence for their film which claimed Pope Pius XII knew of and did nothing about the execution of Italian hostages by the Germans. The charges eventually were dropped on appeal.[4] The names of the victims are shown in the closing credits, as opposed to the cast credits and crew members.

Massacre in Rome
UK DVD Cover
Directed byGeorge P. Cosmatos
Written byRobert Katz (book)
George P. Cosmatos
Produced byCarlo Ponti
StarringRichard Burton
Marcello Mastroianni
CinematographyMarcello Gatti
Edited byFrançoise Bonnot
Music byEnnio Morricone
Release date
4 October 1973 (1973-10-04)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryItaly
LanguageEnglish

Plot edit

The film stars Richard Burton as the Rome Gestapo chief Herbert Kappler, who carries out the killings of 335 mostly randomly and hurriedly selected victims in revenge for partisans killing 33 Germans: using a ratio of ten Italian victims for every German. However, they had rounded up five more than expected but continued on with their plan. Meanwhile, the Vatican stands by and issues no condemnation.

Cast edit

SS personnel
Luftwaffe officers
Italian fascists
Vatican officials
Other characters

Production edit

The film is based on the book Death in Rome by Robert Katz, who also wrote the screenplay with Cosmatos.[2]

Trial for libel edit

The author of the book Death in Rome on which the film was based was involved in a criminal-libel suit in Italy over the contents of his book. The suit was launched by Countess Elisa betta Pacelli Rossignani, the sister of Pope Pius XII. Author Katz, producer Ponti and director Cosmatos were charged with "defaming the memory of the Pope" Pius XII regarding the Pope's alleged knowledge and not objecting to the Ardeatine Massacre. All were found guilty with Katz sentenced to 14 months and Ponti and Cosmatos sentence to six months[5] but the charges were rendered moot by a general amnesty.[6][7]

Historical accuracy edit

Herbert Kappler is depicted in the film as being a tired worn out man, who is disillusioned with the Nazi cause and believes that the fall of Nazi Germany is imminent. In reality, Kappler was a zealous Nazi and was sent to Rome for exactly this reason. During his time as head of the Sicherheitspolizei (Security Police) in Rome, Kappler organized the round-ups of thousands of innocent victims, oversaw raids on Jewish homes for looted valuables, and was a key figure in transporting Italian Jews to Nazi death camps.

Father Pietro Antonelli is a combination of several different Vatican officials who personally knew Kappler, the most significant of whom was Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty (who appears in the television film The Scarlet and the Black). One prisoner, a deserter from the Austrian army who had pretended to be an Italian, was allowed to live, as a citizen of the Reich; and he was the only witness to tell the tale of the courageous behaviour of the Resistance priest, Don Pietro Pappagallo, who blessed those about to be killed, before he himself met his fate.

 
A body lies in the via Rasella during the round up of civilians by German and Italian soldiers after the partisan bombing on 23 March 1944.

The SS victims of the partisan attack are referred to throughout the film as "German soldiers", when in fact the company which was attacked was the 11th Company of the Third Battalion of the SS Police Regiment Bozen, which was composed of ethnic Austrians from German-speaking South Tyrol annexed by Italy after the First World War. Historically, the unit also did not wear SS uniforms, but rather regular German police uniforms of the Ordnungspolizei.

Kurt Mälzer is shown throughout the film giving direct orders to SS units and personally supervising the buildup to the massacre organized by Kappler. In reality, while several regular Wehrmacht officers did issue orders to the SS during this period, as well as Kappler and Mälzer personally discussing the operation, Kappler and his men were under the SS and Police Leader chain of command, and it was through these channels that most of the official orders concerning the massacre were issued. Another man working with the SS was Capt. Erich Priebke, who is mentioned in the film. He had full knowledge of the massacre, but would hide for many years evading justice. Then, on Nationwide TV in the 1990s, ABC News reporter Sam Donaldson found and confronted him about the massacre, leading him to say he "followed orders". Argentinian authorities quickly arrested and extradited him to Italy; he was tried and convicted of mass murder.

Colonel Dollmann was never Kappler's direct superior, as is implied several times in the film. In reality, Kappler answered to the office of SS-Obergruppenführer Karl Wolff, who also maintained his headquarters in Rome. Wolff is never seen or mentioned in the film. In reality, he stood trial and was found guilty of killing Italian Jews as part of the operations in Italy: when he became sick, his sentence was reduced and he was released in 1971.

At the time of the massacre, Herbert Kappler was 37 years old. Actor Richard Burton was just short of his 48th birthday when the film was produced, eleven years older than Kappler would have been at the time.

References edit

  1. ^ . Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2011. Archived from the original on 29 January 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
  2. ^ a b . BFI. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017.
  3. ^ Goble, Alan (8 September 2011). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110951943 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "Carlo Ponti, Husband of Sophia Loren, Dead at 94". www.cleveland19.com.
  5. ^ Weisbord, Robert G. & Sillanpoa, Wallace P The Chief Rabbi, the Pope, and the Holocaust: An Era in Vatican-Jewish Relations Transaction Publishers 1st edition 2017
  6. ^ "Where there's holy smoke there's fire," 24 September 1999, Times Higher Education, retrieved 1 July 2009.
  7. ^ "The End of the Pius Wars," Joseph Bottum, First Things Magazine, April 2004, retrieved 1 July 2006.

External links edit

January 01, 1970
massacre, rome, italian, rappresaglia, 1973, italian, drama, film, directed, george, cosmatos, about, ardeatine, massacre, which, occurred, ardeatine, caves, rome, march, 1944, committed, germans, reprisal, partisan, attack, against, police, regiment, bozen, f. Massacre in Rome Italian Rappresaglia is a 1973 Italian war drama film directed by George Pan Cosmatos 1 about the Ardeatine massacre which occurred at the Ardeatine caves in Rome 24 March 1944 committed by the Germans as a reprisal for a partisan attack against the SS Police Regiment Bozen 2 The film was based on the 1967 book Death in Rome by Robert Katz 3 An Italian court gave producer Carlo Ponti and director Cosmatos a six month suspended sentence for their film which claimed Pope Pius XII knew of and did nothing about the execution of Italian hostages by the Germans The charges eventually were dropped on appeal 4 The names of the victims are shown in the closing credits as opposed to the cast credits and crew members Massacre in RomeUK DVD CoverDirected byGeorge P CosmatosWritten byRobert Katz book George P CosmatosProduced byCarlo PontiStarringRichard BurtonMarcello MastroianniCinematographyMarcello GattiEdited byFrancoise BonnotMusic byEnnio MorriconeRelease date4 October 1973 1973 10 04 Running time110 minutesCountryItalyLanguageEnglish Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Trial for libel 5 Historical accuracy 6 References 7 External linksPlot editThe film stars Richard Burton as the Rome Gestapo chief Herbert Kappler who carries out the killings of 335 mostly randomly and hurriedly selected victims in revenge for partisans killing 33 Germans using a ratio of ten Italian victims for every German However they had rounded up five more than expected but continued on with their plan Meanwhile the Vatican stands by and issues no condemnation Cast editSS personnel Richard Burton as SS Obersturmbannfuhrer Herbert Kappler John Steiner as SS Standartenfuhrer Eugen Dollmann Anthony Steel as SS Sturmbannfuhrer Dr Borante Domizlaff Brook Williams as SS Hauptsturmfuhrer Erich Priebke Dennis Burgess as SS Sturmbannfuhrer Hellmuth Dobbrick Carlos De Carvalho as SS Hauptsturmfuhrer Carl Theodor Schutz Anthony Dawson as SS Brigadefuhrer Wilhelm Harster Douglas Hare as SS Obersturmfuhrer Reinhold Wetjen Luftwaffe officers Peter Vaughan as Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring Leo McKern as General der Flieger Kurt Malzer Italian fascists Guidarino Guidi as Interior Minister Guido Buffarini Guidi Renzo Montagnani as Police Chief Questore Pietro Caruso Vatican officials Marcello Mastroianni as Father Pietro Antonelli Robert Harris as Father Pancrazio Other characters Giancarlo Prete as Paolo Delia Boccardo as Elena Renzo Palmer as Giorgio Duilio Del Prete as PartisanProduction editThe film is based on the book Death in Rome by Robert Katz who also wrote the screenplay with Cosmatos 2 Trial for libel editThe author of the book Death in Rome on which the film was based was involved in a criminal libel suit in Italy over the contents of his book The suit was launched by Countess Elisa betta Pacelli Rossignani the sister of Pope Pius XII Author Katz producer Ponti and director Cosmatos were charged with defaming the memory of the Pope Pius XII regarding the Pope s alleged knowledge and not objecting to the Ardeatine Massacre All were found guilty with Katz sentenced to 14 months and Ponti and Cosmatos sentence to six months 5 but the charges were rendered moot by a general amnesty 6 7 Historical accuracy editHerbert Kappler is depicted in the film as being a tired worn out man who is disillusioned with the Nazi cause and believes that the fall of Nazi Germany is imminent In reality Kappler was a zealous Nazi and was sent to Rome for exactly this reason During his time as head of the Sicherheitspolizei Security Police in Rome Kappler organized the round ups of thousands of innocent victims oversaw raids on Jewish homes for looted valuables and was a key figure in transporting Italian Jews to Nazi death camps Father Pietro Antonelli is a combination of several different Vatican officials who personally knew Kappler the most significant of whom was Monsignor Hugh O Flaherty who appears in the television film The Scarlet and the Black One prisoner a deserter from the Austrian army who had pretended to be an Italian was allowed to live as a citizen of the Reich and he was the only witness to tell the tale of the courageous behaviour of the Resistance priest Don Pietro Pappagallo who blessed those about to be killed before he himself met his fate nbsp A body lies in the via Rasella during the round up of civilians by German and Italian soldiers after the partisan bombing on 23 March 1944 The SS victims of the partisan attack are referred to throughout the film as German soldiers when in fact the company which was attacked was the 11th Company of the Third Battalion of the SS Police Regiment Bozen which was composed of ethnic Austrians from German speaking South Tyrol annexed by Italy after the First World War Historically the unit also did not wear SS uniforms but rather regular German police uniforms of the Ordnungspolizei Kurt Malzer is shown throughout the film giving direct orders to SS units and personally supervising the buildup to the massacre organized by Kappler In reality while several regular Wehrmacht officers did issue orders to the SS during this period as well as Kappler and Malzer personally discussing the operation Kappler and his men were under the SS and Police Leader chain of command and it was through these channels that most of the official orders concerning the massacre were issued Another man working with the SS was Capt Erich Priebke who is mentioned in the film He had full knowledge of the massacre but would hide for many years evading justice Then on Nationwide TV in the 1990s ABC News reporter Sam Donaldson found and confronted him about the massacre leading him to say he followed orders Argentinian authorities quickly arrested and extradited him to Italy he was tried and convicted of mass murder Colonel Dollmann was never Kappler s direct superior as is implied several times in the film In reality Kappler answered to the office of SS Obergruppenfuhrer Karl Wolff who also maintained his headquarters in Rome Wolff is never seen or mentioned in the film In reality he stood trial and was found guilty of killing Italian Jews as part of the operations in Italy when he became sick his sentence was reduced and he was released in 1971 At the time of the massacre Herbert Kappler was 37 years old Actor Richard Burton was just short of his 48th birthday when the film was produced eleven years older than Kappler would have been at the time References edit NY Times Massacre in Rome Movies amp TV Dept The New York Times 2011 Archived from the original on 29 January 2011 Retrieved 28 March 2009 a b RAPPRESAGLIA 1973 BFI Archived from the original on 5 December 2017 Goble Alan 8 September 2011 The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film Walter de Gruyter ISBN 9783110951943 via Google Books Carlo Ponti Husband of Sophia Loren Dead at 94 www cleveland19 com Weisbord Robert G amp Sillanpoa Wallace P The Chief Rabbi the Pope and the Holocaust An Era in Vatican Jewish Relations Transaction Publishers 1st edition 2017 Where there s holy smoke there s fire 24 September 1999 Times Higher Education retrieved 1 July 2009 The End of the Pius Wars Joseph Bottum First Things Magazine April 2004 retrieved 1 July 2006 External links editMassacre in Rome at IMDb nbsp Massacre in Rome at Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Massacre in Rome amp oldid 1216246151, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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