Mussolini and I

The shame of this production is that it treats one of history's most successful mass murderers with downright affection. It comes across as a black shirt recruitment film.

I have no problem with biographies that treat historical figures as complex human beings. In fact I think it is important to treat history with respect. I do think we need to be shown the complete story, however. Mussolini and I never shows us the brutality of the fascist regime. We are not really shown the torture chambers, the concentration camps or the complete collaboration the Italians gave the Germans in putting together their FINAL SOLUTION.

The series builds empathy for the mussolini clan. Hoskins delivers a portrayal of Benito ("Benny") as a man of conscience and morality. The other poles of sympathy are Hopkins as the spineless administrator who helped keep Mussolini in power for 22 god awful years.

If this were a series made today about Saddam Hussein viewers and reviewers would be in an uproar. The producers would be crucified for their fascist leanings.

The problem with old mini-series is that they often do not come with close captions or subtitles which help the hearing impaired. The different accents of the international cast also made the dialog difficult to follow. Consequently, much of what they were saying was unintelligible and I found myself admiring the costumes, scenery and sets. Not that all this mattered in the end as the plot was so ludicrous it could have passed for an episode of Dynasty. I waited in vain for Joan Collins to show up and punch at least one of the women in the face.

Another problem was the casting of over exposed actors. If you don't care much for Anthony Hopkins, you are out of luck, because he is notching up as many appearances as John Gielgud. They will be carrying him on-stage in his 90's before long. In this film he played an Italian Count who apparently never met a woman he did not attempt to seduce. Bob Hoskins, another very good but over-exposed actor played Mussolini as if he was still in character for Harold Shand (The Long Good Friday) and sounded like an East London bookie at the racetrack.

At one point, Mussolini mused that if he pardoned his son-in-law, the Germans would despise them for acting like Italians. Shortly after, Signora Mussolini went to visit his mistress, Clara, armed with a small handgun. While the Signora was beating on the door, and the mistress trying to hide, the German guard was frantically calling Il Duce and asking what to do - the melodrama had me laughing out loud.

If Mistral's daughter and Princess Daisy is your cup of tea, you will enjoy this mini-series. I have no idea how historically accurate it was.

The script for this TV soap opera is so bad that even A. Hopkins at some point had to play like an undergrad drama-student so as to bring some life in his script-dead character. I do not know whether this was the purpose of the director, but Hopkins' Ciano reeked nothing but vanity, fear and lack of self-esteem. The real Ciano possibly was all that but then, why make a movie about him? Mussolini was a bit more convincing, and his long way down was as if closer to the truth. Edda Mussolini was plain ridiculous (not because of Sarandon, but because of the impotent script), while she had to be the central character of this alleged familial drama. Watch it only if you enjoy Venezuelan soap opera.

I saw this on a commercial TV movie channel, in two parts. The intervening adverts, seemingly endless, inevitably chopped up the film so much that it spoiled the experience for me.

With an incredible cast - Bob Hoskins surprisingly effective as the surly Mussolini, Anthony Hopkins as Count Galeazzo Cianno and Susan Sarandon as Cianno's wife and daughter of Mussolini, this should have been an incredible epic that everybody would now have seen.

I'm no expert on Italian history and this history lesson was interesting but not compelling enough, for me - not for 4 hours, at least. The 4:3 screen ratio cried out for huge TV widescreen and it remained a rather dingy looking TV movie from start to end. There were some good set pieces, particularly toward the end but I have an overwhelming recollection of long discussions in state rooms.

It may be worthwhile buying the DVD to eliminate the pesky ad breaks and to re-watch, as there is so much going on and one is slightly overawed by the great cast that it would benefit from a repeat. If one had the extra incentive of wanting to know more about the subject, then that is more of a reason but for most and bearing in mind the current price, I wouldn't say that it is worth it. Though, if you have the requisite TV package and it comes on again, then, yes, go for it.

Can anyone tell me the name and location of the beautiful house which appeared in this film? It is probably near Rome, but I have never seen it in anything else and it is so spectacular that I am really intrigued as to its whereabouts and a bit about its history. I have also enjoyed the first part of the four part showing of this film and despite comments on the acting, I find it interesting for the historical and social comment on the times. I found the Hitler character unrealistic, but thought Bob Hoskins put in a good performance. I would be grateful for any information on the background to this film. I thought it captured the period and style of the era very well, and the characters were in the main sympathetic - which was not an emotion I expected to feel. Susan Sarandon was also strong as she always is, and I thought Anthony Hopkins, looking so much younger, came across as trying to prevent further disaster for his country. I particularly enjoyed discovering the background to Il Duce's daughter and her husband as this was a part of the conflict I knew nothing about. It inspired me to find out more.