Ciao nemico

This comedy 'Ciao nemico' ('Hello, Enemy!') was directed by Enzo Barboni, who also directed several films featuring Bud Spencer and Terence Hill. Such a top level is not reached here. With a running time of 112 minutes, the film is definitely half an hour too long; a comedy should have more pace, not let you wait for something funny to happen. Instead of gags, it relies more on its bizarre characters. Giuliano Gemma as an American lieutenant and his Italian counterpart (Johnny Dorelli) face each other in 1943 at an old Roman bridge in Sicily and have to choose between fighting to the last drop of blood or retreating - and consider retreat to be the better, above all: healthier idea. But they first have to convince their superiors, who tend more towards a glorious battle... Not as abysmal as some reviews made me expect, but not a must-see either.

The film, despite being conceived as a low-budget B-series production, achieves a more than satisfactory result, especially considering its comedic take on the war genre. It is a film clearly tailored for an Italian audience, as understanding the nuances of the various accents used is essential to appreciating its humor-most of which is lost in translation when dubbed into other languages.

Moreover, Italians, particularly those of the film's generation, can appreciate how it humorously mocks a variety of stereotypes. It takes aim at the Hollywood-style war genre with its mix of patriotism and propaganda, the post-war Italian war films that depict Italians as kind-hearted and "brava gente," and the spaghetti westerns, a genre to which Italians have significantly contributed.

The movie skillfully combines a series of short gags with an exaggerated portrayal of typical war roles, successfully eliciting more than a few laughs from the audience.

Of course, the film is riddled with prop blunders, from tanks that are clearly from a post-World War II era to various uniform details and other mishaps. However, these flaws are beside the point-it's a comedy meant purely for entertainment. That said, it goes a step further by elevating its main roles with a touch of sarcasm and irony, reflecting a superior level of scriptwriting.

All in all, the film comes close to reaching cult status-just shy of it. If more thought had been put into its conceptualization and budget planning, it likely would have achieved that distinction with ease.

Well, I probably ain't telling you too much new since the other reviews have thoroughly slammed this dreadful war comedy with no war and no comedy... just a bunch of stupid characters in G.I. uniforms running around stupid. Though the ending has a couple amusing bits, this film is all-round laugh-free with the awful attempts at comedy coming right away. Also it's completely historically inaccurate, with Americans up against Italian soldiers on mainland Italy and no mention of Germans anywhere (even though the Italy was knocked out of the Axis (and the war) by the time the Americans were fighting their way up the mainland.

What should be noted though is that Franco Micalizzi's music is really good - one of his best non-crime movie scores. I actually thought it's a better score than he made for his previous war film of the decade, THE LAST HUNTER.

It's actually a lot like THE GREATEST BATTLE, maybe a bit better, and it's a thumping and attention-grabbing score, but doesn't belong in an awful film like this.

The cast is also a real pleaser - like Bobby Rhodes as a narcoleptic soldier, Ivan Rassimov in a silly Indian wig, Giuliano Gemma, Sal Borgese and Riccardo Pizzuti re-teamed after THE BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN as Italian soldiers, plus Vincent Gardenia, Jacques Herlin, Mickey Knox, Johnny Dorelli, Jackie Baseheart (a sad step down from THE INGLORIOUS BASTARDS), and even the razor-wielding psycho from WOMEN'S PRISON MASSACRE, Pierangelo Pozzato, as a random US officer... while you say Potato, I say POZZATO. Actually, his role is quite disappointing in this film.

However, be very very warned. The comedy in this film is dreadful beyond the point where even Bud Spencer and Terrence Hill could scarcely imagine.

This is a Z-grade italian MASH knockoff which tries to bill itself as a mindless sex comedy set in WWII. It's mindless alright, but with zero sex and totally inept comedy. You will really have to work to get through the first hour of this and by the end you'll wonder why you even bothered. Almost unwatchable.

This turkey was made into a VHS cassette in Canada. Beware! There are no redeeming features in this movie. The box misrepresents it as a sexy, hilarious comedy, sort of like MASH. It isn't. The script is stupid, the acting is wooden, and the single "sexy" scene was inserted to attract viewers, which it shouldn't. Did Vincent Gardenia really need the money badly enough to make this bomb? Viewers who can stay awake will note that some of the dialogue is in Italian and has been dubbed. Whew!