Benito: The Rise and Fall of Mussolini
List Price:
Our Price: $6.99
You Save: $2.99 (30%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $1.23 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anna Geislerov?, Antonio Banderas, Ivano Marescotti, Meme Perlini, Valentina LainatiBrand: LION'S GATE ENTERTAINMENT
Cinematographer: Jaromir Sofr
Collaborator: Gian Luigi Calderone
Composer: Nicola Piovani
Audio: English (Original Language); Italian (Original Language); English (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 307 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-08-15
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Lions Gate
Movie Reviews of Benito: The Rise and Fall of Mussolini
Movie Review: surprisingly good
Summary: 5 Stars
I was glued to this very long film. I seem to be the 15th review and I am distinctly in the minority in my enjoyment. Actually I agree with much of the criticism. Yes it was only his early life -- but you catch on to that right away. Obviously Banderas is not going to be playing the old Mussolini! The print is a bit grainy and off color much of the time.
It is also rather cerebral and not easy to follow. There are endless political party and ideological dealings. but while they are hard to keep up with and will be boring and indeed tedious for most viewers, they do give the flavor of an important time that we seldom think of carefully. I did a lot of backing up and playing sequences over. Yes the sets and costumes were great.
What I liked most was the characterizations. These were complex people caught up in complex issues in complex and dangerous times. Some of the acting was simply splendid in that it could bring color and dimension to these people. Mussolini and some of his colleagues are anything but one dimensional and I found myself involved in every dialogue and facial nuance trying to figure out what made them tick. I was left motivated to learn more about the real Mussolini.
But regardless of the real Mussolini, the hot headed and often overly macho womanizing Mussolini in the film comes across as a guy with abundant flaws and virtues and often it may not be realistic to judge which is which. One could say that is just him. Women can love him and be nauseated by him at the same time for example and still admire him. At times they judge him to be a "real man" and not just a man who acts manly. For some viewers the film may raise the issue of "what is a real man" and how does that attract women, and are they wise to be attracted or do they really see something worthwhile. And it is not just women. This Mussolini also had a charisma that men related to.
The women in the film are mostly great, and I don't mean just sexy, though some are quite attractive. There are some very interesting female characters.
One gets the feeling from the film that Mussolini could have gone on to be a genuine hero if he could eventually overcome some of his youthful stubbornness and could learn to control his fire. But of course we know from history that he became in fact an anti-hero. In this film we see the germs of his charisma and are not asked to pass judgment on his later life.
Again, whatever the real Mussolini was like, this was a fascinating film for me and well worth the work it took to watch it. I did not find it boring for a minute, but can easily understand why some would groan. I won't pretend that I could judge it by "objective" standards that would satisfy all possible viewers or even some hypothetical average viewer. That would be a fictional pretense. I will only say that I think it is possible to find a great deal of merit in it.I am really glad to have come across it.
Summary of Benito: The Rise and Fall of Mussolini
Award winning actor Antonio Banderas stars in this gripping tale of the deadly rise of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Rising quickly from within the ranks of the socialist party, Mussolini secured local chief of the Italian Socialist Party at a young age, where he developed his secure instinct for power and his talent for intrigue as he played off various sections of the left against each other. His dangerous rise to power ultimately played out against the backdrop of World War I, and gave rise to a new fighting government-Fascism. While the pacifists in the party pressed for neutrality, Mussolini turned his back on his deal and allowed himself to be bought by the Conservative government. The former anti-war campaigner turned opportunist revoked his opposition to the war and suddenly found himself on his own-and at the brink of collapse....Drama DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Drama DVD Video
AustraliaTwentieth Century Fox; Release date: 2009-03-03; DVD
Best price: $12.99
Price in other shops:
DoubtRelease date: 2009-04-07; DVD
Best price: $14.43
Price in other shops:
True Blood: The Complete First Season (HBO Series)Release date: 2009-05-19; DVD
Best price: $38.99
Price in other shops:
FireproofSony; Release date: 2009-01-27; DVD
Best price: $8.50
Price in other shops:
The ReaderGenius; Release date: 2009-04-14; DVD
Best price: $12.30
Price in other shops:
The WrestlerTwentieth Century Fox; Release date: 2009-04-21; DVD
Best price: $11.49
Price in other shops:
Marley and Me (Single-Disc Edition)Twentieth Century Fox; Release date: 2009-03-31; DVD
Best price: $10.55
Price in other shops:
CapricaUniversal; Release date: 2009-04-21; DVD
Best price: $13.50
Price in other shops:
Slumdog MillionaireTwentieth Century Fox; Release date: 2009-03-31; DVD
Best price: $10.40
Price in other shops:
Twilight (Two-Disc Special Edition)Universal; Release date: 2009-03-21; DVD
Best price: $14.45
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
Puzzle starring Antonio BanderasRelease date: 2006-03-07; DVD
Best price: $1.34
Price in other shops:
Hitler's WarUni; Release date: 2005-07-12; DVD
Best price: $2.98
Price in other shops:
The Fall Of The Roman Empire (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (The Miriam Collection)GENIUS PRODUCTS INC; Release date: 2008-04-29; DVD
Best price: $4.69
Price in other shops:
Imagining ArgentinaUNI DIST CORP. (MCA); Release date: 2005-10-11; DVD
Best price: $3.69
Price in other shops:
AventisRelease date: 2006-03-07; DVD
Best price: $2.50
Price in other shops:
Mussolini: The Untold StoryRelease date: 2007-09-18; DVD
Best price: $8.94
Price in other shops:
DownfallSony; Release date: 2005-08-02; DVD
Best price: $6.73
Price in other shops:
The BunkerWarner Brothers; Release date: 2006-05-30; DVD
Best price: $6.59
Price in other shops:
Biography - Mussolini: Italy's NightmareA&E; Release date: 2005-12-27; DVD
Best price: $11.79
Price in other shops:
Last Days of MussoliniRyko Distribution; Release date: 2006-11-14; DVD
Best price: $43.95