1900

The acting is terrible. Blunt, simplistic politics. The rich landowners are callous, decadent and naive. The fascists are vicious psychopaths. And the laborers are a magical race of oppressed fairy people who can do no wrong. I had to laugh at the over-the-top climax, where the workers unearth their gigantic red flag and confront their oppressor with their ailments. The saving graces of the film are the photography and the Morricone score. But it's a pretty lousy way to spend 5 hours.

I am having a very difficult time understanding what people see in this.

A spectacular epic by Bertolucci, with one of Morricone's most beautiful scores .

267

Fighting and loving between peasants and landowners, but the latter eventually give birth to the fascists. Because it’s Italian, because it’s political, because it’s Bertolucci, critics want to explain its flaws in complex ways, but the unfortunate truth is that the actors are very badly directed, the dialogue is often atrocious, many scenes are just terrible, the political content is laughably propagandistic, and Morricone’s score, alternating between syrupy and overwrought, is no help at all.

"An epic masterpiece, albeit in need of a tweak here and there."

One of my all time favourite films.

I find this movie difficult to rate. On the one hand, there are so many wonderful things about it: it's visually so impressive and magnificent, with gorgeous cinematography and terrific sets; Morricone's score is similarly beautiful. On the other hand, there are some pretty substantial flaws: although the story is engaging during the first 1/4, it soon becomes unnecessarily melodramatic and meandering, and the politics are ridiculous and lacking subtlety. Good, but it could've been great.

At times, Bertolucci's epic reaches moments of visual beauty, and while the screenplay is often simplistic and maudlin, it's never dull. Still, most of 1900 comes off as a bad Godfather homage, and the inclusion of De Niro, in a much broader role, doesn't help the comparison.

Good, but I'll never watch it again, that's for sure.

The very definition of overbloated cinema. There was absolutely no need for this movie to be five hours plus long. Saved by the first-rate production.

Not a slog to get through as there's plenty of content to expand out this varied story that trails off between politics and sex and back and forth. Stunningly filmed, most of the film looks like a painting that could be presented at the most prestigious galleries, so it certainly elevates this surface level material. The climax is actually the most engrossing, though its politics could've fallen terribly one way or another, but instead end of an appropriately satirical note.

I've seen it twice and I think that it could have been a capolavoro if it were streamlined a bit, but I can't imagine what he'd take out.

Really well shot and full of intriguing moments, in between the really dull and tedious ones. Bertolucci's obsessions don't mesh with mine, but some are more bearable than others. I actually found the politics interesting, even if they are a caricature and the characters exist as little more than symbols. The sex and violence is not so interesting, nor were the forced and badly developed relationships. Overall the good makes me not regret watching it but the bad makes me not want to do so again.

# 251

One of the most beautiful, films ever made. Some scenes go on far too long, and, like most 'Latin' films, it is too sentimental to translate well into the Anglosphere. However, I'm not sure any film captured better the mood of the 1970s amongst the creative classes.

Flawed, but entertaining. Perhaps the best bad film ever created.

fav`s collection

Definitely see the long version. Unique historical drama with Bertolucci's signature Commie sympathies and in-your-face nudity

I would've like it more if the dubbing weren't so bad, the print so faded, and if the characters didn't devolve into Ideas and Statements in the second half. Still, there are many scenes of sheer brilliance and Bertolucci's facility with the camera is astounding.

It's painfully simplistic, but also somewhat charming at the same time.

80.000

Like others here, I find this movie hard to rate. On the hand it's beautifully done, an impressive story and moving destinies, great pictures. On the other hand it's sometimes a pain to watch. But defintitely worth a try.

x2

Em honra de Bernardo Bertolucci (1941 - 2018) https://letterboxd.com/ladyspiggott/film/1900/

(...)1900 ist ein ausgelassenes Chaos und wird uns einfach so hingeworfen! Der Regisseur taucht dabei sehr wohl ein in die Psyche seiner Hauptfiguren. Jedoch weigert er sich, die Rahmenhandlung aufzubreiten und überlasst das uns.(...)

Bernardo Bertolucci, Novecento ile 5 saatlik bir destan yazıp Robert De Niro, Gerard Depardieu ve Dominique Sanda'nın da muhteşem performanslarıyla birlikte kusursuz bir başyapıta imza atıyor.

A mass of picturesque shots some controversial scenes and some ridiculous political themes,apart from that not a lot in 5 hours of this film, but for some reason you keep watching.

It bothers me to see that many people are rating/reviewing this film based on the English dubs alone. I watched the movie in Italian, and found it to be very well done. Good acting, epic story; definitely one of my new favorite films.

81.000

Absurdly self-indulgent and heavy-handed, but to it's credit it's sheer excessiveness ensures that it's rarely ever boring even at it's ridiculous length (which still isn't to say it couldn't have been shorter, because well of course it could). At the very least Bertolucci and Storaro shoot the hell out of it, as always. Donald Sutherland and the other fascists are such cartoonishly evil villains that it often becomes hard to take the film seriously, as painfully earnest as it's politics are.

A monumental Italian epic, to be celebrated for it's cinematography and gigantic scope, if nothing else. Better dialogue and a polished focus on the politics would place this among the greatest films of all-time, but at points Bertolucci settles for cariactures and mild allegories for communism and fascism. At five hours long it's best to view each act in a separate sitting, which helps the audience soak in the story and study the history. It's bolstered by another terrific Morricone score.

Bertolucci's magnum opus 1900 revolves around his two obsessions, politics and sex, and has precious little in between. It's a boastful production incorporating grandiose, picturesque cinematography and an all-star cast, and compels throughout the 5:15 hours of the uncut version, but it's shallow.

270

Stomach churning like the best soviet propaganda. At five and a half hours, it seems to go nowhere, like the director got a blank check and decided to indulge himself and blow it spectacularly. Camera is consistently wonderful, locations, general production is there to see and marvel, but it's bloated hot air, and that whole ending is incredibly silly for such a circunspect, Big-Themes picture.

Sprawling epic, visually impressive and handsomely made with a good score. The acting is a bit all over the place, though. Sutherland is good as the crazy fascist and De Niro is fine but nearly as locked in as he was in most films of this period. There's not a heck of a lot of nuance here, either, and it seems to lose focus a fair amount, which hurts it considerably. It has some good moments but probably isn't worth the time investment.

A vast, impressive and beautifully shot canvas of Italian history, though unnecessary long and naturalistic.

#277

The politics and occasionally poor acting definitely bring this down, and Atilla and his bitch are too cartoonishly evil to be taken seriously, but the main theme of friendship remains strong and powerful. With incredible visuals, steady pacing and an excellent score, the 5 hours flew right by. I'd watch it again, but not anytime soon.