

Italian soldiers trapped in mud, madness, and the poetry of survival.
On the Carso front in 1915, Italians and Austrians fight each other without mercy in a suffocating battle. In the trenches, soldiers discuss their lives while the war rages on.
Direction
Cottafavi's long takes trap you in the trench
Writing
Dialogue that breathes despite suffocation
Acting
Giuffrè brothers' lived-in chemistry

Director
Vittorio Cottafavi
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Cottafavi shot on location near the actual Isonzo battlefields, using real trenches still visible in 1961.
Banned from Italian state television until 1978 for its unpatriotic portrayal of WWI heroism.