''The Mighty Crusaders'' ( it, Gerusalemme liberata, lit=Jerusalem Set Free) is a 1957 film about the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...

(1096–1099), based on the 16th-century Italian poem ''

Jerusalem Delivered ''Jerusalem Delivered'', also known as ''The Liberation of Jerusalem'' ( it, La Gerusalemme liberata ; ), is an epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso, first published in 1581, that tells a largely mythified version of the First Crusade i ...

'' by

Torquato Tasso Torquato Tasso ( , also , ; 11 March 154425 April 1595) was an Italian poet of the 16th century, known for his 1591 poem ''Gerusalemme liberata'' (Jerusalem Delivered), in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between ...

. This film was directed by

Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia (8 July 1894 – 4 January 1998) was an Italian film director whose career spanned from the 1930s to the mid-1960s. He mainly directed adventure pictures and popular comedies, including some starring Totò. His 1942 f ...

. The

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

version was written by

Sandro Continenza Sandro Continenza (13 July 1920 – 21 November 1996) was an Italian screenwriter. He wrote for 142 films between 1949 and 1982. He was born in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * ''Toto Looks for a Wife'' (1950) * '' Appointment for Murd ...

and the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

translation was written by Annalena Limentani and Frederica Nutter.

Plot

The film is based on the poem by

, and is set in the time of the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. The commander

Godfrey of Bouillon Godfrey of Bouillon (, , , ; 18 September 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a French nobleman and pre-eminent leader of the First Crusade. First ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100, he avoided the title of king, preferring that of princ ...

, Christian blessed by the pope, is attacking the Holy City for years, with no victory. In fact, his work is to free the

Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

from the hands of the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

infidels. The best soldier of Godfrey's troop is Tancredi, who during a battle, confronts a Muslim soldier. While this soldier is very strong, Tancredi discovers that "he" is a young woman, named Clorinda. The two fall in love while the war rages; but unfortunately their love does not last long; the witch Armida, with his faithful Muslims, creates a spell that affects Tancredi and Clorinda, who resume to fight in the war against each other.

The original work

The writer Torquato Tasso wrote the work in the period of the Counter-Reformation when the Pope had full power over everything and everyone. In particular, the Pontiff governed every monastic order, even condemning some that he considered heretics, and moreover, thanks to the publication of the Index of forbidden books, he forced contemporary writers to publish works that were not against the Church and especially that spoke of beauty and of magnificence of the Christian religion. Tasso thus found himself forced to write an epic poem, very different from Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando furioso and Virgil's Aeneid, so that he would not incur the wrath of the Holy Inquisition that condemned both the writer and the work he created to the stake. Tasso therefore wanted in his work to exalt and celebrate the power of God and the Catholic religion, staging in the plot a new version of the clashes of the centuries before the sixteenth century between Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land. The finale included the victory of the Catholics, however Tasso makes numerous references to aspects of Catholicism and clerical institutions in the poem, such as the transplantation of a Christian banner inside Jerusalem, after it has been "liberated" from and with the infidel presence. the Holy Sepulcher of Jesus Christ; or even the presence of demons and devils that compromise the outcome of the battle. In particular, the enemy woman, that is Muslim, is again demonized and considered as a witch and in the work there is the example of the sorceress Armida who, foreseeing the future thanks to Satan, often manages to make the Muslim sovereign Argante win in combat.

Cast

Francisco Rabal Francisco Rabal Valera (8 March 1926 – 29 August 2001), better known as Paco Rabal, was a Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter born in Águilas, a town in the south-western part of the province of Murcia, Spain. Throughout his career, Raba ...

as Tancredi d'Altavilla *

Sylva Koscina Sylva Koscina (; born Silvija Košćina, ; 22 August 1933 – 26 December 1994) was a Yugoslav-born Italian actress, maybe best remembered for her role as Iole, the bride of Hercules ( Steve Reeves) in ''Hercules'' (1958) and ''Hercules Unchai ...

as Clorinda *

Gianna Maria Canale Gianna Maria Canale (12 September 1927 – 13 February 2009) was an Italian film actress. Biography Canale was born in 1927 in Reggio Calabria. In 1947, she competed in the Miss Italia beauty contest, where she was runner-up to Lucia Bo ...

as Armida *

Rik Battaglia Rik Battaglia (byname of Caterino Bertaglia; 18 February 1927 – 27 March 2015) was an Italian film actor. He was born at Corbola, near Rovigo, Veneto. He mainly used the stage name of Rik Battaglia although alternate names he used for his fi ...

as Rinaldo d'Este *

Philippe Hersent Philippe Hersent (26 July 1912 – 30 December 1982) was a French actor. He appeared in more than eighty films from 1930 to 1978. Filmography References External links * 1912 births 1982 deaths French male film actors {{Franc ...

Andrea Aureli Andrea Aureli (5 March 1923 – 5 November 2007) was an Italian actor. Life and career Born in Terni, Aureli graduated from the Liceo classico in his hometown, then he enrolled the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, graduating in ...

as Argante *

Alba Arnova Alba Arnova (15 March 1930 – 11 March 2018) was an Italian-Argentine ballerina and film actress. Life and career Born in Buenos Aires as Alba Fossati, daughter of two Italian emigrants, Arnova studied piano at the Conservatory and enrolled ...

as Harem Dancer *

Nando Tamberlani Nando Tamberlani (1896–1967) was an Italian film actor. A character actor in Italian cinema of the postwar era, he was the brother of actor Carlo Tamberlani. Another brother Ermete Tamberlani was also an actor. He appeared in a number of peplum ...

as Pietro *

Cesare Fantoni Cesare Fantoni (1 January 1905 – 15 January 1963) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Bologna, Fantoni began his acting career in Luchino Visconti’s stage proses until making his first on-screen appearance in 1937. ...

as Aladino *

Carlo Hintermann Carlo Hintermann (2 April 1923 – 7 January 1988) was an Italian film, television and stage actor and voice actor. He was sometimes credited as Carlo Hinterman. Life and career Born in Milan into a family of ancient Teutonic origin, Hinterma ...

as Dilone

Release

''The Might Crusaders'' was released in United States in January 1961.

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mighty Crusaders (Film) 1957 films 1950s historical films Italian historical films Crusades films Films based on poems Films set in the 11th century Films directed by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia Cultural depictions of Godfrey of Bouillon Films about nobility 1950s Italian films 1960s Italian films