'' The Seven Cervi Brothers'' ( it, I sette fratelli Cervi) is a

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

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 ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Gianni Puccini Gianni Puccini (9 November 1914 – 3 December 1968) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He wrote for 32 films between 1940 and 1967. He also directed 18 films between 1951 and 1968. Selected filmography * '' Ossessione'' (1943) * ...

. The film recounts the last days of life during the resistance of the anti-fascist Cervi Brothers. The director Puccini died a few months after the end of production. The film was long blocked by the Italian censorship.

Plot

Aldo Cervi, who distanced himself from

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

after meeting the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

Ferrari in the prison of

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

, became a promoter, among his six brothers, of resistance to

Fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

. He met the actress of a traveling theater, Lucia Sarzi, who is actually a member of the clandestine anti-fascist movement, Aldo binds himself politically to his ideas. From this meeting, the Cervi brothers get the impulse to participate even more actively in the fight. While his parents host former

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

prisoners in their house, hunted by the nazifascists, Aldo goes to the mountains, with a group of other partisans. Back home momentarily, he is captured with his brothers by the fascists. At the end of December 1943, in the Reggio Emilia shooting range, the execution of the seven brothers and Quarto Camurri takes place.

Cast

Gian Maria Volonté Gian Maria Volonté (9 April 1933 – 6 December 1994) was an Italian actor, including roles in four Spaghetti Western films: Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone's ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964) and El Indio in Leone's '' For a Few Dollars More'' ( ...

: Aldo Cervi *

Lisa Gastoni Lisa Gastoni (born 28 July 1935) is an Italian film actress. Gastoni was named "Best Italian Actress of the Year, 1966" as she received both the Nastro D'Argento Award and the Golden Globe Award from Italy's Foreign Press Association.} Biograp ...

: Lucia Sarzi *

Carla Gravina Carla Gravina (born 5 August 1941) is an Italian actress and politician. She received a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her role in '' La terrazza'' (1980). Her other notable roles were in ''Love and Chatter'' (1957), '' Esterina ...

: Verina *

Riccardo Cucciolla Riccardo Cucciolla (5 September 1924 – 17 September 1999) was an Italian actor and voice actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1953 and 1999. He won the Best Actor Award at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival for the film '' Sacco & Vanzetti'' ...

: Gelindo Cervi *

Don Backy Don Backy (real name Aldo Caponi; born 21 August 1939) is an Italian singer, songwriter and actor. He collaborated with Sofia Rotaru for "Grey Bird" – Ukrainian version of Italian song " L'immensità"— "Сизокрилий птах". Select ...

: Agostino Cervi *

Renzo Montagnani Renzo Montagnani (September 11, 1930 – May 22, 1997) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Montagnani was born in Alessandria, Piedmont, and debuted as theatre actor thanks to the help of Erminio Macario. His first cinema succe ...

: Ferdinando Cervi *

Serge Reggiani Serge Reggiani (2 May 1922 – 23 July 2004) was an Italian-French actor and singer. He was born in Reggio Emilia, Italy and moved to France with his parents at the age of eight. After studying acting at the Conservatoire des arts cinématog ...

: Ferrari *

Oleg Zhakov Oleg Petrovich Zhakov (russian: Олег Петрович Жаков; 1 April 1905 in Sarapul, Vyatka Governorate – 4 May 1988 in Pyatigorsk, Stavropol Krai) was a Soviet and Russian film actor. He performed in more than sixty films between ...

(credited as Oleg Jakov): Alcide Cervi *

Andrea Checchi Andrea Checchi (21 October 1916 – 29 March 1974) was a prolific Italian film actor. Biography Born in Florence, Checchi appeared in over 150 films in his lengthy career, which spanned from 1934 to his death in 1974. The son of a painter, ...

Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy. The PCI was founded as ''Communist Party of Italy'' on 21 January 1921 in Livorno by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). ...

member *

Duilio Del Prete Duilio Del Prete (25 June 1938 – 2 February 1998) was an Italian actor, dubber and singer-songwriter. Del Prete was born at Cuneo, Piedmont. As a singer-songwriter, he wrote political songs and recorded an album of Jacques Brel's covers; he a ...

: Dante Castellucci *

Gabriella Pallotta Gabriella Pallotta (born 6 October 1938) is an Italian film actress. She appeared in 22 films between 1956 and 1974. For the film ''The Pigeon That Took Rome ''The Pigeon That Took Rome'' is a 1962 American comedy war film directed and written ...

: wife of Agostino Cervi

References

External links

* 1968 films Films directed by Gianni Puccini Italian drama films Italian films based on actual events Films about Italian resistance movement Films scored by Carlo Rustichelli Italian Campaign of World War II films Films with screenplays by Cesare Zavattini 1968 drama films 1960s Italian films {{1960s-Italy-film-stub