''The Conspirators'' (Italian: ''Nell'anno del Signore'') is a 1969 Italian

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film written and directed by Luigi Magni and starring Nino Manfredi, Enrico Maria Salerno and

Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938), known as Claudia Cardinale (), is an Italian actress. Born and raised in La Goulette, a neighbourhood of Tunis, Cardinale won the "Most Beautiful Italian Girl in Tunisia" competition ...

. It is based on the actual story of the capital execution of two

Carbonari The Carbonari () was an informal network of Secret society, secret revolutionary societies active in Italy from about 1800 to 1831. The Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in France, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Urugua ...

in Papal Rome. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Carlo Egidi.

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. When filmmaking professionals refer to shooting "on location", they are ...

took place around

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Plot

in 1825, Cornacchia, a

shoemaker Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or '' cordwainers'' (sometimes misidentified as cobblers, who repair shoes rather than make them). In the 18th cen ...

, finds out that prince Filippo Spada, a

associate, is going to reveal the organization's plans for an uprising to the Pontifical Guard's commander, Colonel Nardoni. He then goes off to warn his friend Leonida Montanari, a doctor and the head of the conspirators, who decides to take out the informer. He and Angelo Targhini, a newcomer from the Duchy of Modena, attempt to murder Spada but ultimately fail to deliver the final blow. Spada manages to survive the attack and reports his assailants to the police, who have them both arrested and, after a summary judgement, sentenced to death by Cardinal Rivarola. Meanwhile, Giuditta, Cornacchia's

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

workshop assistant, who was previously in love with Montanari, has started to develop feelings for Targhini after first meeting him, unaware of Cornacchia's feelings towards her. While the two Carbonari are imprisoned in Castel Sant'Angelo, an idealist

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

is sent to convince them to repent from their sins and states that they cannot be executed until their souls are considered saved. They try to take advantage of that by delaying the execution for as long as possible. One day, after Giuditta accuses him of cowardice, Cornacchia reveals to her that he is actually

Pasquino Pasquino or Pasquin (; Latin: ''Pasquinus, Pasquillus'') is the name used by Romans since the early modern period to describe a battered Hellenistic-style statue perhaps dating to the third century BC, which was unearthed in the Parione dist ...

, the mysterious author of satirical poems against the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

and the government. Out of his love for Giuditta, he decides to make a deal with Rivarola. He would reveal Pasquino's identity in exchange for the conspirators' lives. Rivarola, who already suspects him, pretends to agree and gives him a note that tells him to personally deliver it to Nardoni at Castel Sant'Angelo to have the prisoners released. The note actually says to arrest him at once, but if Cornacchia were to protest, he would give away that he can actually read, thus confirming Rivarola's suspicions. The shoemaker, with his disciple Bellachioma, writes a poem in which he asks to hurry the execution of the two Carbonari and explains to his pupil that only their deaths may lead the people to consciousness. Then, after appointing Bellachioma as the new Pasquino, he joins a convent to escape Rivarola's persecution. In the meantime, people from the streets assault Castel Sant'Angelo, which leads Montanari to believe that they will revolt and set them free, but he soon learns that even his fellow citizens want them dead. The friar meets with Rivarola and asks him to delay the execution on the belief that every soul must be saved, but the cardinal just shrugs him off. Eventually, the execution day comes and, just as the condemned are about to step towards the

guillotine A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...

, the friar shows up and desperately implores them to repent, but they politely refuse. Refusing to give up, the friar says he is going to absolve them anyway, at the cost of having to deal with

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

himself, but Rivarola's men stop him from doing so. In the end, Targhini is decapitated and Montanari, before being executed as well, takes one last gaze upon the citizens of Rome gathered in

Piazza del Popolo Piazza del Popolo is a large Town Square, urban square in Rome. The name in modern Italian language, Italian literally means "People's Square", but historically it derives from the Populus, poplars (''populus'' in Latin language, Latin, ''pioppo ...

and says, "Good night, people."

Cast

* Nino Manfredi as Cornacchia * Enrico Maria Salerno as Colonel Nardoni *

as Giuditta Di Castro *

Robert Hossein Robert Hossein (30 December 1927 – 31 December 2020) was a French film actor, director, and writer. He directed Les Misérables (1982 film), the 1982 adaptation of ''Les Misérables'' and appeared in ''Vice and Virtue'', ''Le Casse'', ''Les U ...

as Leonida Montanari * Renaud Verley as Angelo Targhini *

Ugo Tognazzi Ottavio "Ugo" Tognazzi (23 March 1922 – 27 October 1990) was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the most important faces of Italian comedy together with Vittorio Gassman, Nino Manfredi, Marcello Mastr ...

as Cardinal Agostino Rivarola *

Alberto Sordi Alberto Sordi (15 June 1920 – 24 February 2003) was an Italian actor, comedian, voice dubber, director, singer, composer and screenwriter. Sordi is considered one of the most important actors in the history of Italian cinema and one of the b ...

as the friar * Franco Abbina as Prince Filippo Spada *

Britt Ekland Britt Ekland (born Britt-Marie Eklund; 6 October 1942) is a Swedish actress. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in ''The Double Man (1967 film), The Double Man'' (1967), ''The Night They ...

as Princess Spada * Pippo Franco as Bellachioma * Stefano Oppedisano as a drunken boy

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for the movie was composed by Armando Trovajoli.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conspirators, The 1969 films 1960s Italian-language films Films directed by Luigi Magni Films scored by Armando Trovajoli Films set in Rome Films shot in Rome Films about capital punishment Films critical of the Catholic Church 1960s historical films Italian historical films Films set in the 1820s 1960s Italian films