1900 (film)

Not to be confused with the 1998 film The Legend of 1900.

1900
U.S. theatrical release poster
Directed byBernardo Bertolucci
Screenplay by
Produced byAlberto Grimaldi
Starring
CinematographyVittorio Storaro
Edited byFranco Arcalli
Music byEnnio Morricone
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 21 May 1976 (1976-05-21) (Cannes)
  • 28 August 1976 (1976-08-28) (Venice)
  • 3 September 1976 (1976-09-03) (Part 1)
  • 24 September 1976 (1976-09-24) (Part 2)
  • 4 November 1977 (1977-11-04) (United States)
Running time
  • 317 minutes
  • 162 minutes (Part 1)
  • 154 minutes (Part 2)
  • 247 minutes[1] (Edited version)
Countries
  • Italy
  • France
  • West Germany
Languages
  • Italian
  • French
  • German
  • English
Budget$9 million[2]

1900 (Italian: Novecento, "Twentieth Century") is a 1976 epic historical drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, and featuring an international ensemble cast including Robert De Niro, Gérard Depardieu, Dominique Sanda, Francesca Bertini, Laura Betti, Stefania Casini, Ellen Schwiers, Sterling Hayden, Alida Valli, Romolo Valli, Stefania Sandrelli, Donald Sutherland, and Burt Lancaster. Set in Bertolucci's ancestral region of Emilia, the film chronicles the lives and friendship of two men – the landowning Alfredo Berlinghieri (De Niro) and the peasant Olmo Dalcò (Depardieu) – as they witness and participate in the political conflicts between fascism and communism that took place in Italy in the first half of the 20th century. The film premiered out of competition at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival.[3]

With a runtime of 317 minutes in its original version, 1900 is known for being one of the longest commercially released films ever made. Its great length led to its being presented in two parts when originally released in many countries, including Italy, East and West Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Colombia, Pakistan and Japan. In other countries, such as the United States, a single edited-down version of the film was released.[4] 1900 has become widely regarded as a cult classic, and has received several special edition home video releases from a variety of distributors.[5][6] A restoration of the film premiered out of competition at the 74th Venice International Film Festival in 2017.[7]

In 2008, the film was included on the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage’s 100 Italian films to be saved, a list of 100 films that "have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978."[8]

  1. ^ "1900 (X)". British Board of Film Classification. 2 November 1977. Archived from the original on 5 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  2. ^ 1900 at Box Office Mojo
  3. ^ "Festival de Cannes: 1900". Festival-Cannes.com. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  4. ^ "1900 (1976) – Release Info". IMDb. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  5. ^ "Rewind @ www.dvdcompare.net - 1900 AKA Novecento (1976)".
  6. ^ "Rewind @ www.dvdcompare.net - 1900 AKA Novecento (Blu-ray) (1976)".
  7. ^ "Biennale Cinema 2017 | Biennale Cinema 2017 - Venezia Classici". 10 October 2017.
  8. ^ "Ecco i cento film italiani da salvare Corriere della Sera". www.corriere.it. Retrieved 11 March 2021.