La Terra trema (1948)
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100% of critics liked it
(7 reviews) -
84% of users liked it
(797 ratings)
Luchino Visconti's pseudo-documentary look at the exploitation of Sicilian fishermen was based on Giovanni Verga's 1881 novel I Malavoglia. The townspeople of Aci Trezza, Sicily, portrayed themselves, speaking in their native dialects and fretting about economic hardship for over 160 minutes… More Luchino Visconti's pseudo-documentary look at the exploitation of Sicilian fishermen was based on Giovanni Verga's 1881 novel I Malavoglia. The townspeople of Aci Trezza, Sicily, portrayed themselves, speaking in their native dialects and fretting about economic hardship for over 160 minutes of screen time. As nobly neorealist as such an endeavor must have seemed, it died at the box office upon initial release, leading Visconti to add narration in standard Italian. The truth is that the film wasn't all that realistic to begin with, as Visconti's unshakable attachment to cinematic artifice led him to pretty up the dreary goings-on with camera virtuosity that seems completely misplaced given the events onscreen. More grueling than illuminating, this film was the first of a proposed trilogy (the remaining films were to deal with Sicilian peasants and miners) that Visconti mercifully never got around to making. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Directed By
- Luchino Visconti
- Written By
- Antonio Pietrangeli
- Genres
- Art House & International, Drama
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Aug 18, 1948 Wide
- On DVD
- Jul 30, 2002
Critic Reviews
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Howard Thompson, New York Times
Most unfortunately, Mr. Visconti, who also wrote the scenario, has taken his spunky protagonist and literally drowned him in woes, even -- let's face it -- soapsuds.
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Christopher Long, Movie Metropolis
It's a rough slog... but La terra trema shows that Visconti, with just his second feature, was already a master of the medium.
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Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Visconti used real Sicilian fishermen as non-actors expressing their circumstances and beliefs. The effect is a powerful portrait of graceful human dignity caught between the cruelty of the sea and opportunistic greed.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It has an operatic quality.
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Louis Proyect, rec.arts.movies.reviews
Operatic neo-realist tale of downtrodden fishermen
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Antonio Pietrangeli
as Narrator
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Luchino Visconti
as Narrator
- Antonio Arcidiacono
- Giuseppe Arcidiacono
- Venera Bonaccorso
- Nicola Castorino
- Rosa Catalano
