The Assisi Underground (film)

This article is about the 1985 film. For the book on which it is based, see The Assisi Underground.
The Assisi Underground
Directed byAlexander Ramati
Written byAlexander Ramati
Screenplay byAlexander Ramati
Based onThe Assisi Underground
by Alexander Ramati
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyGiuseppe Rotunno
Edited byMichael J. Duthie
Music byDov Seltzer
Production
company
Release date
  • September 1985 (1985-09) (US)
Running time
115 min
CountriesUnited States, Italy
LanguageEnglish

The Assisi Underground is a 1985 American-Italian historical drama film, written and directed by Alexander Ramati. It is an adaptation of his 1978 novel, The Assisi Underground: The Priest who Rescued Jews, which is based on a true-life account by Father Rufino Niccacci of events surrounding the Assisi Network, an effort to hide 300 Jews in the town of Assisi, Italy during World War II. The film stars Ben Cross, Irene Papas, Maximilian Schell, Karlheinz Hackl, and James Mason in his final performance before his death in July 1984. His final role in a feature film was The Shooting Party.

Plot

In 1943 Franciscan priest Rufino Niccacci is asked by the bishop of Assisi Giuseppe Placido Nicolini to covertly rescue Italian Jews from the Nazis.

Cast

Critical response

The film received a poor response from critics.[2][3]

History

In 1998, The New York Times published an article about an Assisi resident who had come there as a refugee.[4]

On October 5, 2012, The National Catholic Register published a long two-part article pegged to the opening of a new exhibition based on 25 years of research into the city's role in saving thousands of refugees, including approximately 300 Jews.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ "The Assisi Underground". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  2. ^ Tatum, Charles. "The Assisi Underground". eFilmCritic. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  3. ^ Paolo Mereghetti, Il Mereghetti. Dizionario dei Film 2008, Baldini Castoldi Dalai, 2007.
  4. ^ Meier, Barry (1998-11-27). "In Assisi, a Survivor Recalls Rescue From the Holocaust". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  5. ^ "Following Francis' Footsteps: How Assisi Protected Jews During World War II, Part I". NCR. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  6. ^ "Following Francis' Footsteps: How Assisi Protected Jews During World War II, Part II". NCR. Retrieved 2022-10-03.


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