Tödlicher Irrtum

One of the first movies of George Pan Cosmatos, "Massacre In Rome" is a chilling story of German reprisal for the death of 32 German soldiers in a IED explosion in Rome in 1944. It is decided that for each dead German, 10 Italians must be executed.

Cosmatos was an excellent craftsman, and it shows here. The movie is cold and distanced: both protagonists, disillusioned German officer (Burton) and Italian priest (Mastroianni) are faced with the inescapable fate: Burton must follow his orders and carry on with the execution, while Mastroianni's attempt to make the Pope stop the Germans fails, because the Pope is not willing to get involved.

"Massacre In Rome" has one excellent scene: the briefing where Burton explains to his officers how the executions will be carried out. A really chilling sequence, thanks to Burton's maestry. The somewhat cheesy action sequences somewhat lower the vote. It would easily be a 8.