Mussolini: The Untold Story

This miniseries has stayed with me long after I saw it. I was thinking about actors who never got rid of their local accents but were still great actors. Raul Julia was one of them. He could have played Count Ciano way over the top here, but he didn't. Yet he was so moving as Mussolini's conniving, but very human son-in-law. I hope you're doing well wherever you are, Raul.

Mussolini is generally depicted as not only a one-dimensional antagonist, but also a buffoon - almost "comic relief" amid the horrors of WWII. Without whitewashing any of his crimes or shortcomings, George C. Scott portrays a human, relatable, interesting character with a family and a life outside of war and politics. I miss the days when talented stars like Scott, Julia, Mastrantonio, and Byrne brought history to network television.

This review is based on the DVD release that has it on two double-sided discs, and comes with no extras. I do not know much about the real events, so I can't say if this is an accurate account or not. This takes us through over two decades, starting in 1922. It is a tale of love and hate, rise and fall, life and death. From the very beginning to the ending... a well-chosen and memorable final image... this is engaging. The plot is good and well-written, as is the dialog. This is excellent, in the way of its characters... thoroughly developed, credible, and it doesn't try to include a greater amount than it can do justice to. Most of the drama comes from the interactions and relationships, not from the visuals. The acting is all marvelous, and the roles are well-cast. Downey Jr. is instantly accepted as the young and energetic Bruno, Byrne as the more serious Vittorio, Mastrantonio as the strong-willed Edda, Julia is charming as ever as Galeazzo, and last but by no means least, C. Scott adds tremendous depth to the part of Benito himself, in his portrayal. The score is fitting. This has nice cinematography and editing, if neither are beyond what we've seen from other mini-series. It was an interesting choice to cut in actual footage from the time. Of course, you can tell, still, it's reasonably well added in. In spite of what the cover and this site both suggest, this is about five hours and twenty minutes long... I suppose the other count is with commercials. The violence is not excessive or graphic. Sexuality is tasteful and not gratuitous. Language is infrequent. This has disturbing content, and is not for children. I recommend this to anyone who wants a presentation of the history of Mussolini, the man and the family, in the time before, during, and until the end of, the second World War. 7/10

There's one thing you should know before starting the six-hour miniseries Mussolini: The Untold Story - no one puts on an Italian accent. Alright, now that that's out in the open, there's nothing else to criticize. I understand director William Graham's choice, though. It would have eventually become distracting to have all the actors and actresses try (and most likely fail) to put on Italian accents. This way, we can all focus on the acting and the story. For example, Lee Grant (Mussolini's long-suffering wife) talks in her normal New York accent, but in every other respect, she comes across as an authentic Italian woman, wife, and mother. If her voice had been digitally altered, you'd think she was an Italian actress. George C. Scott has never been better, taking up every inch of the screen with his intense energy. He's completely in command and constantly comes across as being one of the most powerful world leaders. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio plays the eldest daughter, torn between love and loyalty and finding out the benefits and detriments to being Mussolini's daughter. On one hand, she wears beautiful clothes and lives in a palace; on the other, she'll never know whether her boyfriend Raul Julia only wants to marry her for political reasons.

You'll see lots of familiar faces that are much more well known now but were just starting out in the 1980s, which is fun. Virginia Madsen is Mussolini's long-suffering mistress, Robert Downey Jr. Is his younger, favored son, and Gabriel Byrne is the older, more ignored son. Even David Suchet has a small role before his Poirot fame.

I can't believe it wasn't nominated for more Emmy and Golden Globe Awards, rather than just Editing and Sound in the former. The amount of work that went into every aspect of the production should be applauded. The costumes and production design were beautiful, and the inventive splicing in of real footage (including colorization in some scenes) added realism to an already true story. George C. Scott poured his heart into the miniseries, and Lee Grant showed the heavy dramatic talents she usually kept hidden. Yes, parts of the story (especially the ending) are hard to watch, but that isn't usually a deterrent come awards season. If you don't know much about Mussolini, you'll be absolutely fascinated by all the information packed into the six hours.

Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to gruesome mob violence, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.

There needs to be a good film about Italian fascism, but this isn't it. It's soap opera for the most part.

Who cares about Mussolini's daughter marrying a playboy? (And far from being a dutiful wife, she had plenty of affairs herself.) Who cares about his son, played by a young Robert Downey, taking the virginity of his girlfriend? This soap opera thinks the viewer does when I just laughed and fast forwarded.

The soap opera also hides how much Mussolini's family were nearly the evil he was. The daughter was an honorary member of Hitler's SS, the death camp killers. The son portrayed by Downey, shown as a romantic pilot with lots of hot sex scenes? The film leaves out that he bombed Ethiopian civilians, mass killing them with chemical weapons. Photos also show he was fat and homely.

The good part, the reason it doesn't deserve a 1 or 0, is George C Scott. He is perfect to show Mussolini as the blustering blowhard and mass murderer who smiled while viewing photos of mass executions he ordered and bombing African civilians while claiming he brought "civilization to these savages."

The soap opera nonsense is a wildly disturbing attempt to humanize him, or more charitably at least get the Harlequin Romance readers to sit through a history lesson.

And for the record, the rape scene didn't happen just once, but hundreds of times. Mussolini had his men bring him women for sex partners every week. Those who refused he raped.

This man was a monster who killed two million people for his own greed, power, and bigotry. The non soap parts of this film make that clear. Those posting their admiration of a mass murderer should be ashamed of their ignorance.

The final thing the film changes is how he died. He was hiding fearfully when the partisans found him. He groveled like a coward when he was executed too.

One could also wish there were more actual Italians in this film. Lee Grant and Virginia Madsen are so out of place.