Mussolini: The Untold Story

It starts out once he's already in power. I was hoping it would explore how he developed from a boy to a man. What moulded him psychologically. Instead it's mostly about his family life. A few brief bit of politics, but most lovey-dovey daytime tv poop (romance is the genre I'm thinking of). That said, the acting is good so I lasted 2hrs. Perhaps the downfall in the later half is better, but I doubt it.

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.

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 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.

Although it says here it is a seven hour title, I disagree. I recorded the series when it was broadcast in 1985/6, in the USA on a Betamax system, and it was five and half hours long.

I also recorded it in 1989 here in the UK on a VHS system.

The DVD is exactly the same running time today and is exactly the same program scene by scene.

Unless it was drastically cut by one and half hours before it was originally broadcast,I cannot see how it was seven hours long.

All three programs are exactly the same running length.

This does not detract from the program which I think is an excellent portrayal of a man who was corrupt, immoral, and blinded by his own power and ideology.

The acting by George C Scott and Raul Julia is superb,who demonstrate the differences between the two men.

Although not always historically accurate, it does provoke thought about WWII not just from the usual UK/USA & Germany angle, but to the situation in Italy which was still only a country 50 years old and full of conflict after the results of the 1st world war.

I would recommend this to any person interested in a different aspect to troubled period.