1900 · reception & legacy
1976 · Bernardo Bertolucci
How 1900 has been received, argued over, and remembered.
The arc
In 1976 it was a scandal of scale — a five-hour Marxist epic bankrolled by Hollywood money, hacked down for American release after a bitter fight between Bertolucci and the studio, and critics were split between 'monumental' and 'bloated'. The restored full-length version has since been reappraised as one of the great mad epics of the '70s, with Storaro's cinematography and Morricone's score now beyond dispute.
What's debated
The eternal 1900 debate: majestic masterpiece or magnificent folly — and can a lavish, star-studded, studio-financed film credibly preach communist revolution?
Its footprint
It survives as the ultimate 'commitment watch' — the five-hour Bertolucci — and its images of red banners sweeping across the Emilian countryside are among the most reproduced in political cinema. The sheer cast (De Niro, Depardieu, Lancaster, Sutherland, Hayden) makes it a perennial 'wait, THEY'RE all in this?' discovery.
Where it stands
A cinephile endurance badge and canon climber — less watched than Last Tango or The Conformist, but the one whose completion earns you Letterboxd bragging rights.