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The General of the Dead Army (1983)

The General of the Dead Army (1983), directed by Luciano Tovoli, starring Marcello Mastroianni and Anouk Aimée.

10/19/1983 BR Drama 1h 45m

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Synopsis

In the early 1960s, nearly 20 years since the Second World War ended, an Italian general, accompanied by a priest who is also an Italian army colonel, is sent to Albania to locate and collect the bones of his countrymen who had died during the war and return them for burial in Italy. As they go deeper into the Albanian countryside they find they are being followed by another general who is looking for the bodies of German soldiers killed in World War II.

  • Giuseppe TinelliCinematography
  • Luciano TovoliCinematography, Director
  • Jennifer AugéEditing
  • Marie RobertEditing

About the film

The General of the Dead Army (Italian: Il generale dell'armata morta) is a 1983 Italian drama film directed by Luciano Tovoli and based on the 1963 novel by Albanian author Ismail Kadare.

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The General of the Dead Army (Italian: Il generale dell'armata morta) is a 1983 Italian drama film directed by Luciano Tovoli and based on the 1963 novel by Albanian author Ismail Kadare.

Plot

Cast

Marcello Mastroianni as General Ariosto

Anouk Aimée as Countess Betsy Mirafiore

Michel Piccoli as Benetandi

Gérard Klein as General Krotz

Sergio Castellitto as The Expert

Daniele Dublino as The Minister

Carmine De Padova as L'ordonnance

Roberto Miccoli as The Shepherd

Cosimo Calabrese as The President

Salvatore Buccolieri as The Old Man

Vincenza D'Angela as The Woman

Reception

Paolo Mereghetti praised the film as "a story that runs counter to the myth of "Italians as good people." A fine debut... by Tovoli."

See also

The Return of the Dead Army (Albanian: Kthimi i Ushtrise se Vdekur), a 1989 Albanian film starring Bujar Lako, based on the novel and directed by Dhimitër Anagnosti

Life and Nothing But (La Vie et rien d’autre), a 1989 French film starring Philippe Noiret, based on the novel and directed by Bertrand Tavernier.

References

External links

The General of the Dead Army at IMDb

Text from The General of the Dead Army (film) on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_General_of_the_Dead_Army_(film)

Trivia

Production

Cast

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What is The General of the Dead Army about?

The General of the Dead Army: In the early 1960s, nearly 20 years since the Second World War ended, an Italian general, accompanied by a priest who is also an Italian army colonel, is sent to Albania to locate and collect the bones of his countrymen who had died during the war and return them for burial in Italy. As they go deeper into the Albania…

Who directed The General of the Dead Army?

The General of the Dead Army was directed by Luciano Tovoli in 1983.

Who stars in The General of the Dead Army?

The cast of The General of the Dead Army includes Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimée, Michel Piccoli, Gérard Klein and Sergio Castellitto.

How long is The General of the Dead Army?

The General of the Dead Army runs for 105 minutes, or 1h45.

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Page updated on 09/14/2026.

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Scene from The General of the Dead Army