Difference between revisions of "Macaroni Combat: A History"

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[[File:Macaronicombat.jpg|right|Macaroni Combat]]
===THE DAWN===
 
====THE DAWN====
<i class="fa fa-info-circle" aria-hidden="true"></i> From this idiom coined by [http://www.tarantino.info Quentin Tarantino] (which was originated in Japan) and aided by my teenage passion, I felt compelled to do a study on yet another "sub-genre" created by the Italian cinema in the 60s-70s: [[Macaroni Combat]] or rather...the Italian war movie!
   
   
From this idiom coined by [http://www.tarantino.info Quentin Tarantino], and aided by my teenage passion (who said playing
This sub-genre, which was brought to light thanks to [http://wiki.tarantino.info/index.php/Inglourious_Basterds Inglourious Basterds] by the American master Tarantino, is a lesser known chapter of the Italian B-movies. These types of B-war films have never enjoyed enormous popularity in Italy because they were made mostly just to make money, especially with foreign distribution in poor countries and little conviction on the part of the producers.  
soldiers on the beach??), I felt compelled to do a study on yet another "sub-genre" created by the Italian cinema in the years 60'- 70 ', the' Maccaroni Combat " or rather...the Italian war movie!
 
However, given that it's a genre I've always loved, and on the net is very difficult to find out about, I decided to do this simple task to make them more known for the longtime fans, the curious and all film fanatics!
Brought to light thanks to [[Inglorious Bastards]] by the American master Quentin Tarantino, the lodging is a little-known chapter of the italian "B" movies. Because the cinema of war has never enjoyed enormous popularity in Italy or, because this kind of films, were made to scrape together some money, especially with foreign distribution in poor countries, with little conviction on the part of the producers.  
 
====INTRODUCTION====
Macaroni Combat films were Italian war movies inspired by the popular Hollywood genre films of the 60s/70s. They often used titles and plots from the various blockbusters made in the U.S. All had seasoned actors aka "Italian yankees" and often they were older stars whose popularity had faded in their own countries. 


However, given that the undersigned, the genre has always loved, and on the net is very difficult to find about it, I decided to do this simple task to make known the matter to the lovers, the curious and all film fanatics!
As with the [https://www.spaghetti-western.net spaghetti westerns] or the [[Poliziotteschi: Italian Crime Cinema|polizio|Polizio]] genres, it rode the wave of success the original genre films started in Hollywood. Instead of The Dirty Dozen, The Guns of Navarone or Battle of the Bulge, these were films made in De Paolis (Rome) or the Egyptian desert with titles such as: [[And the Bombs Keep Falling]], [[The Battle of El Alamein]], [[Commandos]] and [[Battle Squadron|Eagles Over London]]. The end result, with minor exceptions, were mostly modest.
==INTRODUCTION==
The "Maccaroni Combat" (in according with Mr. Tarantino ..) is the current Italian war which, inspired by Hollywood films of the period, trying to scrape together some money, using titles and plots from blockbuster made in the USA. All seasoned actors "italian yankees", some "stars" of waste from the motherland and budget rather poor.  


As for the “spaghetti western” or the “police”, it rides the wave of success made in the USA. So here is that, instead of "The Dirty Dozen", "The Guns of Navarone" or "Battle of the Bulge", sprouting from establishments De Paolis (In Rome) or Egyptian desert, titles such as: "And the guns still thunder", "The Battle of El Alamein "," Commandos ","Eagles over London”, and so..The end result, with minor exceptions, it will be mostly 'modest. Let's go, however, the theme, and let's put bare....ready to fire!!!!!!!
====THE FACTS====
After this introduction, we'll look at every detail of these films (casts, locations, soundtracks, etc). We'll try to understand where the genre started and the successes (and/or failures) it had.  
==THE FACTS==
After this introduction, the first scan and X-ray every details of these films (casts, locations, soundtracks, etc..), We try to understand where the birth of the genre and successes (or failures) had.  


As mentioned earlier, everything is born from the "vice" typically Italian of the time, to make some dough with the imitation of the American blockbuster, in this case the gender war and adventurous. Movies like "The Guns of Navarone," "The Great Escape", "Where Eagles Dare", "The Bridge on the River Kwai", etc.. had been able to combine the traditional rules of war movies, the dose of adventure, romance and violence that raged so much in those years. This of course, has been very  
As mentioned earlier, everything was born from an idea which was typically Italian at the time, to make some money from the imitations of the American blockbusters, in this case war and adventure films. Movies like The Guns of Navarone, The Great Escape, Where Eagles Dare, The Bridge on the River Kwai etc. had been able to combine the traditional rules of war movies with adventure, romance and violence that raged so much in those years. This of course, had been very fruitful, shown by the colossal budgets, great actors, directors and senior technicians. In Italy, as with the others genres (westerns, detective, peplum, sci-fi, etc..) we wanted to ride this wave as well, but there was a small difference in terms of the budgets, the actors and directors, technicians and artisans. I can only assume that Directors like Mr. Brescia, Castellari, Lenzi, Loy, Siciliano, Ferroni, etc tried to do their best with the arrangement. In spite of themselves, the success the films had was limited because something valuable was lacking.  
fruitful, like the colossal budget, great actors, directors and senior technicians. In Italy, as for the others genres (western, detective, peplum, sci-fi, etc..), We wanted to ride this wave, but there was a small difference ...... the money were few, mediocre actors, and directors (together with technicians) artisans, handyman.
   
   
What is then able to get out of these ingredients you'll find out in later chapters. I can only anticipate that Mr. Brescia, Castellari, Lenzi, Loy, Siciliano, Ferroni, etc.. have tried to do the best, with the arrangement, but in spite of themselves, the success has been limited. Something valuable is out. The undersigned have liked some of the titles that the reader will find in
[[The Battle of El Alamein]] by Giorgio Ferroni used a discrete Frederic Stafford (not new to Italian cinema) to tell the heroic resistance of Italian paratroopers of the Folgore sandy hell of El Alamein. In this film there's several scenes of tank battles set in the desert and also relevant historical reconstructions. Next, I would like to mention "The Battle of the Desert" by Mino Loy, who used the usual plot of the military patrol deployed in the desert. As well as being a war film, it is an analysis of human relations between winners and losers. There are beautiful scenes of action in the desert environments and the film's poster is  particularly gorgeous.
the chapter on film recommended.  
   
   
"The Battle of El Alamein" by Giorgio Ferroni uses a discrete Frederik Stafford (not new to Italian cinema) to tell the heroic resistance of italian paratroopers of the Folgore sandy hell of El Alamein. In this film we find several scenes of battle tanks, a little 'healthy national epic and discrete locations in the desert. Relevant historical reconstructions and some war surplus original. Next, I would like to quote "The Battle of the Desert" by Mino Loy, who, using the usual plot of the
Another title that I enjoy is [[Commandos]], in which the great Lee Van Cleef tries to "bastardize" war with moments of real tension like he did in the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone. How can we forget it, the exchange of glances between the spies and the spied upon, between those who deceive and the deceived? They are close-ups that only the master Leone could do. I would also like to stress that this film is written by Menahem Golan, who in the 80s founded the film company Golan-Globus which featured the likes of Stallone, Norris, Schwarzenegger and Van Damme!
patrol dispersed in the desert (recovery then in many other titles in the genre), as well as scenes of war, goes into the analysis of human relations between winners and losers. But in the end, as in every war that respect, a win is only death. Beautiful scenes of action to desert environments. Beautiful also the movie poster.
   
   
Another title that I enjoyed is "Commandos", in which a great Lee Van Cleeft, go to "bastardize" the kind of war with moments of real tension” spaghetti westerns” Sergio’s Leone memory. How can we forget it, the shooting of the exchange of glances between the spies and the spied upon, between those who deceives and is deceived. Close-ups that only the master Leo could do. I would also like to stress that this film is written by Menhaen Golan, who then, in the 80s, founded the film company American "Golan-Globus", throwing the likes of Stallone, Norris, Schwarzenegger and Van Damme!!!
In the film [[Possibility Zero]], [[Henry Silva]] plays a character in a story similar to The Guns of the Navarone. The difference is that the plot in this case, is set in Norway. The suicide commandos must blow up a heavily fortified German base located in the heart of a Norwegian fjord. Apart from the locations that are typically Mediterranean (Spanish or Italian) and some other obvious historical facts, the plot, the photography and the music are well done. The film also has a decent amount of suspense. The story was written by a young [[Dario Argento]], this helped raise the quality level of the film.
 
Other titles dealt with themes of war with absolute seriousness, but [[Enzo G. Castellari]]'s films are humorous and made up of double meanings, stereotypes and caricatures. I think it was this in particular which attracted Tarantino, more than the plots. See similar titles like ([[Five For Hell]], The Seven Marsa Matrou, [[And the Bombs Keep Falling]]). Other titles to look for: Kill Rommel!, From Hell Ardennes, The Battle of Sinai (the only one that is not set in World War II, but during the Arab Israeli war, etc).
   
   
Even "Zero probability" I have some ammunition. In it, a glacial Henry Silva is struggling with a story similar to "The Guns of the Navarone." The difference is that the plot, in this case, is set (!) And in Norway, our commando of suicides, must blow up a heavily fortified German base located in the heart of a Norwegian fjord (who said "663 Squadron? ). Apart from the locations that are typically Mediterranean (Spanish or italic) and some other obvious historical fact, the plot, the photography, the music is well done. The film can be appreciated with a decent thread of suspense. In the notes, I note that the story is written by a young Dario Argento, and therefore, even in the beginning, this is sufficient to raise the level of the film.
For some people dated films may seem rather ridiculous. Compared to today's productions there is no blood splattering all over, there are no bad words, a lack of sex scenes, and generally the good guys win and the bad guys lose. No rhetoric, no psychological delusions or other philosophical interpretations. For those like myself, these films will be viewed considering the historical context in which they were shot. Those were the years of the Italian economic boom (after the WWII), where women were emancipated and years of struggling youths at school or universities was over.  
   
   
A celebrated by Tarantino's "Inglorious Bastards", instead traces the trend "Dirty dozen", where the usual rogues yankees they combined all the colors of the German army, with the end to end then all the heroes.  
====CAST & ROLES====
The actors in these films are the usual suspects of the B-movies of the 60s-70s Italian period. People who dabbled for years in the spaghetti westerns, horror, gialli and spy films. Most were Italians under false pretenses, some Teutonic transplants in Rome, others were retired actors from overseas.  


If other securities dealt with themes of war with absolute seriousness, Castellari's film are a little 'humor made of double meanings, stereotypes and caricature characters. I think it was this particular hit Tarantino, more than the plot itself. Of this kind, carry on my list other similar securities ("Five to Hell", "The Seven Marsa Matrou", "The guns still thunder"). All titles that dwell in the ordinary administration, without infamy and without praise.  
Some of the frequent names you'd see were: Henry Silva, George Hilton, Guy Madison, Frederick Stafford, Klaus Kinski, Horst Bucholtz, Anton Driffing, Ettore Manni, Ivan Rassimov, Ray Lovelock, Van Johnson. They were acting chameleons that, as required by the director, were able to play all roles, either rebel soldiers, evil Nazi officers, playboy spies or deserters. A beautiful camouflage suit, a uniform of the SS, some brown hair which may become blonde, a monocle and a cigar or a machine gun and you're transformed.
   
   
The other titles you will find: "Kill Rommel !", "From Hell Ardennes", "The Battle of Sinai" (the only one that is not set in World War II, but during the Arab Israeli war, etc.) not shine for particular "aptitudes". Say you are in the standard in the genre. The fan will give an overview anyway, just to end up in what I wrote and enjoy an hour and a half of bombs, car chases and sabotage.  
In the Macaronis, the German officer was always firm, resolute, uncompromising and honest (at times!) while The American was always a no-good, light-hearted womanizer. English soldiers have always been haughty and unwilling to laugh, the Italian is the anti-militarist, and so on. A few words, many orders, tight close-ups, phrases and circumstances of the attack and there you go! Often seen as the "martian from another planet", The German Nazis were the epitome of evil. 
 
====DIRECTORS====
For the directors, as well as for the actors, the same holds true. In the genre all the artisans of the B-movies made in Italy were used with no exceptions! Just to name names we find: Brescia, Castellari, Lenzi, Massaccesi, Garrone, Ferroni, Siciliano, etc. These are our "masters" of the genre so to speak. All of them are people that can do action on minimal budgets. They even did it without using islands infested with zombies, shoot-outs in domestic banks, kidnappings, rapes, barbarians or stellar battles in the cosmos. Despite low budgets all were able to offer action at will. There were plenty of tank battles, chases, shootings, assaults by partisans, bombings, etc. It's worth noting these films often combined genres. Some duels in the dunes of the desert had the flavor of the spaghetti western, the spies in Normandy were similar to those in a James Bond movie and so on.  
   
   
People less "dated" such films may seem rather ridiculous. Compared to today's productions there is no blood splattering all over, there are no bad words, lack of sex scenes, and generally good win and the bad guys lose. No rhetoric, no psychological delusions or other philosophical interpretations.
====THE PLOTS====
 
With few exceptions, the plots often revolved around the usual "Dirty Dozen" types, the suicide commandos made up of villains, deserters, renegades, sons of bitches. The objectives of these groups of wretches were always the same: to blow up dams, fuel depots, stations, superguns or top secret military installations.
For those not so "is dated" like myself, these films, be viewed considering the historical context in which they were shot. Those were years of Italian economic “boom” (after the WWII), where women were emancipated, years of struggling youth at scholl or universities, in which the U.S. was of the coin, is to see the German, as the holiday all “beer” with its caravan spent his summer holidays on 'Adriatic see!


Summing up, it is sad to say that, while appreciating the efforts of producers, actors and directors at the end are more 'failures than successes. As I never tire of saying, war movies, sci-fi and historical, they need enough budget proportionate to manage, weapons, uniforms, vehicles, locations. Pena squalid results, comedians or insipid.
The enemy is also stereotyped as never before. The German Nazi army is always full of impeccable officers of the Wehrmacht or the SS. The soldiers often die like flies, mowed down by machine guns or shots from the cannon of the nefarious Yankees. The good (American or English) always win, the bad guys (Germans) lose, the Italians as usual...tie!
==CAST & ROLES==
The actors in these films are the usual suspects of the "B" movie of the Italian period. People who have "dabbled" for years in the “spaghetti westerns”, “horror”, in “yellow”and “spy”. Most, Italians under "false pretenses" anglophone, some Teutonic transplanted at Rome, waste or "retiring" from overseas.  


To name a few, here: Henry Sylva, George Hilton, Guy Madison, Frederick Stafford, Klaus Kinski, Horst Bucholtz, Anton Driffing, Ettore Manni, Ivan Rassimov, Ray Lovelock, Van Johnson, etc. People chameleon that, as required by the director, is able to identify with the rebel soldier, the evil Nazi officer in playboy spy in deserter or a coward guy. A beautiful camouflage, a little of fat in the face, a uniform of the SS, and you're done! Add to this, then some brown hair which may become a blonde, a monocle and a cigar, a machine gun, and is characterized by good character!
In detail, I should mention [[Klaus Kinski]] who often played an SS officer as cynical, insensitive and violent. Kinski also played the usual handsome American officer or the ugly and unsympathetic officer of Her Majesty the Queen.  
The German officer is always firm, resolute, uncompromising and honest (at times!), The American is always a no-good, light-hearted and womanizer, English has always been that haughty and unwilling to humor, the ' Italian is the usual feel-good anti-militarist, and so on. A few dialogues, many orders, tight close-ups, phrases and circumstances of the attack by
you go! seen as the Martian from another planet and German was the classic precise and evil maybe, he burned the house of some relative during the retreat of the Italian campaign (WWII). The other side


==DIRECTORS==
The Italian soldier is represented as a peaceful man who rejects war and thinks only of his wife and to save his skin. In some episodes (see The Battle of El Alamein) the Italians are shown to be much smarter than the Germans. On a positive note, all of these films are filled with explosions, ambushes and chases in large quantities.
   
   
For the directors, as for the actors, the same holds true. In the genus have ventured all the artisans of the "B" movie made in Italy, no exceptions! Just to name names, we find: Brescia, Castellari, Lenzi, Massaccesi, Garrone, Ferroni, Siciliano, etc. Our "masters" of the genre, so to speak. All people that we can do with the action, the minimal budget and go without many problems of islands infested with zombies, shoot-outs to domestic banks, kidnappings, rapes, or barbarians or stellar battles in the cosmos.  
====MILITARY, FACILITIES & COSTUMES====
A good war movie must have a decent budget. The uniforms of soldiers, weapons, tanks and planes should try to resemble those of the time period. In these films the uniforms sometimes were invented with the colors all wrong. The ground transportation adaptations almost always are of the era in which the films were made. For example Yugoslav tanks, Egyptian or Spanish, are miraculously transformed (with some tape and a little camouflage botched), into glorious "Tiger" German or "Sherman" American tanks. The famous jeep willys of the U.S. or the Soviets became German, Italian, English, French, etc.  


However, despite budget ridiculous, are able to offer action at will. There are also plenty of tanks battles, chases, shootings, assaults by partisans, bombings, etc. It worth noting also the contamination of genres. Some duel in the dunes of the desert has the flavor of the “spaghetti western”, or some intrigue of spies in Normandy is prone to a 007, and so on.  
One of the most famous details in these films are the use of airplanes. There often are static wooden models, radio controlled or wire-driven models used. In some cases, one even sees the wires that support them! (see the launch of paratroopers in Commandos). The dogfights are always represented with images from documentary footage or by using cockpits constructed with tight shots to recreate battles between swarms of German fighters and Americans.  
==THE PLOTS==
   
   
With few exceptions, the plot revolves around the usual "Dirty dozen", the suicide commandos made up of villains, deserters, renegades, sons of bitches and whores different! The objectives of this group of wretches are always the same: to blow up dams, fuel depots, stations superguns or top secret military installations.  
With regards to the trenches, prison camps or various military installations, all the Italian artisans had fun making dioramas on a small scale for the prison camps (as in western movies), where, thanks to tightly framed cameras, they could become the Stalag 17 or the general command of the Wehrmacht. Another flaw was represented by the partisans who, on paper, should be members of the French resistance, whereas in the reality of the film all appear as men from Calabria and Sardinia or, even worse: criminals from Marseilles! Sometimes it bordered on the grotesque.  


The enemy is stereotyped as never before. The German army full of impeccable officers of the Wehrmacht or the SS criminals. The Teutonic soldiers, then, do not shine for some intelligence, and die like flies, mowed down by machine gun or shots from the cannon of these nefarious Yankees. The good (American or English) always win, the bad guys (Germans) lose, the Italians as usual...tie!  
The few women who appear in the films seem straight out of the salon with sophisticated hairstyles and makeup! Someone should explain to me how the make up wouldn't run down their faces during the battle of Tobruk or the landing in Normandy!!  


In detail, as mentioning Klaus Kinski in the role of the SS officer possessed. Cynical, insensitive, violent, short cut to a role for him. Or the usual handsome American officer or the ugly and unsympathetic officer of Her Majesty the Queen. There is also room for a cameo appearance of our mistreated royal army. The Italian soldier is represented as a peaceful man who rejects war and thinks only of his wife and save the skin. Not sure we shine for fighting ...... although in some episodes (see "The Battle of El Alamein", Ferroni), or go out, on balance, much better than the Germans. Positive note, all of these films are then explosions, ambushes, chases the assaults of commandos in large quantities.
The last commentary I have is on the Italian war films set in the jungle during the Philippine-American War which came out in the 1980s. Japanese guys: Italians use a veil, it is much better. I'm just saying that mediterranean men are used to play the Japanese soldiers. I'll leave you to draw the consideration of the value of these films!
   
   
==MILITARY, FACILITIES & COSTUMES==
====THE LOCATIONS====
The environments that the filmmakers used in all these films were usually set in occupied France in 1944 and North Africa. In reality, however they are actually in Central Italy, a rural background, some abandoned quarry, the studios of De Paolis in Rome, Almeria in Spain and the Egyptian desert. To tell the truth for these last two options the scenery and photography are well integrated with the historical context of the films, while for the former, the village of the Italian Apennines, or the farms are not. I wonder if some of the designers really had seen a beach in Normandy, a French farmhouse or the Ardennes forests of Belgium. There are also the "handyman" abandoned quarries outside Rome, which were used for the Libyan deserts of Cyrenaica or Tobruk!
   
   
A good war movie, it must have a decent budget for not urge ridiculous. The uniforms of soldiers, weapons, tanks, planes, should try to respect (or resemble) the most 'as possible to those of the time.  
====POSTERS====
The posters for these films were usually well done. In addition to the names of the actors, who are presented as Hollywood superstars, there's artwork depicting great tank battles, bomber attacks and flocks of thousands of troops ready to land to conquer Europe. Unfortunately, with this trick which is typical of these productions, an illusion is given. The viewer is then faced with poor environments, the usual tanks and armored vehicles recycled from different titles and reused uniforms. I'm not an expert in graphic design and painting, but congratulations to the artists who made them.  


In these films the uniforms sometimes are invented with pastel colors wrong. The ground transportation adaptations are almost always means the time (recently). For example Yugoslav tanks, Egyptian or Spanish, are miraculously transformed (with some tape and a little camouflage botched), in glorious "Tiger" German tank or "Sherman" American tank. The famous jeep willys U.S. or the Soviet become necessary German, Italian, English, French, etc..  
====SOUNDTRACKS====
Fortunately, Italy is full of great composers and performers. The music of these films are generally well done and epic and whose melodies mingle with those of the spaghetti western or detective films. They highlight moments of tension, attacks, fights and chases. Then there are the moments that are more introspective and romantic, and the classic bombastic theme before the final credits. I should mention some of the names of the period that the fans certainly recognize from other productions: [[:Category:Stelvio Cipriani|Stelvio Cipriani]], Carlo Rustichelli, [[:Category:Riz Ortolani|Riz Ortolani]] and [[:Category:Bruno Nicolai|Bruno Nicolai]]. The procurement of these works in my experience is not easy, but if some enthusiast has the time and inclination to search for them, I think something can be found.


The most famous sore about airplanes. In all these films are used simulacra static wooden model radio controlled or wire-driven. In some cases, one sees unfortunately also the wires that support them! (See the launch of paratroopers in "Commandos"!). The dogfights are always represented with images from the archives of the documentary, or using cockpit plane reconstructed with tight shots to recreate battles between swarms of German fighters and English on the nordic see.
====TITLES====
The period of this genre was brief, but quite prolific. For those who are interested, I recommend the following titles. Read what I wrote, and if you have a clinical eye like myself, you will notice there are many shortcomings:
   
   
With regard to the trenches, prison camps or various military installations, all Italian ingenuity has fun in making dioramas on a small scale, or small pieces of wood in the prison camps (as in western movies), where, thanks to tightly framed or game camera, they can become the "Stalag 17" round or the general command of the Wehrmacht. Another sore point is represented by the partisans who, on paper, should be members of the French resistance, whereas in the reality of the film all appear as men from "Calabria and Sardinia" (!?) Or, even worse criminals Marseille! Sometimes, I must say, it borders on the grotesque.
*1. [[The Battle of El Alamein]] by Giorgo Ferroni
*2. [[The Greatest Battle|Battle Force]] by Umberto Lenzi
*3. [[Kill Rommel!]] by Alfonso Brescia
*4. [[Commandos]] by Armando Crispino
*5. [[Inglorious Bastards]] by Enzo G. Castellari
*6. [[Five Days in Sinai]] by Maurizio Lucidi
*7. [[Overrun!]] by Mario Siciliano
*8. [[Eagles Over London]] by Enzo G. Castellari
*9. [[From Hell To Victory]] by Umberto Lenzi
*10. [[Desert Assault|The Battle of the Desert]] by Mino Loy
*11. [[Possibility Zero]] by Maurizio Lucidi
*12. [[Churchill's Leopards]] by Marcello Predaux
*13. [[Five For Hell]] by Gianfranco Parolini
*14. [[The Dirty Heroes]] by Alberto de Martino
*15. [[And the Bombs Keep Falling]], by Sergio Colasanti
*16. [[The War Devils]] by Adalberto Albertini
*17. [[The Battle of the Damned]] by Roberto Montero
*18. [[Desert Commandos]] by Umberto Lenzi
*19. [[Heroes in Hell]] by Aristide Massaccesi
*20. [[The Battle of the Last Panzer]] by Jose Merin


The few women who appear in the films, they seem straight out of the salon, with sophisticated hairstyles and makeup to go go! Someone should explain me how to do the trick does not run in the face during the battle of Tobruk or the landing in Normandy!!
====THE DUSK====
While the favorite subject of early [[Macaroni Combat]] flicks was the second world war, the still roaring war in Vietnam already cast its long shadow, and - sometimes aided by the lure of the Philippine film market - more and more films appeared that swapped the Ardennes for the fake jungles of South East Asia. With the arrival of the 80s and the spread of video, spurned by the success of movies like Rambo, more and more cheap actioners were produced that were more mercenary or survivalist straight-to-VHS movies than theatrical war movie experiences. The [[Macaroni Combat]] genre knows no official boundaries, but by most fans' acknowledgement, it saw its demise with some late 80s efforts and today, the Italian film industry hardly touches the war genre to the extent it used to back in its heyday.


Last consideration is sad for that (fortunately) rare episode of Italian war film, set in the jungle during the Philippine American War - Japanese guys .... we spread a veil, it is much better ...... I'm just saying that some "mediterranean men "are used to make the Japanese soldier ..... I leave you to draw the consideration of the value of these films! So....bad!!!!!!!!!!
====AVAILABILITY ON DVD====
Thanks to the advent of e-commerce, the films I mentioned are not hard to find today. They're certainly more easy to find in German, English, French, Spanish and Italian editions with the best prices. Do not expect great extras on the DVDs, at most there are a few photo galleries and biographies of actors and directors. Although the overall quality of images is generally poor, you could not expect more and if you have a good nose for searching you’ll find them without problems.
==THE LOCATIONS==
In essence, the environments that the filmmakers want perform in all these films are two: occupied France in 1944, and North Africa. In reality, however, the locations used are: Central Italy to rural background, some abandoned quarry, the studies of De Paolis in Rome, Almeira in Spanish and Egyptian desert. To tell the truth for these last two options, the scenery and photography are well integrated with the historical context of the film, while for the former, the village of the Italian Apennines, or the farm. It 'wonder sometimes if some designers have really seen in their lives even as it is a beach in Normandy, a French farmhouse or in the Ardennes forests of Belgium. There are also the "handyman" abandoned quarries outside Rome, where appropriate, become the Libyan desert, Cyrenaica or Tobruk!
Very crazy!!!!!!!!!
==POSTERS==
The posters of these films are really well done (well for you to browse the network). In addition to the names of the actors, who are presented as Hollywood super star (?!) Are depicted greatest battles of tanks, bombers and flocks of thousands of troops ready to land to conquer Europe. Unfortunately, with this trick typical of these productions, the illusion the viewer. He is then faced with poor environments, the usual tanks and armored vehicles recycled in different titles and uniforms of soldiers more 'times take to Italian army forces. I'm not an expert in graphic design and painting, but congratulations again to the artists who made them.  


==SOUNDTRACKS==
====MY LAST OPINION====
The praise made for all kinds of other Italian B-movies from the 60s and 70s also should apply to this cult sub-genre. The Italian filmmakers simply tried to emulate the American classics with only shoestring budgets and lack of actors, technicians and equipment. Unfortunately, the war film is a bit similar to that of science fiction in that it requires big budgets to create weapons, locations, vehicles and uniforms. Without that, you run the risk of falling into the mediocre and ridiculous. However it is our duty to congratulate the Italian directors, the many artisans of cinema that made films under poor conditions but whose work was decent, honest and tried to give the audience what they wanted. In some cases, they succeeded, in most...unfortunately, they did not.  
A brief reference also on soundtracks. Fortunately, Italy is full of great composers and performers. The music of these films are generally well done, have a gait epic, sometimes melodies mingle with those of the spaghetti western or detective. Highlight moments of tension, attacks, fights and chases. Then there are the moments more 'introspective and romantic, with the classic “boombastic” before the final credits. I should mention in this regard some of the names of the period, that the fans more hardened, certainly recognize in other productions of gender. All: Stelvio Cipriani, Carlo Rustichelli, Riz Ortolani, Bruno Nicolai.
The procurement of these works, in my experience, is not easy, but if some enthusiast has the time
and inclination to sniff on the net world, I think something can be found ......  


==TITLES==
'''Based on an original text written by Stefano Rossi - 11/24/12'''
The genre was short, but quite prolific. Those who are interested in a vision, I recommend the
following titles. Find the most of what I wrote, and if you have a clinical eye like myself, you will
notice there are many shortcomings:
*1. [[The Battle of El Alamein]], by Giorgo Ferroni
*2. Battle Force, by Umberto Lenzi
*3. Kill Rommel! by  Alfonso Brescia
*4. [[Commandos]] by Armando Crispino
*5. [[Inglorious Bastards]] by Enzo G. Castellari
*6. The Battle of the Sinai, by Maurizio Lucidi
*7. The Seven Marsa Matru, Mario Siciliano
*8. [[Eagles Over London]] by Enzo G. Castellari
*9. [[From Hell to Victory]] by  Umberto Lenzi
*10. The battle of the desert, by Mino Loy.
*11. Zero probability, by Maurizio Lucidi
*12. [[Churchill’s Leopards]] by Marcello Predaux
*13. [[Five for Hell]] by Gianfranco Parolini
*14. The Ardennes Hell by A. De Martino
*15. And the Cannons Thundered Again, by Sergio Colasanti
*16. The Devils of war, by Adalberto Albertini
*17. That Damned patrol, by Roberto Montero
*18. Desert Assault, by Umberto Lenzi
*19. Heroes in Hell by Aristide Massaccesi
*20. The battle of the last panzer by Jose Merin
 
==AVAILABILITY ON DVD==
Thanks to the advent of e-commerce network, the films I mentioned are not hard to find. As mentioned in the introduction is certainly more 'easy to find editions in German, English, French, Spanish and Italian editions of the best prices. Do not expect great extras on the DVD. At most there are a few photo gallery and biographies of actors and directors. Although the overall quality of images is poor, but you could not expect more. If you have a good nose ... you’ll find them without problems, maybe typing the title abroad...good vision then!!
==MY LAST OPINION==
The speeches made for all kinds of "B" movie Italian the years 60'-70 ', also apply to this sub-genre. The idea of emulating the American giants, landslide tumbling under the blows of the shoestring budget and the lack of actors, technicians and equipment. Unfortunately, the war film, is a bit similar to that of science fiction. It requires big budget to create weapons, locations, vehicles and uniforms. Without that, you run the risk of falling into the mediocre and ridiculous. Do not just name a few of the tip (and also at the end of career!) To match it. However dutiful to congratulate our Italian directors, artisans of a cinema that was (unfortunately...), which in poor conditions, have made (or tried to make) film decent, honest, trying to give what the audience wanted. In some cases, they have succeeded, in most...unfortunately not.


Written by Stefano Rossi - 11/24/12
====External Links====
*'''[http://www.macaronicombat.net OUR MACARONI COMBAT WEBSITE]'''


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Revision as of 11:53, 22 April 2017

Macaroni Combat

THE DAWN

From this idiom coined by Quentin Tarantino (which was originated in Japan) and aided by my teenage passion, I felt compelled to do a study on yet another "sub-genre" created by the Italian cinema in the 60s-70s: Macaroni Combat or rather...the Italian war movie!

This sub-genre, which was brought to light thanks to Inglourious Basterds by the American master Tarantino, is a lesser known chapter of the Italian B-movies. These types of B-war films have never enjoyed enormous popularity in Italy because they were made mostly just to make money, especially with foreign distribution in poor countries and little conviction on the part of the producers.

However, given that it's a genre I've always loved, and on the net is very difficult to find out about, I decided to do this simple task to make them more known for the longtime fans, the curious and all film fanatics!

INTRODUCTION

Macaroni Combat films were Italian war movies inspired by the popular Hollywood genre films of the 60s/70s. They often used titles and plots from the various blockbusters made in the U.S. All had seasoned actors aka "Italian yankees" and often they were older stars whose popularity had faded in their own countries.

As with the spaghetti westerns or the polizio|Polizio genres, it rode the wave of success the original genre films started in Hollywood. Instead of The Dirty Dozen, The Guns of Navarone or Battle of the Bulge, these were films made in De Paolis (Rome) or the Egyptian desert with titles such as: And the Bombs Keep Falling, The Battle of El Alamein, Commandos and Eagles Over London. The end result, with minor exceptions, were mostly modest.

THE FACTS

After this introduction, we'll look at every detail of these films (casts, locations, soundtracks, etc). We'll try to understand where the genre started and the successes (and/or failures) it had.

As mentioned earlier, everything was born from an idea which was typically Italian at the time, to make some money from the imitations of the American blockbusters, in this case war and adventure films. Movies like The Guns of Navarone, The Great Escape, Where Eagles Dare, The Bridge on the River Kwai etc. had been able to combine the traditional rules of war movies with adventure, romance and violence that raged so much in those years. This of course, had been very fruitful, shown by the colossal budgets, great actors, directors and senior technicians. In Italy, as with the others genres (westerns, detective, peplum, sci-fi, etc..) we wanted to ride this wave as well, but there was a small difference in terms of the budgets, the actors and directors, technicians and artisans. I can only assume that Directors like Mr. Brescia, Castellari, Lenzi, Loy, Siciliano, Ferroni, etc tried to do their best with the arrangement. In spite of themselves, the success the films had was limited because something valuable was lacking.

The Battle of El Alamein by Giorgio Ferroni used a discrete Frederic Stafford (not new to Italian cinema) to tell the heroic resistance of Italian paratroopers of the Folgore sandy hell of El Alamein. In this film there's several scenes of tank battles set in the desert and also relevant historical reconstructions. Next, I would like to mention "The Battle of the Desert" by Mino Loy, who used the usual plot of the military patrol deployed in the desert. As well as being a war film, it is an analysis of human relations between winners and losers. There are beautiful scenes of action in the desert environments and the film's poster is particularly gorgeous.

Another title that I enjoy is Commandos, in which the great Lee Van Cleef tries to "bastardize" war with moments of real tension like he did in the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone. How can we forget it, the exchange of glances between the spies and the spied upon, between those who deceive and the deceived? They are close-ups that only the master Leone could do. I would also like to stress that this film is written by Menahem Golan, who in the 80s founded the film company Golan-Globus which featured the likes of Stallone, Norris, Schwarzenegger and Van Damme!

In the film Possibility Zero, Henry Silva plays a character in a story similar to The Guns of the Navarone. The difference is that the plot in this case, is set in Norway. The suicide commandos must blow up a heavily fortified German base located in the heart of a Norwegian fjord. Apart from the locations that are typically Mediterranean (Spanish or Italian) and some other obvious historical facts, the plot, the photography and the music are well done. The film also has a decent amount of suspense. The story was written by a young Dario Argento, this helped raise the quality level of the film.

Other titles dealt with themes of war with absolute seriousness, but Enzo G. Castellari's films are humorous and made up of double meanings, stereotypes and caricatures. I think it was this in particular which attracted Tarantino, more than the plots. See similar titles like (Five For Hell, The Seven Marsa Matrou, And the Bombs Keep Falling). Other titles to look for: Kill Rommel!, From Hell Ardennes, The Battle of Sinai (the only one that is not set in World War II, but during the Arab Israeli war, etc).

For some people dated films may seem rather ridiculous. Compared to today's productions there is no blood splattering all over, there are no bad words, a lack of sex scenes, and generally the good guys win and the bad guys lose. No rhetoric, no psychological delusions or other philosophical interpretations. For those like myself, these films will be viewed considering the historical context in which they were shot. Those were the years of the Italian economic boom (after the WWII), where women were emancipated and years of struggling youths at school or universities was over.

CAST & ROLES

The actors in these films are the usual suspects of the B-movies of the 60s-70s Italian period. People who dabbled for years in the spaghetti westerns, horror, gialli and spy films. Most were Italians under false pretenses, some Teutonic transplants in Rome, others were retired actors from overseas.

Some of the frequent names you'd see were: Henry Silva, George Hilton, Guy Madison, Frederick Stafford, Klaus Kinski, Horst Bucholtz, Anton Driffing, Ettore Manni, Ivan Rassimov, Ray Lovelock, Van Johnson. They were acting chameleons that, as required by the director, were able to play all roles, either rebel soldiers, evil Nazi officers, playboy spies or deserters. A beautiful camouflage suit, a uniform of the SS, some brown hair which may become blonde, a monocle and a cigar or a machine gun and you're transformed.

In the Macaronis, the German officer was always firm, resolute, uncompromising and honest (at times!) while The American was always a no-good, light-hearted womanizer. English soldiers have always been haughty and unwilling to laugh, the Italian is the anti-militarist, and so on. A few words, many orders, tight close-ups, phrases and circumstances of the attack and there you go! Often seen as the "martian from another planet", The German Nazis were the epitome of evil.

DIRECTORS

For the directors, as well as for the actors, the same holds true. In the genre all the artisans of the B-movies made in Italy were used with no exceptions! Just to name names we find: Brescia, Castellari, Lenzi, Massaccesi, Garrone, Ferroni, Siciliano, etc. These are our "masters" of the genre so to speak. All of them are people that can do action on minimal budgets. They even did it without using islands infested with zombies, shoot-outs in domestic banks, kidnappings, rapes, barbarians or stellar battles in the cosmos. Despite low budgets all were able to offer action at will. There were plenty of tank battles, chases, shootings, assaults by partisans, bombings, etc. It's worth noting these films often combined genres. Some duels in the dunes of the desert had the flavor of the spaghetti western, the spies in Normandy were similar to those in a James Bond movie and so on.

THE PLOTS

With few exceptions, the plots often revolved around the usual "Dirty Dozen" types, the suicide commandos made up of villains, deserters, renegades, sons of bitches. The objectives of these groups of wretches were always the same: to blow up dams, fuel depots, stations, superguns or top secret military installations.

The enemy is also stereotyped as never before. The German Nazi army is always full of impeccable officers of the Wehrmacht or the SS. The soldiers often die like flies, mowed down by machine guns or shots from the cannon of the nefarious Yankees. The good (American or English) always win, the bad guys (Germans) lose, the Italians as usual...tie!

In detail, I should mention Klaus Kinski who often played an SS officer as cynical, insensitive and violent. Kinski also played the usual handsome American officer or the ugly and unsympathetic officer of Her Majesty the Queen.

The Italian soldier is represented as a peaceful man who rejects war and thinks only of his wife and to save his skin. In some episodes (see The Battle of El Alamein) the Italians are shown to be much smarter than the Germans. On a positive note, all of these films are filled with explosions, ambushes and chases in large quantities.

MILITARY, FACILITIES & COSTUMES

A good war movie must have a decent budget. The uniforms of soldiers, weapons, tanks and planes should try to resemble those of the time period. In these films the uniforms sometimes were invented with the colors all wrong. The ground transportation adaptations almost always are of the era in which the films were made. For example Yugoslav tanks, Egyptian or Spanish, are miraculously transformed (with some tape and a little camouflage botched), into glorious "Tiger" German or "Sherman" American tanks. The famous jeep willys of the U.S. or the Soviets became German, Italian, English, French, etc.

One of the most famous details in these films are the use of airplanes. There often are static wooden models, radio controlled or wire-driven models used. In some cases, one even sees the wires that support them! (see the launch of paratroopers in Commandos). The dogfights are always represented with images from documentary footage or by using cockpits constructed with tight shots to recreate battles between swarms of German fighters and Americans.

With regards to the trenches, prison camps or various military installations, all the Italian artisans had fun making dioramas on a small scale for the prison camps (as in western movies), where, thanks to tightly framed cameras, they could become the Stalag 17 or the general command of the Wehrmacht. Another flaw was represented by the partisans who, on paper, should be members of the French resistance, whereas in the reality of the film all appear as men from Calabria and Sardinia or, even worse: criminals from Marseilles! Sometimes it bordered on the grotesque.

The few women who appear in the films seem straight out of the salon with sophisticated hairstyles and makeup! Someone should explain to me how the make up wouldn't run down their faces during the battle of Tobruk or the landing in Normandy!!

The last commentary I have is on the Italian war films set in the jungle during the Philippine-American War which came out in the 1980s. Japanese guys: Italians use a veil, it is much better. I'm just saying that mediterranean men are used to play the Japanese soldiers. I'll leave you to draw the consideration of the value of these films!

THE LOCATIONS

The environments that the filmmakers used in all these films were usually set in occupied France in 1944 and North Africa. In reality, however they are actually in Central Italy, a rural background, some abandoned quarry, the studios of De Paolis in Rome, Almeria in Spain and the Egyptian desert. To tell the truth for these last two options the scenery and photography are well integrated with the historical context of the films, while for the former, the village of the Italian Apennines, or the farms are not. I wonder if some of the designers really had seen a beach in Normandy, a French farmhouse or the Ardennes forests of Belgium. There are also the "handyman" abandoned quarries outside Rome, which were used for the Libyan deserts of Cyrenaica or Tobruk!

POSTERS

The posters for these films were usually well done. In addition to the names of the actors, who are presented as Hollywood superstars, there's artwork depicting great tank battles, bomber attacks and flocks of thousands of troops ready to land to conquer Europe. Unfortunately, with this trick which is typical of these productions, an illusion is given. The viewer is then faced with poor environments, the usual tanks and armored vehicles recycled from different titles and reused uniforms. I'm not an expert in graphic design and painting, but congratulations to the artists who made them.

SOUNDTRACKS

Fortunately, Italy is full of great composers and performers. The music of these films are generally well done and epic and whose melodies mingle with those of the spaghetti western or detective films. They highlight moments of tension, attacks, fights and chases. Then there are the moments that are more introspective and romantic, and the classic bombastic theme before the final credits. I should mention some of the names of the period that the fans certainly recognize from other productions: Stelvio Cipriani, Carlo Rustichelli, Riz Ortolani and Bruno Nicolai. The procurement of these works in my experience is not easy, but if some enthusiast has the time and inclination to search for them, I think something can be found.

TITLES

The period of this genre was brief, but quite prolific. For those who are interested, I recommend the following titles. Read what I wrote, and if you have a clinical eye like myself, you will notice there are many shortcomings:

THE DUSK

While the favorite subject of early Macaroni Combat flicks was the second world war, the still roaring war in Vietnam already cast its long shadow, and - sometimes aided by the lure of the Philippine film market - more and more films appeared that swapped the Ardennes for the fake jungles of South East Asia. With the arrival of the 80s and the spread of video, spurned by the success of movies like Rambo, more and more cheap actioners were produced that were more mercenary or survivalist straight-to-VHS movies than theatrical war movie experiences. The Macaroni Combat genre knows no official boundaries, but by most fans' acknowledgement, it saw its demise with some late 80s efforts and today, the Italian film industry hardly touches the war genre to the extent it used to back in its heyday.

AVAILABILITY ON DVD

Thanks to the advent of e-commerce, the films I mentioned are not hard to find today. They're certainly more easy to find in German, English, French, Spanish and Italian editions with the best prices. Do not expect great extras on the DVDs, at most there are a few photo galleries and biographies of actors and directors. Although the overall quality of images is generally poor, you could not expect more and if you have a good nose for searching you’ll find them without problems.

MY LAST OPINION

The praise made for all kinds of other Italian B-movies from the 60s and 70s also should apply to this cult sub-genre. The Italian filmmakers simply tried to emulate the American classics with only shoestring budgets and lack of actors, technicians and equipment. Unfortunately, the war film is a bit similar to that of science fiction in that it requires big budgets to create weapons, locations, vehicles and uniforms. Without that, you run the risk of falling into the mediocre and ridiculous. However it is our duty to congratulate the Italian directors, the many artisans of cinema that made films under poor conditions but whose work was decent, honest and tried to give the audience what they wanted. In some cases, they succeeded, in most...unfortunately, they did not.

Based on an original text written by Stefano Rossi - 11/24/12

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