L'Assedio dell'Alcazar/The Siege of the Alcazar (Film 1940-ENG SUB)

The Siege of the Alcazar or L'Assedio dell'Alcazar is a 1940 Italian war film directed by Augusto Genina about the famous siege of the Alcázar during the Spanish Civil War, set in Toledo, Spain. Audio in Italian with English subtitles (click on CC for subtitles).

The day the Spanish Civil War breaks out, Colonel Jose Moscardó, a veteran of the war in Africa, arrives in Madrid to prepare for his trip to Berlin with the Spanish delegation that is going to participate in the Olympic Games. Learning of the military uprising, he returns quickly to Toledo. As commander of the fortress at Alcazar, Moscardó has no doubts and at seven o'clock in the morning of July 21,1936, announces which side of the conflict he's on. Aware of the precariousness of the situation he is in, he digs in at Alcázar with 1,800 people, where they resist constant attacks and bombings until the arrival of Nationalist troops on September 27.

One of the first post-Civil War films, The Siege of the Alcázar was filmed in the Roman studios of Cinecittà for the interiors and in Toledo for the exteriors. There were two versions, in Italian and Spanish, both directed by the Italian Augusto Genina. In the Italian version all three non-Italian actors (Mireille Balin, Rafael Calvo and Carlos Muñoz) spoke their lines in Italian. They were dubbed by Italian actors afterwards. The Siege of the Alcazar was one of the most successful films of the period. It won the Mussolini Cup in Venice Film Festival for being the Best Italian Film.

The Italian version was released in Italy in August 1940. The Spanish version of the film, known as "Sin novedad en el Alcázar" was released in Spain in October 1940. After the war, the film was re-released in Italy under the new title 'Alcazar' with significant cuts. All references to the involvement of Italy in the Spanish Civil War as well as the cruelty of the Republicans were excised to avoid any political debate.

Cast & Characters:
Fosco Giachetti : Captain Vela
Mireille Balin : Carmen Herrera
María Denis : Conchita Álvarez
Rafael Calvo Ruiz de Morales : Colonel José Moscardó Ituarte
Carlos Muñoz : Colonel Moscardò's son
Aldo Fiorelli: Francisco
Andrea Checchi: Perro
Carlo Tamberlani: Captain Vincenzo Alba
Sivio Bagolini: Paolo Montez
Checco Rissone: radiotelegrafista