Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Battle of El Alamein

Original title: La battaglia di El Alamein
  • 19691969
  • PGPG
  • 1h 36m
IMDb RATING
5.4/10
645
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
58,200
72
The Battle of El Alamein (1969)
ActionDramaHistory
World war two drama about the 1942 North Africa battle at El Alamein between the Allies and the Axis forces.World war two drama about the 1942 North Africa battle at El Alamein between the Allies and the Axis forces.World war two drama about the 1942 North Africa battle at El Alamein between the Allies and the Axis forces.
IMDb RATING
5.4/10
645
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
58,200
72
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Giorgio Ferroni
    • Writers
      • Remigio Del Grosso(screenplay)
      • Ernesto Gastaldi(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Frederick Stafford
      • George Hilton
      • Michael Rennie
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Giorgio Ferroni
    • Writers
      • Remigio Del Grosso(screenplay)
      • Ernesto Gastaldi(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Frederick Stafford
      • George Hilton
      • Michael Rennie
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 16User reviews
    • 4Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos10

    The Battle of El Alamein (1969)
    Frederick Stafford in The Battle of El Alamein (1969)
    The Battle of El Alamein (1969)
    The Battle of El Alamein (1969)
    The Battle of El Alamein (1969)
    The Battle of El Alamein (1969)
    The Battle of El Alamein (1969)
    The Battle of El Alamein (1969)
    The Battle of El Alamein (1969)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Frederick Stafford
    Frederick Stafford
    • Lt. Giorgio Borri
    George Hilton
    George Hilton
    • Lt. Graham
    Michael Rennie
    Michael Rennie
    • Gen. Bernard Law Montgomery
    Marco Guglielmi
    • Capt. Hubert
    Ettore Manni
    Ettore Manni
    • Italian Captain
    Gérard Herter
    Gérard Herter
    • Gen. Schwartz
    Ugo Adinolfi
    Giuseppe Addobbati
    Giuseppe Addobbati
    • Gen. Georg Stumme
    Ira von Fürstenberg
    Ira von Fürstenberg
    • Marta
    • (as Ira Furstenberg)
    Sal Borgese
    Sal Borgese
    • Kapow
    • (as Salvatore Borgese)
    Manlio Busoni
    • Gen. Bastico
    Giuseppe Castellano
    Giuseppe Castellano
    • Truck Driver
    Mario Chiocchio
    Massimo Righi
    Massimo Righi
    • Italian Soldier
    • (as Max Dean)
    Giulio Donnini
    Andrea Fantasia
    • Rommel's Doctor
    Massimo Farinelli
    Tom Felleghy
    • Gen. Ritter von Thoma
    • Director
      • Giorgio Ferroni
    • Writers
      • Remigio Del Grosso(screenplay)
      • Ernesto Gastaldi(screenplay) (story)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Queens of the Field
    5.5
    Queens of the Field
    Tamara
    5.6
    Tamara
    The Room Upstairs
    6.4
    The Room Upstairs
    The Garden of the Finzi-Continis
    7.3
    The Garden of the Finzi-Continis
    El Alamein - The Line of Fire
    7.1
    El Alamein - The Line of Fire
    Mississippi Grind
    6.4
    Mississippi Grind
    The Best Years of Our Lives
    8.1
    The Best Years of Our Lives
    Subterfuge
    5.3
    Subterfuge
    Dirty Heroes
    5.1
    Dirty Heroes
    Assignment Terror
    4.0
    Assignment Terror
    L'été en pente douce
    6.6
    L'été en pente douce
    La battaglia del deserto
    6.0
    La battaglia del deserto

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The opening prologue states: "June 1942. As [Gen. Erwin Rommel] swept toward the Nile, the fall of Egypt and the capture of the Suez Canal seemed inevitable. Italian and German advance units raced toward Alexandria. [Benito Mussolini] had given explicit orders: The Italians must arrive first!"
    • Goofs
      The British were using M113 personnel carriers. The M113 personnel carrier was not introduced until some 20 years after the Battle of El Alamein.
    • Quotes

      Gen. Bernard Law Montgomery: [addressing his staff officers] I'm taking over command of the Eighth Army. I had best tell you immediately what I think; they'll be no more retreating. I want all the plans for pulling back prepared by my predecessor to be burned. I want all non-operative vehicles returned to the rear lines. No one will be moving out of here. We're staying on, dead or alive, until Rommel surrenders. That's all for the moment.

    • Connections
      Edited into The War Devils (1969)

    User reviews16

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Great Italian War Epic
    "The Battle of El Alamein" is to the Italian film industry what "The Longest Day" was to Hollywood – a historically accurate portrayal of a real military action. This Italian-French co-production was filmed with the full cooperation of the Italian Army, and features a star-studded international cast.

    Director Giorgio Ferroni spends some time focusing on the officers running the battle to outline the big picture and lend historical credence to his focus, a fictional story of a front-line Italian infantry company which becomes entangled in the campaign. When his Captain (Ettore Manni, "Heroes in Hell") is killed, Lt. Giorgio Borri (Frederick Stafford, "Eagles over London") is forced to take over command of his company. Borri is an inexperienced young officer with a lust for adventure, even if it means putting his men in harm's way. Stafford is never less than totally convincing, the contempt his men feel for him can be shared by the audience. He's a true jerk who learns the hard way what war is all about. Enrico Maria Salerno is his brother, a veteran Sergeant-Major, who shows up unexpectedly and question's the Lieutenant's decisions every step of the way. Rounding out the platoon are several familiar Italian actors, including Sal Borgese, Ricardo Pizzuti, Massimo Righi and Nello Pazzafini.

    To add credibility to his story, Ferroni also spends a great deal of time focusing on the situations within both the British and German High Commands. Michael Rennie ("The Devil's Brigade") plays Field Marshal Montgomery with gusto and arrogance, just as well and as memorably as Michael Bates would in "Patton" less than two years later. Also on the British side is the humanitarian Lt. Graham Lt. Graham (George Hilton, "The Liberators"), who protests the massacre of innocent German prisoners in one moving, dramatic scene and winds up volunteering for a suicide mission. He also has a face-to-face encounter with Lt. Borri, which breaks down the barrier between opposing sides in wartime. The men on the front lines are just grunts, there to do their job – the officers, even those on your own side, don't care about you and your welfare; you're just another rifleman.

    Finally, Ferroni focuses on the German situation and these may be the finest scenes in the film. Most of the scenes take place in an underground command bunker, a set which has never been so well-captured and looked more realistic. Field Marshal Rommel is played brilliantly by Robert Hossein ("Desert Assault"), who makes Rommel a true skeptic of Hitler with his stern and loud opinions. Rommel was a true soldier, fighting to get the job done, and Hossein's performance is on-target. The supporting German characters are all excellent, too: Gerard Herter ("Battle of the Commandos") is especially good as a dedicated Nazi General; Tom Felleghy ("Kill Rommel!") plays Gen. von Thoma, a skeptic of just about everything, loyal only to Rommel; and Giuseppe Addobbati ("Hell's Brigade") is an incompetent General, who makes a poor tactical error, resulting the destruction of half of the Afrika Korps.

    The action sequences are all the more believable and gripping because of the characters embroiled in them. The film's opening is a sequence depicting the ambush of an Italian artillery company, in which Ferroni makes the most of his camera. This sequence is filled with pans, zooms and quick cutting. Machine-gun fire kicks up puffs of dirt everywhere and several soldiers die. The later battle scenes are shot with the same dedication to detail, and for the third act Ferroni brings in dozens of tanks and lots of big explosions. There is one really bad-looking night scene involving some miniature tanks, but that can be virtually ignored because everything else outweighs it. Despite the epic proportions of the action, the well-established characters give them a deeply personal significance.

    From the start of the film, Ferroni establishes a mood and feel of intensity and hopelessness. None of the characters are clean-shaven; they are all sweltering in the intense desert sun. One scene in which Lt. Borri must trek through the desert alone without water was especially well-acted. This film takes the story of the heroic grunts in the field and makes us feel for them – feel their thirst, feel their joy when supplies arrive, feel their longing for home when one soldier fondles a picture of his newborn son at home. Carlo Rustichelli's mournful score only adds to the proceedings.

    Tie a great cast, epic battle sequences and fine editing and flavor and one has a strong, entertaining war film. This ranks with the classics. Not be missed!
    helpful•23
    7
    • SgtSlaughter
    • Nov 5, 2002

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • 1971 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Italy
      • France
    • Language
      • Italian
    • Also known as
      • The Battle of Elalamein
    • Filming locations
      • Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy
    • Production companies
      • Zenith Cinematografica
      • Les Films Corona
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 36 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    The Battle of El Alamein (1969)
    Top Gap
    By what name was The Battle of El Alamein (1969) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    New & Upcoming Superhero Movies and Series
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    Fall TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    These Stars Are on the Rise
    See the gallery

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Back to top
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more access
    Sign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.