Film

The War of the Volcanoes

2012 · 52m · Documentary

IMDb

6.2

In 1948, a fan letter arrived for director Roberto Rossellini from Ingrid Bergman, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars; after a meeting in New York, Rossellini invited Bergman to Italy to work on a project. Meanwhile, Anna Magnani, one of Italy’s biggest stars and Rossellini’s longtime lover, was furious. When the Rossellini/Bergman project was announced as a tale set on Stromboli, one of the volcanic Aeolian Islands, Magnani quickly set up her own Aeolian project, financed by Hollywood, to be called Volcano. Italy’s tabloids simply went wild: the prospect of these two great divas battling it out with rival productions was breathlessly followed, especially as it became clear that the Rossellini/Bergman relationship was more than professional. Francesco Patierno has created an engrossing, revealing and highly entertaining chronicle of this cinematic battle royal.

Ingrid Bergman

Self (archive footage)

Roberto Rossellini

Self (archive footage)

Anna Magnani

Self (archive footage)

• Francesco PatiernoDirector
• Francesco PatiernoScreenplay
• Chiara LaudaniScreenplay
• Maria Gabriella GianniceWriter
• Alberto AnileWriter
• Santi PulvirentiOriginal Music Composer

Release date

September 2, 2012

Status

Released

Original language

English

Runtime

52m

Genres

Documentary