CONSENSUS #74 - Scipio Africanus

SYNOPSIS: "Scipio Africanus" is an epic that covers the last campaign of the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage. It covers the events leading up to and including the Battle of Zama. The main character is the famous Roman general who won that battle. Hannibal is his foe.

BACK-STORY: “Scipione L’Africano” (“Scipio Africanus”) was a propaganda extravaganza commissioned by Benito Mussolini to fire up Italians for the upcoming conquest of the new Roman Empire. It was produced by his twenty-one year old son Vittorio, but we can assume daddy was very hands-on. It was the most expensive Italian movie up to then as Benito spared no expense. It paid off as the movie won the Mussolini Cup at the Venice Film Festival. That must have been a shocker! Mussolini “convinced” the army to provide a division of extras. But more infamously, numerous elephants were used and some did not survive (the ones with poor agents). The soldiers were soon sent to Ethiopia after production ended. Hopefully the ones who wore wristwatches in their scenes were put in the front lines.

TRIVIA:  Wikipedia, imdb, ihffilm.com

1.  Mussolini “persuaded” the Italian army to donate a division of soldiers as extras.  The division was subsequently sent to participate in the Spanish Civil War.

2.  Up to 50 elephants were used in the production.  Some of the elephants were killed in the shooting.  One of them took a spear in the eye.

3.  It had one of the earliest uses of zoom lenses.

4.  It was the most expensive Italian film up till then.

5.  If you look closely, you can see some of the legionaries wearing wristwatches.

Belle and Blade  =  N/A

Brassey’s              =  4.0

Video Hound       =  N/A

War Movies         =  N/A

Military History  =  #56

Channel 4             =  not on list

Film Site                =  yes

101 War Movies  =  no

OPINION: “Scipio Africanus” is not well known and is hard to find. It’s worth the trouble if you can find it. It is definitely a spectacle. For a silent movie, it holds up well. It is probably seeded properly at #74.  I can assure you it is better than some movies ahead of it. The key strength is the historical accuracy. As a huge Scipio fan, I can attest to the movie getting the highlights of the Battle of Zama correct. I did not expect it to be worthy of the man, but I was wrong.