by Hal Erickson
synopsis
Il Brigante di Tacca del Lupo represented another move away from neorealism into sheer commercialism by Italian filmmker Pietro Germi. The story is set in the 1860s, when the Northern and Southern regions of Italy were forcibly assembled into a unified whole. A bandit loyal to the idea of Southern sovereignty wreaks havoc upon the forces of Northern Italy. In depicting the exploits of the bandit and the diligence of his military pursuers, director Germi is careful not to take sides, mirroring the political confusion rampant in Italy at the time of the story. When distributed to the U.S., Il Brigante di Tacca del Lupo was advertised along the lines of a Civil War epic --which, for all intents and purposes, it was.
