Assisi Underground

The Assissi Underground
Although not filled with hi-tech footages and action packed scenarios, The Assisi Underground is based on a small group of Catholic monasteries and convents in Italy that forms an underground railroad that only rivals Harriet Tubman's Underground Railroad of the 19th Century.

Ben Cross plays a young catholic priest who shows us through his eyes the struggle to keep Italian Jews at bay from the clutches of the Nazi regime that has infiltrated Italy. His ease and care of his charges is charming and thoughtfully played. The young priest finds a godsend through a colonel in the German army who is also a humanitarian, and in seeming unknowing ways helps the priest execute his mission.

Slow at times, this film integrates real WWII film and newspaper clippings to keep time with the events of WWII. Ben Cross's performance speaks multitudes of the anxiety and anticipation of the Third Reich's actions during its occupation of Italy.

History enthusiasts should find it...

When will The Assisi Underground be released on DVD?
"The Assisi Underground" is a 1984 feature that stars Ben Cross as a determined and courageous Catholic priest who risks his own life to rescue thousands of persecuted Jews fleeing the Nazis in WW II Italy. If I'm not mistaken, this is a fact-based story and also stars James Mason and Maximillian Schell. Another movie that also dealt with a Catholic priest aiding Jews and POWs during WW II in Italy was 1983's "The Scarlet and the Black" starring Gregory Peck as a heroic Vatican priest and Christopher Plummer as the ruthless Nazi officer-in-charge.

I watched this on television many years ago and found it a riveting, albeit slow-moving feature. I do wish they would reissue this on DVD so I can add it to my collection of Holocaust-themed dramas.

This movie is a Historical Gem...
This movie, The Assisi Underground, is actually based on the true story of how Jewish refugees were hidden by the Catholic church in Italy during WW2. The writing and the layout on film is excellent, as is the acting. Ben Cross does a great job of playing the young priest in here and the other actors deliver excellent perfomances in it. You MUST watch it to the end to get the rest of this story so don't turn it off when the end music starts playing! This movie is about a very dark period in World History and delivers the light at the end of the tunnel. It is well worth your investment--especially to use in a History class!

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