''O Re'' (also known as ''The King of Naples'') is a 1989 Italian

historical film A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction such as ...

written and directed by

Luigi Magni Luigi Magni (21 March 1928 – 27 October 2013) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. Life and career Born in Rome, Italy, Magni started his career as a screenwriter, in 1956, with '' Tempo di villeggiatura''. In 1968 he collabo ...

.Franco Montini, Piero Spila, ''Il mondo di Luigi Magni : avventure, sogni e disincanto''. Rai Eri, 2000. . For his performance

Carlo Croccolo Carlo Croccolo (9 April 1927 – 12 October 2019) was an Italian actor, voice artist, director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Naples, Croccolo began his acting career on the radio and appeared in more than 100 films since 1949. His debut ca ...

won the

David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actor The David di Donatello Award for Best Supporting Actor () is a film award presented by the Accademia del Cinema Italiano (ACI, ''Academy of Italian Cinema'') to recognize the outstanding performance in a supporting role of an actor who has worke ...

. The film also won the

David di Donatello The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David (Donatello, bronze), David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (the Academy of Italian Cin ...

and the

Nastro d'Argento The (plural: ''Nastri d'Argento''; English: Silver Ribbon) is an Italian film award, held since 1946 by the ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani'' (Italian National Union of Film Journalists). Awards are given annually in ...

for best costumes.

Plot

In 1862, Francis II of Bourbon, the last king of the Two Sicilies, lives in exile in Rome (capital city of the Papal States) with his wife Maria Sophie and the butler Rafele. The king has lost his throne after the conquest of his kingdom by the forces of

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

and the Piedmontese Army. Maria Sophie tries to recover the Kingdom of Naples, supporting the uprising of patriots, rebels and outlaws (named "briganti" by the Piedmontese Government), but Francesco is demoralized and has no intention of fighting. The king in fact closes in himself, expressing interest in religion and the supernatural...

Cast

Giancarlo Giannini Giancarlo Giannini (; born 1 August 1942) is an Italian actor and voice actor. He won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' Love and Anarchy'' (1973) and received an Academy Award nomination for '' Seven Beaut ...

as King

Francis II of the Two Sicilies Francis II ( Neapolitan and , ; christened ''Francesco d'Assisi Maria Leopoldo''; 16 January 1836 – 27 December 1894) was King of the Two Sicilies. He was the last King of the Two Sicilies as successive invasions by Giuseppe Garibaldi and Vict ...

Ornella Muti Francesca Romana Rivelli (born 9 March 1955), professionally known as Ornella Muti, is an Italian actress. Among the best-known Italian actresses, in her career, she has worked across various genres, working alongside Italian directors such as ...

as Queen

Maria Sophie of Bavaria Maria Sophie Amalie, Duchess in Bavaria (4 October 1841 – 19 January 1925) was the last Queen of the Two Sicilies as the wife of Francis II of the Two Sicilies. She was one of the ten children of Maximilian Joseph, Duke in Bavaria and Princes ...

as Rafele *

Luc Merenda Luc Charles Olivier Merenda (born 3 September 1943) is a French actor and former model, known as was one of the most prominent leading men of Italian poliziotteschi films during the 1970’s. Early life Merenda was born in Nogent-le-Roi, a sm ...

as Don

José Borjes José Borjes (28 November 18128 December 1861) was a Spanish general who fought on the Carlist side during the Carlist Wars. Later in his life he sided with Francis II of the Two Sicilies and fought against the unification of Italy. Biography ...

Cristina Marsillach Cristina Marsillach (born 30 September 1963) is a Spanish actress. Biography She was born in Madrid in a family of actors, the daughter of the actor Adolfo Marsillach and the actress and model María Teresa del Río Martínez del Cerro, who was ...

as Luciana *

Corrado Pani Corrado Pani (4 March 1936 – 2 March 2005) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Life and career Born in Rome, Pani began his career playing the role of Jesus as a child in a Radio Vaticana radio drama. He made his film debut in 1953, with ...

as General Coviello *

Anna Maria Ackermann Anna Maria Ackermann (24 December 1932 – 15 January 2025) was an Italian actress. Life and career Ackermann debuted with Eduardo De Filippo, for whom she played young actress roles in numerous comedies he wrote and directed. In the 1960s, sh ...

Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position in her own right. She was the sovereig ...

Sergio Solli Sergio Solli (19 November 1944 – 3 February 2023) was an Italian actor and stage director. Life and career Born in Naples, Solli was originally a hairdresser who acted in small amateur dramatics as a hobby, but his career had a turning point ...

Pulcinella Pulcinella (; ) is a classical character that originated in commedia dell'arte of the 17th century and became a stock character in Neapolitan puppetry. Pulcinella's versatility in status and attitude has captivated audiences worldwide and kept ...

Iaia Forte Iaia Forte (born 16 March 1962) is an Italian actress. She is well known for the Maurizio Nichetti's comedy film '' Luna e l'altra'', for which she won a Nastro d'Argento for Best Actress, a Globo d'oro for Best Actress and she was nominated f ...

as la Ferrarese *

Alfredo Vasco Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. Given name Artists and musicians * Aldo Sambrell (1931–2010), Spanish actor also known as Alfredo San ...

Carmine Crocco Carmine Crocco (5 June 1830 – 18 June 1905), known as Donatello or sometimes Donatelli, was an Italian brigand. Initially a soldier for the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Bourbons, he later fought in the service of Giuseppe Garibaldi. Soo ...

Anna Kanakis Anna Kanakis (; 1 February 1962 – 19 November 2023) was an Italian actress, novelist, model and beauty pageant titleholder. Life and career Born in Messina from a Greek father from Crete and a Sicilian mother, in 1977 Kanakis was Miss Italy a ...

as the brigant

References

External links

* 1989 films Commedia all'italiana Films directed by Luigi Magni Films set in the 1860s Films scored by Nicola Piovani 1980s Italian films {{1980s-Italy-film-stub