Director Carlo Lizzani is probably best known for his seventies genre efforts like his polizia film Bandits In Milan or his excellent Spaghetti Westerns Kill And Pray and The Hills Run Red but possibly the best of his movies to be made available on home video in North America so far is The Last Days Of Mussolini from 1974.

As the title not so subtly implies, the film follows the last four days of the life of Benito Mussolini (played incredibly by Rod Steiger of A Fistful Of Dynamite) in April of 1945. During this time, the Nazi war machine was slowing down and Allied forces were making their way across Europe fairly quickly with their sites set on Italy. As the Italian population realizes this, Mussolini finds that the people are turning on him and, fearing for his life, he decides to take his mistress, Clara Petacci (Lisa Gastoni of Antonio Margheriti's War Of The Planets), and get out of the country to find solace in neutral Switzerland.

If trying to get out of Italy without getting attacked by an angry mob weren't enough, there's the fact that there are U.S. troops (lead by an un-credited Giacomo Rossi-Stuart of The Night Evelyn Came Out Of The Grave) are working alongside a growing number of Italian partisans lead by Colonel Valerio (Franco Nero of Django and The Fifth Cord) are hot on his trail. It doesn't take long before they've caught up to him and once they have, he and Clara find that the day of reckoning has truly arrived.

While the supporting players in this picture, Nero and Fonda in particular, do a great job with the material, this is hands down Steiger's show all the way. The guy doesn't just play Mussolini, he becomes Mussolini (interestingly enough he'd revisit the character a few years later in 1980s The Lion Of The Desert) and his performance here is not only intense but amazingly detailed as well. He really nails a lot of the little quirks and the body language that the man was known for and if you've ever seen any archival or newsreel footage of the real Benito Mussolini you can't help but be impressed with just how well Steiger handles the part. Lisa Gastoni isn't quite as good as he is but she too does a really good job playing the mistress, showing equal parts anger and sadness when it all hits the fan for the two of them and coming across as completely believable in her role pretty for much the entire time she's on screen.

What makes the movie interesting, alongside Steiger's performance, is how the script allows Mussolini to discuss his role in the war with the Partisan's once they've captured him. He makes an interesting case for himself and tries to shield the blame instead casting it all upon the shoulders of the Germans (who of course deserved their fair share). His efforts don't work, obviously as we all know what happened to him in the end, but he does do a pretty good job of stating his case and it's hard not to at least feel something for him It's little moments like this and like the quieter discussions that take place between Clara and Benito that add a very human element to the movie and thankfully director Carlo Lizzani is able to do this without glorifying what Mussolini did or by making excuses for his actions. Some well placed stock footage inserts of actual World War II footage and a very emotive score from the one and only Ennio Morricone really serve to bring out the best of all those who appear on screen in to showcase the complete and utter turmoil that Italy found itself in while all of this was going on.