Search - Tea With Mussolini on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Mild Violence, Brief Nudity, Adult Situations, Adult Language Movie Release: 1999 DVD Release: 11/23/1999 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, French SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 57 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 2 Genres: Comedy Drama, Period Film, Coming-of-Age

Based in part on his autobiography, director Franco Zeffirelli's Tea With Mussolini is a drama with comic accents about a group of British and American travelers on an indefinite visit to Italy in 1935, when, as one character puts it, "Mussolini was just a man who made the trains run on time." Luca (played by Charlie Lucas) is a boy living in Florence whose family situation is precarious at best; his mother has died and his father has little time for him. Fortunately, he's a welcome guest with Mary (Joan Plowright), a English woman visiting Italy to soak up European culture. Mary and her friends -- high-toned Lady Hester (Maggie Smith), pretentious Arabella (Judi Dench), American art collector Elsa (Cher) and cheerful lesbian Georgie (Lily Tomlin) -- enjoy the cultured, creative atmosphere of life in Italy, and their initial response to the rise of fascism is to arrange a polite meeting with Mussolini to make sure he and his soldiers mean well. After some time, Luca's father becomes concerned that the boy is soaking up too much British influence and enrolls him in a boarding school in Austria; by the time 1940 rolls around, situations have changed radically for everyone. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cher - Elsa
Judi Dench - Arabella
Joan Plowright - Mary
Maggie Smith - Hester
Lily Tomlin - Georgie

In this sentimental release from MGM Home Video, a group of proper, well-to-do British ladies is horrified at the possibility of World War II encroaching on their comfortable and secure lifestyles after it appears that Mussolini has broken his promise to ensure their comfort during wartime. Viewable in either the original 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen version (enhanced for widescreen TVs) or standard 1.33:1 full-screen pan-and-scan, and offering a closed-captioned English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack along with an alternate French Dolby Digital Surround track, this release also offers optional English and French subtitles. Extra features include a collectible "making of" booklet and an original theatrical trailer. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide