The Making of We the Living
We the Living was based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Ayn Rand (The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged).
It draws from actual conditions and events the author observed while growing up in the Soviet Union.
Unauthorized
The film was made in Rome, Italy during World War II. Rand, who had become a U.S. citizen, had not authorized the film, and due to the war, had no knowledge of its production.
Cast in the film were Italian screen legends Alida Valli (The Third Man), Rossano Brazzi (South Pacific), and Fosco Giachetti (Brothers Karamazov). It was directed by Goffredo Allesandrini. The extras were mostly Russians living in exile in Rome.
Suppressed
During the filming, Italy’s Fascist Ministry of Culture made several efforts to force the removal of scenes that they perceived as dangerous and anti-Fascist. But the film editors restored the scenes just before the film’s opening.
Acclaimed
Premiering at the Venice Film Festival in 1942, We the Living was hailed as a cinematic masterpiece. Due to its original running time of almost four hours, it was released in theaters in two parts: Noi Vivi and Addio Kira. It was an immediate box-office sensation, becoming the top-grossing film in Italy in 1942.
Banned
The powerful story captured the hearts of Italians. The lack of freedom and wretched conditions depicted in Russia invited comparisons with conditions pervasive in Italy. The movie came to be seen as a sly indictment of the Fascist Regime and helped to rally support for the resistance movement. A few months after its release, the movie was banned and ordered destroyed by Dictator Benito Mussolini. Defying authorities, the filmmakers had the negatives secretly hidden away.
Rediscovered
Long thought to be lost, the film materials were finally rediscovered decades after the war thanks to an exhaustive search by two of Ayn Rand’s associates, Henry Mark Holzer and Erika Holzer. Rand authorized a new release of the movie and personally planned the editing that combined the original two films into a single film. We the Living finally had its U.S. premiere in 1988 and was distributed around the world.
Restored
We the Living – the 80th Anniversary Restoration is the first-ever full restoration of this film classic.
Producer Duncan Scott devoted two-and-a-half years to removing dust, scratches, and other flaws accumulated in the 80 years since the movie was produced. Once again, audiences are experiencing this beautiful film much as moviegoers saw it at the 1942 Venice Film Festival.