Tra i ghiacci e le nevi del Tonale

  • Other title(s): Among the Glaciers and Snow at the Tonale Pass
  • Genre: Documentary film
  • Year: 1918
  • Runtime: 00:31:49
  • Description: War documentary filmed in Val Camonica (Brescia). The film begins with images of supplies being downloaded from a train at the station of Edolo. Bread, tins of beef and cheeses were destined for the survival of soldiers along the border line in the area of the Adamello glacier, which straddled the Tonale pass and continued towards the Stelvio pass. In "white war" zones, that is where snow and ice were always present, soldiers had to live for months at 3000/3500 metres of altitude, often remaining for days without contacts with the Valley. The film follows the itinerary for the supplies, loaded on wagons and transported up the mountain through pathways and mule-tracks, to the first military camp with alpine troops resting temporarily. Life in the encampment is whiled away by the soldiers between card playing, daily activities and the perpetual threat of artillery fire. In order to reach the front line high up in the mountains it is necessary to use a cable-car and a mule-drawn sled, through tunnels dug into the ice. In some cases transport on the glacier was entrusted to dog-drawn sleds; a great use was also made of skis. Once the alpine barracks are reached at 3000 m, the camera shows breathtaking war zone landscapes. In the subsequent images Sozzine and Ponte di Legno, bombed by the Austrians, may be recognised. The soldiers are shouldering artillery parts for arming the operative soldiers high up in the mountains; in order to reach the lookout posts suspended bridges and narrow passage ways must be crossed. Italian artillery bombs the Zigolon (3040 m), the Marocche ridge and Cima Presena (3069 metres). After the Cima Presena battle (May 1918) the Austrians retreat. On the high mountain, soldiers march in single file on stretches of perennial snow and reach the conquered positions, taking possession of abandoned arms as war booty and freeing a carrier pigeon to announce victory to the valley. The Austrian prisoners come down from the Lagoscuro pass, and are sent to the prisoner camp; the alpine soldiers are shown sharing bread with them. The video is a copy from the film print held by the Museum: 35mm, positive, acetate, 541 m., black and white, Italian intertitles, silent. (Card compiled with information provided by Elio Parsani)
  • Keywords: EFG1914 / World War I / EFG; Museo Nazionale del Cinema; National Cinema Museum; Army; First World War; White War; Alpini; Italian front; Documentary; Tonale Pass; Silent Cinema / World War, 1914-1918
  • Provider: Museo Nazionale del Cinema
  • Rights: Public Domain
  • Production company: Sezione Cinematografica del Regio Esercito Italiano [Royal Italian Army Film Department]
  • Colour: Black & White
  • Sound: Without sound
  • Collection: Museo Nazionale del Cinema Film Collection
  • Language: it

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