The Spider's Stratagem

The Spider's Stratagem
Directed by	Bernardo Bertolucci
Produced by	Giovanni Bertolucci
Written by	Bernardo Bertolucci Marilù Parolini Edoardo De Gregorio Story: Jorge Luis Borges
Starring	Giulio Brogi Alida Valli
Music by	Giuseppe Verdi from Aida and Rigoletto
Cinematography	Vittorio Storaro
Edited by	Roberto Perpignani
Release dates	(August 1970, Italy 5 January 1973 (USA)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	Italy
Language	Italian

The Spider's Stratagem (Italian: Strategia del ragno) (1970) is a political film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.

The screenplay was written by Bertolucci based on "Theme of the Traitor and the Hero" story written by Jorge Luis Borges.

Plot

Athos Magnani, a young researcher, returns to Tara, where his father was killed before his birth, at the request of his mistress, Draifa. The father, also named Athos Magnani (a wartime anti-fascist hero) and looking exactly like the son, was killed by a fascist in 1936—or so says Draifa, the town statue, and everyone in the city. As the son untangles the web of lies this story is constructed from, he finds himself ensnared in the same web.

Cast

• Giulio Brogi: Athos Magnani, father and son
• Alida Valli: Draifa
• Tino Scotti: Costa
• Pippo Campanini: Garibazzi
• Giuseppe Bertolucci: portatore di leone

External links

• The Spider's Stratagem at the Internet Movie Database.