Plot
As his first assignment, lieutenant Drogo is sent to an isolated fortress on the borders of a desert and of a range of high mountains. The mission of the garrison is to prevent a possible incursion by the fearsome Tartars, coming from beyond the desert. Some fellow officers are eagerly awaiting an attack; some no longer want to believe in it; others take advantage of the vague threat to further their career. All of them are sacrificing everything -- health, youth, friends, family -- for a distant military ideal: leading the defence against the onslaught of the enemy. But in the vast emptiness surrounding the fortress, nobody has ever sighted the Tartars...
Written by
Dino Buzzati, André G. Brunelin, Jean-Louis Bertuccelli
Directed by
Valerio Zurlini
Crew
Production Countries
Italy, France, Germany
Production Companies
Reggane Films, Istituto Luce Cinecittà, Corona Filmproduktion, FIDCI, France 3 Cinéma, Les Films de l'Astrophore, Cinema Due, Fildebroc
Languages
Italiano
Awards
6 wins & 1 nomination