As a member of the US Air Force stationed in Naples during the movie I had the opportunity to appear in the film. I think I had 26 appearances in the film, all as a non-speaking extra. I got to know some of the actors, Ken Marshall was a really decent guy, Burt Lancaster (had a photo with him) always took 2 or 3 takes to get it right, Marcello Mastroiani was amazing, he spoke his lines like he was telling a story over dinner, just flawless! Claudia Cardinale was really nice the couple times we talked. It was really an adventure doing the film, there were many hours of just sitting around waiting for something to happen. Months later when the film was released they had two showings at the NATO base. It was a sell out both times and all you could here was everyone (along with me) saying things like: "Hey there I am, That was me, Look look, there I am again"! Someday I would like to see it again so I could hear what it was about. One last thing, the most memorable part of the film for me was when the American tanks (Korean war vintage) went through the town and the Italians all came out and cheered. That scene had to be done twice and then spliced together. Once the director yelled (in Italian) "cut", Bert stood up in his jeep, with his hands on his hips, looked at a now silent cast and proclaimed in his strong voice "In my 35 years of movie making, this is the most f***ed up fiasco I have ever been involved in"! Maybe that made it in the directors cut!

This movie is based on the true memoirs of the main character (Curzio Malaparte) during his time when he acted as diplomatic liaison between the Allied forces and the Italian in the newly occupied Italy. The book is a collection of short stories depicting the collapse of the Italian society under Allied occupation. There is no story line between those short stories. The movie puts them in chronological order, but the reigning chaos and lack of moral message (the message is exactly the lack of morality) can confuse the spectator.This is a very original war movie, in that the main theme is the not the war front. The Allied are not viewed from their own perspective, which is one of true liberators. Instead, the movie shows the Italian people courting the Allies as liberators in order to escape from starvation. The Allies themselves are caught in a trap where they know the Italian hospitality isn't sincere, but are unable to understand why. They don't realize that before them, the Germans were courted as liberators too, and that in this context of food shortage and general poverty, the only way the Italians have to secure their survival is to play that game.Malaparte (played by Marcello Mastroiani) acts then as a translator, helping the Americans as a guide would help a tourist, by explaining in each situation why people are acting in this seemingly dishonorable way.La Pelle (The Skin) would make more sense if compared to Malaparte's twin book on the occupied Europe (Kaputt, or Broken to Pieces). In the latter, he portrays the Nazi way of oppressing through violence. In La Pelle, he shows how the Americans achieve a similar result through economic means, while refusing any responsibility. In Kaputt, Jewish women are made prostitutes by the German Army to escape death by the bullet; in La Pelle, Italian women become prostitutes for the American Army to escape death by starvation.

My father was in this film as the "Veterinarian" and therefore I was able to be on the set for a couple of the scene's being filmed. This was a great experience and being up close to the filming, the director and the cast was really a fantastic opportunity and then to see the film when it was released in an Italian movie theater as a finished product was a real treat.Over the years I have had contact with a few of the American's that were cast for "La Pele" (most of them as extra's). Many of the American's were from the NATO base in Naples, Italy and were friends with or knew my father.This may not have been the greatest war film ever made but the experience that I had was great and will always be remembered.Mike Cohen / [email protected]

I'd like to say that all these comments against this movie are inaccurate. La Pelle is a great movie. Hollywood would never make a movie like this. This movie has nothing to do with `Pearl Harbor'. La Pelle is a work of art, this is not another US war propaganda designed for a public brain wash. This movie is realistic, funny and sad at the same time. The story is very cleaver, intelligent. Perhaps, Americans don't like it because this movie depicts the US army involved in prostitution and in a certain disregard for the Italian people. Anyway, it's the best war movie I've ever watched in my life. There is no lies like in `Rambo', there is no hate like in `Platoon' (in which is good movie too). I recommend , I would say that it's excellent.