Directed, produced, and co-written by Francesco Rosi,[2] the film is based on Emilio Lussu's memoir Un anno sull'altipiano ("One year on the plateau"), recounting his experiences at the Battle of Asiago.

Unfortunately, the tactical ingenuity of General Leone, the unpopular division commander, consists of supplementing frontal attacks against machine guns with medieval fighting schemes.

Disturbed by his superiors' decisions, the young Lieutenant Sassu is progressively led to question the purpose of war and reconsider where his real duties lie.

It had the honor of being the subject of General [Giovanni] De Lorenzo's speeches, abundantly reproduced on Italian television, which at that time certainly had no qualms about advertising a film in this way.

Rosi doesn’t shy away from launching a series of kinetic assaults on the senses, his close-up framing emphasizing chaos over any distinguishable moving parts.