Li chiamarono... briganti!

Li chiamarono... briganti!
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Pasquale Squitieri
Produced by	Massimo Iacobis
Written by	Giuseppe Carocci
Starring	Enrico Lo Verso Branko Tesanovic Claudia Cardinale Franco Nero Remo Girone Roberta Armani Giorgio Albertazzi Lina Sastri
Music by	Luigi Ceccarelli
Distributed by	Medusa Film
Release date	28 May 1999
Running time	129 minutes
Country	Italy
Language	Italian

Li chiamarono... briganti! (They called them... brigands!) is a 1999 Italian film, directed by Pasquale Squitieri. It tells the story of Carmine Crocco, a 19th-century Italian brigand who gained recognition when he came to the forefront of the brigandage during the Italian unification, by opposing the army of King Victor Emmanuel II. It stars Enrico Lo Verso, Claudia Cardinale, Franco Nero, Remo Girone, Giorgio Albertazzi, among others. The movie was quickly suspended from its cinema run and it is not available on VHS or DVD. Some people think this was for the censorship of the Italian army.

Carmine Crocco (Enrico Lo Verso) is an outlaw native of Rionero in Vulture (Basilicata), who was forced to the bandit's life after killing a man who had harassed his sister. He joined Giuseppe Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand against the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies hoping for a pardon, because the Savoy's government promised to forgive deserters in exchange for military service. But the promise wasn't kept and Crocco was arrested. He also noted that the economic situation was getting worse, with new taxes and growing unemployment.