Operation Gladio (film)

Operation Gladio (film)
Type	film
Publication date	10 June 1992
Author(s)	Allan Francovich
Subjects	Operation Gladio
A groundbreaking documentary which did more than any other to publicise the existence of Operation Gladio - NATO-sponsored False flag terrorism in Western Europe.

The film entitled simply Operation Gladio was produced by Allan Francovich and broadcast on BBC 2 in 1992.

Official narrative

Allan Francovich's use of primary sources has made the film a difficult one to deny. It is remarkable that it was broadcast, in full, on UK television - and a credit to the BBC, on BBC2 on 10th, 17th & 24th June 1992. The official narrative has been to ignore it, as with other such challenging exposes such as Gary Webb's Dark Alliance.

Structure

The film was produced in three parts:

1. The Ring Masters - Origins of Operation Gladio in Italy
2. The Puppeteers -
3. The Foot Soldiers - Belgium (Brabant Massacres), Murder of Aldo Moro

Characters

The film features extensive interviews with Vincenzo Vinciguerra, from his jail cell in Italy, and around 40 other people involved with Operation Gladio. Vinciguerra supports Fedricio Umberto D'Amato's claim that he founded the Club de Berne. After Vinciguerra, the second most frequent speaker in the film was senator Libero Gualtieri, who headed up The Italian Parliamentary Inquiry into Operation Gladio.

Credits

Operation Gladio, an Observer Film Company production for BBC Television, was broadcast in June 1992 when Tiny Rowland's Lonrho owned the company. (Rowland was ejected from Lonrho in October 1993.) OFC became part of Guardian Newspapers Ltd when the Observer was acquired by the Guardian Media Group in June 1993, continuing to operate as the Observer Film Company until it was wound-up in December 1995.

Narrator: John Rowe

Voice of Aldo Moro: Sir Ian McKellen

Consultants: Hugo Gijsels, Peter Tompkins

Research: Philippe Van Meerbeck

Photography: Gerry Pinches, Phil White, Bill Turnley

Sound: Tim Hodge, Don Grissom

Dubbing Mixer: Michael Narduzzo

Production Manager: Sarah Hodgson

Production Assistant: Venita Singh

Film Editor: Paul Edmunds, Lynne Robertson

Associate Producer: Jane Ryder

Series Producer: Kimi Zabihyan

Director: Allan Francovich

Timewatch Series Editor: Roy Davies

Reception

Tam Dalyell wrote that the film was "partially instrumental in bringing down an Italian government by exposing its links with American intelligence and the Americans' gross misbehaviour in assaulting democracy in Italy." Except for The Observer, whose production arm was responsible for the creation of the film, the commercially-controlled media ignored the film.

Other outcome

Tony Gosling stated in 2018 that he thought that investigative journalism in the UK was dramatically cut in the 1990s after the film was broadcasted.

Radio Adaptation

In 2015, the film was adapted for radio in 4 parts by the Unwelcome Guests collective.

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