It's not a masterpiece.
The camera work is remarkable in its subtlety, except for a few shots that break the mood purposefully, but lacks any real innovation.
Gian Maria Volonte is average and his growth comes in leaps and bounds instead of steadily.
The movie doesn't drag at all, which is a an achievement for any film lasting over three hours, but it lacks any real narrative engagement. It is just, simply put, "pleasant to watch".
The photography is always beautiful, especially a shot towards the end, an extended tracking shot of the bright yellow fields while Mussolini's victory speech is played over the top like light against dark. It is as if Rosi is pointing out that there's no need to fight for new territory when you have pure beauty right on your doorstep.
As far as fascist Italy is concerned, Scola's "Una giornata particolare" delivers as subtle a message , but in a much more penetrating way.
Yet, "Cristo si e' fermato a Eboli" remains a quality movie which deserves an honourable place in the pantheon of Italian cinema's golden age of the 1960's /70's.
PS: The transaction was a no problem one, but if you order this DVD, be patient. In spite of a correct packaging and sufficient franking, it needed no less than TWENTY ONE days to travel between Italy and France. A delivery by bicycle would have been just as fast as the Poste Italiane.