We the Living

The films We the Living (1942) and Addio Kira! (1942) were produced in 1942 in Italy ("Addio Kira" is part two of the story that begins in "Noi Vivi"). The films were made without the authorization, input, involvement, or, in fact, knowledge, of Ayn Rand author of the underlying work, "We The Living". Because of the war and the fact that Rand was an American, the producers, Scalera Films, made no attempt to secure the underlying literary rights. After the war, Scalera attempted to get the underlying rights from Rand and was refused. Because of this "Noi Vivi" and "Addio Kira" were not and cannot be legally distributed. Many years later, the negatives of the two existing films were purchased by American filmmakers. Rand granted literary rights and authorized a new film version of "We The Living" to be created out the films on the condition that several significant changes were made. Most importantly, she wanted the story to be told in a single film. Because of this, "We The Living", released in 1986, is significantly different from the two unauthorized films. Several subplots of the story have been removed. Running time is now a full hour less than the total of the two films.

Featured in Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life (1996)