(…) Barbarians outside: yesterday as today. Who have centuries of civilization gone by for? Not even appearance has altered the Norman in his barbarism. This great work from the Ambrosio hotbed admirably responds to the requests – at their peak right now – made by Minister Ciuffelli for the cinematographer to dedicate himself to work of a patriotic nature. From this work, there will be healthy suffering for the plebes who know pain from the sad daytime hours, who know only blood, but not because it is spilled. Nor do they know the shame that has lasted for centuries or the damage that is renewed each century with the rising of the monster made even more cunning and ferocious by the ferocious soul of an ancient forefather (…). Mari’s film is not a flawless work. It is a great work that must be looked at as a whole, in the guise it represents to the spectator. And if the spectator is satisfied, the creator and performer have paid their debt. We won’t discuss whether or not Attila had a beard, because if evidence and reason would call for it, reason and tradition allow it to be omitted. In any case, it certainly won’t be one more or one less beard that will influence the result of this work, though it may influence the nature and concept of the character. (…)

Pier da Castello, in La vita cinematografica, 22 febbraio 1918