Italian Cinema
The history of Italian cinema began with a few seconds footage of Pope Leo XIII blessing the camera. Historical dramas were most popular in these early years before sound. During and after WWI, funds were short and nothing much of interest was made until the 1920s. With the rise of fascism the film industry was encouraged and in 1937 Cinecitta was built on the outskirts of Rome. Literally a 'cinema city', it contained everything a film maker could need or want, including theatres, and even a cinematography school. The slogan on posters at the time read "Cinema is The Most Powerful Weapon". Newsreels and propagandistic documentaries were filmed here but by 1939, feature film productions were underway. Visconti ('Ossessione'), Rossellini (Rome, Open City') and De Sica ('Bicycle Thief') all began their careers here. Post-war, two distinct trends emerged in Italian cinema: on the one hand, the neo-realist films of Rossellini and De Sica, made chiefly on location in the streets of Rome and surrounding towns; and on the other, the American megaproductions, filmed almost entirely on sets constructed in the Cinecitta studios. In 1948, 'Quo Vadis?', 'Roman Holiday (1952), 'Three Coins in a Fountain' (1954), 'Farewell to Arms' (1957), 'Ben Hur' (1958) and 'Cleopatra' (1961), to cite only the most famous. Federico Fellini shot most of his films, at least in part at Cinecitta and to this day the studios are used for television and film productions.
Mention must also be made of Pasolini, Bertolucci, Zeffirelli, Antonioni, Sergio Leone - Italy has given cinema some of its greatest individuals and auteurs.
Pictured: The lost kisses from 'Cinema Paradiso'
Miracle In Milan (1951)
7.8/10
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Starring: Francesco Golisano, Paolo Stoppa, Emma Gramatica
Compassionate, neo-realist masterwork from Vittorio De Sica is set in post WWII Italy, where beggars roam the streets. A young orphan is given a magic... Read more
Murders at Bar Lume (2013)
MURDERS AT BAR LUME is a charming new series by the creators of INSPECTOR MONTALBANO. Adapted from the novels by Marco Malvadi, the story takes place... Read more
My Brilliant Friend: Series 2 (2020)
8.6/10
Director: Saverio Costanzo
Based on Elena Ferrante's second book of her four-part series, Season 2 begins with Lila (Gaia Girace) newly--and unhappily--married to upper crust gr... Read more
My Brother is an Only Child (2007)
7.1/10
Director: Daniele Luchetti
Starring: Elio Germano, Riccardo Scamarcio, Angela Finocchiaro, Massimo Popolizio
Growing up in small-town Italy during the '60s and '70s, brothers Accio and Manrico embody and celebrate opposing political stances, but share an impa... Read more
My Mother ( Mia Madre ) (2015)
7/10
Director: Nanni Moretti
Starring: John Turturro, Margherita Buy, Nanni Moretti, Giulia Lazzarini
Italian favourite Nanni Moretti returned to the Cannes Competition this year with his best film since The Sons Room was awarded the Palme dOr in 200... Read more
Nights of Cabiria (1957)
8.1/10
Director: Federico Fellini
Starring: Giulietta Masina, Francois Perier, Franca Marzi
The third of Fellini's trilogy of solitude. 'Nights of Cabiria' features Giulietta Masina as an impoverished prostitute living on the outskirts of Rom... Read more
Nostalgia ( aka Nostalghia ) (1983)
8.2/10
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
Starring: Oleg Yankovsky, Domiziana Giordano
A homesick Russian poet, researching in Italy with the aid of a beautiful interpreter, arrives at a Tuscan spa and is set a challenging task by the lo... Read more
One Hundred Steps (2000)
7.7/10
Director: Marco Tullio Giordana
Starring: Luigi Lo Cascio, Luigi Maria Burruano, Lucia Sardo, Paolo Briguglia, Tony Speran...
Aka "I Cento Passi". An explosive story of betrayal, murder and intrigue, revolving around one Mafia family. The Impastatos live in Cinisi, a small Si... Read more
Open City ( aka Rome, Open City ) (1945)
6.4/10
Director: Roberto Rossellini
Starring: Anna Magnani, Aldo Fabrizi, Marcello Pagliero
Aka "Roma, Citta Aperta". A superb film based on the true story of Don Morosi, a priest and resistance worker shot by the Germans in wartime Rome. Fil... Read more
Ossessione (1942)
7.8/10
Director: Luchino Visconti
Starring: Massimo Girotti, Clara Calamai, Juan Delanda
A.k.a. 'Obsession'. One of the great revelations of the cinema: Luchino Visconti's adaptation of James M. Cain's 'The Postman Always Rings Twice', abo... Read more