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'
And The Ship Sails On (1984)
7.7/10
Director: Federico Fellini
Starring: Freddie Jones, Barbara Jefford, Victor Poletti
A uniquely Felliniesque ocean voyage, circa 1914, with a journalist (Freddie Jones) acting as our host and introducing us to a variety of celebrated g... Read more
Angela (2001)
5.8/10
Director: Roberta Torre
Starring: Donatella Finocchiaro, Andrea Di Stephano, Mario Pupella
Angela is married to Saro, and for years shares his Mafia life of drug dealing and easy money. She is his wife, his mistress and his confidante. The l... Read more
Angels of Evil (2010)
Director: Michele Placido
Starring: Moritz Bleibtreu, Paz Vega, Kim Rossi Stuart, Valeria Solarino, Filippo Timi, Fr...
A.k.a. "Angel of Evil". Michele Placido's ("Romanzo Criminale") bio-pic of Renato Vallanzasca plays out like an Italian "Mesrine", charting the rise a... Read more
Arabian Nights (1974)
6.8/10
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
The final part of Pasolini's 'Trilogy of Life' series, following 'The Decameron' and 'The Canterbury Tales', was two years in the making. The location... Read more
Bartali (2006)
7.5/10
Director: Alberto Negrin
Based on a true-story, this made-for-television feature follows the career of Italian cycling star Gino Bartali known as the Iron Man. When his brothe... Read more
Bellissima (1951)
7.9/10
Director: Luchino Visconti
Starring: Anna Magnani, Walter Chiari, Gastone Renzelli
A working class mother blinded by pride hatches unrealistic plans for her daughter's show business career when a famous director comes to town and sta... Read more
Bicycle Thieves ( aka The Bicycle Thief ) (1948)
8.3/10
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Starring: Lianella Carell, Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola
Aka 'The Bicycle Thief.' Vittorio De Sica's remarkable 1948 drama of desperation and survival in Italy's post-war depression earned a special Oscar fo... Read more
Bicycle Thieves ( aka The Bicycle Thief ) ( Blu-ray ) (1948)
8.3/10
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Starring: Enzo Staiola, Lamberto Maggiorani, Lianella Carell
Aka 'The Bicycle Thief.' Vittorio De Sica's remarkable 1948 drama of desperation and survival in Italy's post-war depression earned a special Oscar fo... Read more
Blood Feud (1973)
6/10
Director: Lina Wertmuller
Starring: Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Turi Ferro
A torrid story of love and revenge. Sophia Loren is a Neopolitan whose husband is gunned down and is befriended by Marcello Mastroianni, her Lawyer. T... Read more
Boccaccio 70 (1962)
7.2/10
Director: Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, Vittorio De Sica, Mario Monicelli
Starring: Marisa Solinas, Anita Ekberg, Peppino De Filippo, Romy Schneider, Tomas Milian,...
This loose modern retelling of Boccaccio's Decameron is essentially four short films from four of Italy's finest directors. Fellini, Visconti, Monicel... Read more