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'
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
Where Am I Going? ( Quo vado? ) (2016)
6.6/10
Director: Gennaro Nunziante
Starring: Eleonora Giovanardi, Checco Zalone
Checco is born on the privileged side of life in an Italian small town, with a guaranteed job as a public servant. When a new reformist government vow... Read more
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
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
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
I, Don Giovanni (2009)
7/10
Director: Carlos Saura
Starring: Emilia Verginelli, Lorenzo Balducci, Tobias Moretti, Lino Guanciale
Venice, 1763. Writer Lorenzo da Ponte is leading the life of a debauched libertine. Under the tutelage of Giacomo Casanova, he devotes himself to the... Read more
La Dolce Vita ( Blu-ray ) (1960)
8.1/10
Director: Federico Fellini
Starring: Alain Cuny, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimee, Marcello Mastroianni, Yvonne Furneaux
'A landmark of cinematic social comment,' wrote one critic about Fellini's journey through a decadent Rome. Banned by the church in many countries, th... Read more
Le Notti Bianche ( White Nights ) (1957)
7.8/10
Director: Luchino Visconti
Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Maria Schell, Jean Marais
Aka 'White Nights'. Marcello Mastroianni, as a lonely city transplant, and Maria Schell, as a sheltered girl haunted by a lover's promise, meet by cha... Read more
The Man Who Will Come (2009)
7.5/10
Director: Georgio Diritti
Starring: Maya Sansa, Alba Rohrwacher, Claudio Casadio
A powerful and engrossing drama based on the World War II tragedy known as the Marzabotto Massacre. This film confirms director and co-writer Giorgio... 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