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'
Michelangelo Antonionis Identification of a Woman is a body- and soul-baring voyage into one mans artistic and erotic consciousness. After his wife... Read more
A wonderful story of the friendship that grows between a young carbiniere and the two abused children he is escorting from Milan to a foster home in P... Read more
Albania, 1990: A former cycling champion is assigned by the government to assemble a team of five young cyclists to represent the country in an amateu... Read more
Aka "The Night of San Lorenzo". During the final days of World War II, a small town in Italy finds its residents divided into two factions - those who... Read more
Six very different women work together in an elegant boutique in Rome in this quintessentially Italian soap opera. Through their daily struggles with... Read more
Jean Sorel stars as an arrogant San Francisco doctor trapped between his sultry mistress (Elsa Martinelli) and an amoral stripper (Marisa Mell) who be... Read more
Pasolini's final and most controversial film has been banned, censored and reviled the world over since it's first release. The film is based on the M... Read more
Soprano Maria Callas stars in this dramatic, non-musical interpretation of Euripides' tragedy. 'Under Pasolini's direction, Callas becomes a fascinati... Read more
Inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's 2009 film in name and genre only, this 'macaroni combat' film is set in WWII Europe as a group of American soldier... Read more
Terence Stamp plays the mysterious Christ or Devil figure who stays briefly with a wealthy Italian family, seducing them one by one. He then goes as q... Read more