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'
The Embalmer (2002)
7/10
Director: Matteo Garrone
Starring: Elisabetta Rocchetti, Ernesto Mahieux, Valerio Fogila Manzillo
Peppino (Ernesto Mahieux) is a skilled but lonely taxidermist until he crosses paths with Valerio (Valerio Foglia Manzillo), a handsome waiter in sear... Read more
Lo Scopone Scientifico ( The Scientific Cardplayer ) (1972)
Director: Luigi Comencini
Starring: Alberto Sordi, Bette Davis, Joseph Cotten, Silvana Mangano
Every year, a Countess (Bette Davis) invites a poor Italian family to play in a card game with the Countess' money at stake. She always wins. But one... Read more
The Roof ( Il Tetto ) (1956)
7.3/10
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Starring: Gabriella Pallotta, Giorgio Listuzzi
De Sica once again returns to poor, post-war Italy to tell the small and unpretentious story of a young newly-wed couple. Having no money, they first... Read more
To Chiara (2021)
Follows the story of 15-year-old Chiara whose close-knit family falls apart after her father abandons them in Calabria. Read more
The White Sheik (1951)
7.3/10
Director: Federico Fellini
Starring: Alberto Sordi, Brunella Bova, Leopoldo Trieste
Fellini's first film as director chronicles the adventures of a provincial couple honeymooning in Rome and the wife's involvement with a cartoon hero,... Read more
Concrete Romance (2007)
6/10
Director: Marco Martani
Starring: Nicolas Vaporidis, Giorgio Faletti, Carolina Crescentini, Pietro Ragusa
Average guy Diego becomes the target of a dangerous gangster after accidentally damaging the car of gangland kingpin, 'The Chief'. Oblivious to the da... Read more
Tale of Tales (Blu-ray) (2015)
6.4/10
Director: Matteo Garrone
Starring: John C Reilly, Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel, Shirley Henderson, Stacy Martin, Tob...
Salma Hayek eating a serpents heart; Toby Jones cuddling a giant flea. Python meets Pasolini in this horrific, hilarious and very grown up fairy... Read more
Intervista (1987)
7.1/10
Director: Federico Fellini
Starring: Federico Fellini, Sergio Rubini, Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, etc ...
Apparently conceived as a tribute to the Cinecitta Studios in Rome, Fellini's beloved home base throughout his career, this 'mockumentary' is a magica... Read more
Memories of Anne Frank (2009)
5.8/10
Director: Alberto Negrin
Filmed in the Franks' apartment and their secret refuge, Miep Gies vividly recounts her experiences: working for Otto Frank: bringing food to the fugi... Read more
Red Like the Sky (2006)
7.8/10
Director: Cristiano Bortone
Starring: Luca Capriotti
Mirco Mencacci (Luca Capriotti) is a young Tuscan boy who loses his sight in a gun accident. His life shifts direction as law insists that he attend a... Read more