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'
Gorgeously restored and re-mastered in Dolby stereo, this celebrated adaptation of Giorgio Bassani's novel views the life of an aristocratic Jewish fa... 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
Europe, WWII. When an Allied Spitfire plane containing important radar equipment is shot down and crashes over Norway, the desperate German forces set... 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
A decade before 'Caligula', this director crafted a visually stunning look at the decadence and debauchery of ancient Rome. Complete with hermaphrodit... 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
The suave, psychedelic-era thief, Diabolik, can't get enough of life's good - or glittery - things. Not when there are currency shipments to steal fro... Read more
From Italian horror master Mario Bava comes this ultra-stylish tale of a town haunted by the spectre of a homicidal adolescent girl. This fanciful noc... Read more
Director Gillo Pontecorvo brilliantly recreated the street riots and other events that led up to Algeria's independence from France in this astonishin... Read more
In a rambling villa near a small Italian town, a blind widow lives with her four children - Augusto, Sandro, Leone and Giulia. The burden of supportin... Read more