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'
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
Italian Film Festival 2007 (2006)
Director: Gabriele Salvatores, Nanni Moretti, Sergio Rubini, Roberto Faenza, Carlo Verdone, Kim Rossi Stuart, Antonio Capuano, Cristina Comencini, Sabina Guzzanti, Mario Canale, Annarosa Morri, Michele Placido
Starring: Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Margherita Buy, Valeria Golino, Stefano Accorsi, Giovanna...
Mamma mia! Have your own mini-festival at home with this bumper collection of 11 films and documentaries that featured in the 12th Italian Film Festiv... 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
Our Country (2006)
6.2/10
Director: Francesca Comencini
Starring: Valeria Golino, Luca Zingaretti
Explores the manner in which money dictates the lives of people in Milan at the dawn of the 21st century. Ugo (Luca Zingaretti) is a crooked banker wi... Read more
A Few Days in September (2006)
5.4/10
Director: Santiago Amigorena
Starring: Juliette Binoche, John Turturro, Sara Forestier, Tom Riley, Nick Nolte
An international tale of intrigue with more than a hint of satire has Juliette Binoche as a French agent on the trail of a missing CIA operative with... Read more
The Stone Merchant (2006)
Director: Renzo Martinelli
Starring: Harvey Keitel, Jordi Molla, Jane March, F Murray Abraham
University professor, Alceo, teaches History of Terrorism, and draws from personal experience having lost both legs in the American Embassy bombing in... Read more
Melissa P. (2005)
4.7/10
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Starring: Maria Valverde
Based on the sensational international best-seller, 'One Hundred Strokes of the Brush Before Bed', 'Melissa P.' is a steamy tale of raw emotions and f... Read more
Italian Film Festival 2006 (2005)
Director: Ermanno Olmi, Gianni Amelio, Pupi Avati, Ferzan Ozpetek, Marco Tullio Giordana, Giovanni Veronesi, Angelo Longoni, Roberto Faenza, Franco Maresco, Daniele Cipri, Alessandro D'Alatri, Giuseppe Piccioni, Ambrogio Lo Giudice
Starring: Carlo Verdone, Bud Spencer, Charlotte Rampling, Kim Rossi Stuart, Alessio Boni,...
This extraordinary set contains eleven highlights of the 2006 Italian Film Festival, plus a film from 2004. Films included are: 'The Manual of Love';... Read more
Manual of Love ( Manuale d'amour) (2005)
Director: Giovanni Veronesi
Starring: Carlo Verdone, Luciana Littizzetto, Silvio Muccino
A box-office smash in Italy, this charming, bittersweet comedy is study of the mysterious nature of love. The ups and downs of relationships are chron... Read more
The Tiger and the Snow (2005)
7.1/10
Director: Roberto Benigni
Starring: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Jean Reno, Tom Waits, Emilia Fox, Giuseppe B...
Roberto Benigni directs and stars in this romantic comedy-drama set at the outbreak of the US invasion of Iraq. Benigni is an Italian poet who meets... Read more