Ambrosio Film was an Italian

film production Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

and distribution company which played a leading role in Italian cinema during the

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

. Established in Turin in 1906 by the pioneering filmmaker

Arturo Ambrosio Arturo Ambrosio (1870–1960) was an Italian film producer who was a pioneering and influential figure in the early years of Italian cinema. Biography Ambrosio was a photographer who owned a shop in Turin. In 1904, after returning from a visit ...

, assisted by

cinematographers The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

Giovanni Vitrotti Giovanni Vitrotti (1874–1966) was an Italian cinematographer and film director who worked prolifically in Italian films from the silent era onwards. He made films in a number of other countries like Germany, Russia and Poland. Selected filmogra ...

and

Roberto Omegna Roberto Omegna (27 May 1876 – 29 November 1948) was an Italian cinematographer and film director. Biography Omegna assisted Arturo Ambrosio is setting up the Turin-based company Ambrosio Film, which became one of the leading Italian studios ...

, the company initially produced large numbers of documentary and fictional

short films A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

, but its output quickly grew more ambitious. In 1908 the company made ''

The Last Days of Pompeii ''The Last Days of Pompeii'' is a novel written by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1834. The novel was inspired by the painting '' The Last Day of Pompeii'' by the Russian painter Karl Briullov, which Bulwer-Lytton had seen in Milan. It culminates i ...

'' (directed by Ambrosio and

Luigi Maggi Luigi Maggi (21 December 1867 – 22 August 1946) was an Italian actor and film director who worked prolifically during the silent era. Working for Ambrosio Film he co-directed the 1908 hit film ''The Last Days of Pompeii ''The Last Days of ...

). The film was a major success, further enhancing the company's status and creating a fashion for Italian historical epics which other studios copied. In the wake of this, Ambrosio oversaw the production of a series of literary adaptations. The company built a large studio and picture house in Turin, and the city emerged as a major centre of the early Italian film industry. In February 1909 Ambrosio took part in the

Paris Film Congress The Paris Film Congress was a major meeting of European film producers and distributors in the French capital Paris from 2–4 February 1909. It intended to create an association to protect the interests of the participants through the formation o ...

, an attempt by leading European producers to form a cartel similar to that operated by the MPPC in the United States. However this plan fell through when Pathe, then the largest film company in the world, withdrew from the group. The same year one of his employees Ernesto Maria Pasquali left to form his own

Pasquali Film Pasquali Film was an Italian film production company of the silent era. Founded in 1909 in Turin by Ernesto Maria Pasquali, it was later merged into the Unione Cinematografica Italiana in 1919, before closing completely in 1924. It enjoyed its gr ...

. The company enjoyed success exporting its films to lucrative foreign markets such as Britain and America (Ambrosio opened an affiliate in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...

). Ambrosio struck co-production deals with Russian and Germany companies. It remained a leading producer during the 1910s, but was hit by the slump that overcame the Italian film industry after the First World War. Arturo Ambrosio sold his share in the studio to a Milan businessmen Armando Zanotto. The company reduced its production programmes, and in 1924 was liquidated.Moliterno p.8

References

Bibliography

* Moliterno, Gino. ''The A to Z of Italian Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2009. Italian companies established in 1906 Italian film studios Film production companies of Italy Film distributors of Italy Mass media companies established in 1906 Mass media in Turin {{IT-film-company-stub