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The cinema of Italy (, ) comprises the films made within Italy or by Italian directors. Since its beginning, Italian cinema has influenced film movements worldwide. Italy is one of the birthplaces of art cinema and the stylistic aspect of film has been the most important factor in the history of Italian film. As of 2018, Italian films have won 14 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film (the most of any country) as well as 12 Palmes d'Or (the second-most of any country), one Academy Award for Best Picture and many Golden Lions and
Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...
s. The history of Italian cinema began a few months after the
Lumière brothers Lumière is French for 'light'. Lumiere, Lumière or Lumieres may refer to: * Lumières, the philosophical movement in the Age of Enlightenment People *Auguste and Louis Lumière, French pioneers in film-making Film and TV * Institut Lumière, ...
began motion picture exhibitions. The first Italian director is considered to be Vittorio Calcina, a collaborator of the Lumière Brothers, who filmed
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
in 1896. The first films date back to 1896 and were made in the main cities of the Italian peninsula. These brief experiments immediately met the curiosity of the popular class, encouraging operators to produce new films until they laid the foundations for the birth of a true film industry. In the early years of the 20th century, silent cinema developed, bringing numerous Italian stars to the forefront until the end of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. In the early 1900s, artistic and
epic films Epic films are a style of filmmaking with large-scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The usage of the term has shifted over time, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply synonymous with big-budget filmmaking. Like epics in ...
such as '' Otello'' (1906), ''
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 in ...
'' (1908), ''
L'Inferno ''L'Inferno'' is a 1911 Italian silent film, loosely adapted from '' Inferno'', the first canticle of Dante Alighieri's ''Divine Comedy''. ''L'Inferno'' took over three years to make, and was the first full-length Italian feature film. Plot Da ...
'' (1911), '' Quo Vadis'' (1913), and ''
Cabiria ''Cabiria'' is a 1914 Italian epic silent film, directed by Giovanni Pastrone and shot in Turin. The film is set in ancient Sicily, Carthage, and Cirta during the period of the Second Punic War (218–202 BC). It follows a melodramatic mai ...
'' (1914), were made as adaptations of books or stage plays. Italian filmmakers were using complex set designs, lavish costumes, and record budgets, to produce pioneering films. The oldest European
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
cinema movement,
Italian futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...
, took place in the late 1910s. After a period of decline in the 1920s, the Italian film industry was revitalized in the 1930s with the arrival of
sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...
. A popular Italian genre during this period, the
Telefoni Bianchi ''Telefoni Bianchi'' (; white telephones) films, also called deco films, were made by Italian film industry in the 1930s and the 1940s in imitation of American comedies of the time in a sharp contrast to the other important style of the era, cal ...
, consisted of comedies with glamorous backgrounds.
Calligrafismo Calligrafismo (, "caligraphism") is an Italian style of filmmaking relating to some films made in Italy in the first half of the 1940s and endowed with an expressive complexity that isolates them from the general context. Calligrafismo is in a sh ...
was instead in a sharp contrast to Telefoni Bianchi-American style comedies and is rather
artistic Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wh ...
, highly formalistic, expressive in complexity and deals mainly with contemporary literary material. While Italy's Fascist government provided financial support for the nation's film industry, notably the construction of the
Cinecittà Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City Studios), is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios we ...
studios (the largest film studio in Europe), it also engaged in censorship, and thus many Italian films produced in the late 1930s were propaganda films. A new era took place at the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
with the birth of the influential
Italian neorealist Italian neorealism ( it, Neorealismo), also known as the Golden Age, is a national film movement characterized by stories set amongst the poor and the working class. They are filmed on location, frequently with non-professional actors. They pri ...
movement, reaching a vast consensus of audiences and critics throughout the post-war period, and which launched the directorial careers of
Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the ...
,
Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...
, and
Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...
. Neorealism declined in the late 1950s in favor of lighter films, such as those of the
Commedia all'italiana Commedia all'italiana (, pl. Commedie all'italiana, "Comedy in the Italian way") or Italian-style comedy is an Italian film genre born in Italy in the 1950s and developed in the 1960s and 1970s. It is widely considered to have started with Mar ...
genre and important directors like Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni. Actresses such as Sophia Loren, Giulietta Masina and
Gina Lollobrigida Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (born 4 July 1927) is an Italian actress, photojournalist, and politician. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. As o ...
achieved international stardom during this period. From the mid-1950s to the end of the 1970s,
Commedia all'italiana Commedia all'italiana (, pl. Commedie all'italiana, "Comedy in the Italian way") or Italian-style comedy is an Italian film genre born in Italy in the 1950s and developed in the 1960s and 1970s. It is widely considered to have started with Mar ...
and many other genres arose due to auteur cinema, and Italian cinema reached a position of great prestige both nationally and abroad. The Spaghetti Western achieved popularity in the mid-1960s, peaking with Sergio Leone's
Dollars Trilogy ''Dollars Trilogy'' ( it, link=no, Trilogia del dollaro), also known as the ''Man with No Name Trilogy'' ( it, link=no, Trilogia dell'Uomo senza nome) or the ''Blood Money Trilogy'', is an Italian film series consisting of three Spaghetti Weste ...
, which featured enigmatic scores by composer Ennio Morricone, which have become popular culture icons of the
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
genre. Erotic Italian thrillers, or
giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...
s, produced by directors such as
Mario Bava Mario Bava (31 July 1914 – 27 April 1980) was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, cinematographer, special effects artist and screenwriter, frequently referred to as the "Master of Italian Horror" and the "Master of the M ...
and Dario Argento in the 1970s, influenced the horror genre worldwide. Since the 1980s, due to multiple factors, Italian production has gone through a crisis that has not prevented the production of quality films in the 1990s and into the new millennium, thanks to a revival of Italian cinema, awarded and appreciated all over the world. During the 1980s and 1990s, directors such as Ermanno Olmi,
Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...
, Giuseppe Tornatore,
Gabriele Salvatores Gabriele Salvatores (born 30 July 1950) is an Italian Academy Award-winning film director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Naples, Salvatores debuted as a theatre director in 1972, founding in Milan the Teatro dell'Elfo, for which he directe ...
and
Roberto Benigni Roberto Remigio Benigni (; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film ''Life Is Beautiful'' (1997), f ...
brought critical acclaim back to Italian cinema, while the most popular directors of the 2000s and 2010s were
Matteo Garrone Matteo Garrone (born 15 October 1968) is an Italian filmmaker. Born in Rome, the son of a theatre critic, Nico Garrone and a photographer, in 1996 Garrone won the ''Sacher d'Oro'', an award sponsored by Nanni Moretti, with the short film ''Silho ...
,
Paolo Sorrentino Paolo Sorrentino (; born 31 May 1970) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and writer. His 2013 film ''The Great Beauty'' won the Academy Awards, Academy Award, the Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe, and the British Academy of Film and Te ...
,
Marco Bellocchio Marco Bellocchio (; born 9 November 1939) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Life and career Born in Bobbio, near Piacenza, Marco Bellocchio had a strict Catholic upbringing – his father was a lawyer, his mother a schoolt ...
,
Nanni Moretti Giovanni "Nanni" Moretti (; born 19 August 1953) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His films have won accolades including a Palme d'Or at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival for ''The Son's Room'', a Silver Bear at the ...
and
Marco Tullio Giordana Marco Tullio Giordana (born 1 October 1950) is an Italian Film director, director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Milan, during the 1970s he approaches the cinema by collaborating on the screenplay of Roberto Faenza's 1977 documentary ''F ...
. The country is also famed for its prestigious
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
, the oldest film festival in the world, held annually since 1932 and awarding the Golden Lion; and for the David di Donatello. In
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
the Venice Days ("Giornate degli Autori"), a section held in parallel to the Venice Film Festival, has produced in collaboration with Cinecittà studios and the Ministry of Cultural Heritage a list of 100 films that have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978: the "
100 Italian films to be saved The list of the ''100 Italian films to be saved'' ( it, 100 film italiani da salvare) was created with the aim to report "100 films that have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978". History The project was established ...
".


History


1890s

The history of Italian cinema began a few months after the French
Lumière brothers Lumière is French for 'light'. Lumiere, Lumière or Lumieres may refer to: * Lumières, the philosophical movement in the Age of Enlightenment People *Auguste and Louis Lumière, French pioneers in film-making Film and TV * Institut Lumière, ...
, who made the first
public screening A public screening is the showing of moving pictures to an audience in a public place. The event screened may be live or recorded, free or payment, paid, and may use film, video, or a broadcast method such as satellite television, satellite or clos ...
of a film on 28 December 1895, an event considered the birth of cinema, began motion picture exhibitions. The first Italian director is considered to be Vittorio Calcina, a collaborator of the Lumière Brothers, who filmed
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
on 26 February 1896 in the short film ''Sua Santità papa Leone XIII'' ("His Holiness Pope Leo XIII"). He then became the official photographer of the House of Savoy, the Italian ruling dynasty from 1861 to 1946. In this role he filmed the first Italian film, ''Sua Maestà il Re Umberto e Sua Maestà la Regina Margherita a passeggio per il parco a Monza'' ("His Majesty the King Umberto and His Majesty the Queen Margherita strolling through the
Monza Park Monza Park (Parco di Monza) is a large walled park in Monza, Lombardy, northern Italy. Extending over an area of , it is the largest walled park in Europe, and the fourth largest enclosed one after la Mandria of Venaria Reale (Italy), Richmond Pa ...
"), believed to have been lost until it was rediscovered by the
Cineteca Nazionale Cineteca Nazionale is a film archive located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1949. By law it manages the so-called legal deposit, with the task of collecting, preserving and disseminating the productions of Italian cinema. It is the only Italian ...
in 1979. The Lumière brothers commenced public screenings in Italy in 1896 starting in March, in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
and
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
; in April in
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, Salerno and Bari; in June in Livorno; in August in Bergamo,
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
and
Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...
; in October in
Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...
; and in December in
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
,
Pescara Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...
and Reggio Calabria. Not long before, in 1895,
Filoteo Alberini Filoteo Alberini (14 March 1865 – 12 April 1937) was an Italian inventor, movie director, and one of the earliest pioneers of cinema. Biography Born in Orte, he began working as a handyman in his native town and, after completing the compulsor ...
patented his "
kinetograph The Kinetoscope is an early motion picture exhibition device, designed for films to be viewed by one person at a time through a peephole viewer window. The Kinetoscope was not a movie projector, but it introduced the basic approach that woul ...
", a shooting and projecting device not unlike that of the Lumières brothers. Italian Lumière trainees produced short films documenting everyday life and comic strips in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Before long, other pioneers made their way. Italo Pacchioni,
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 ...
, Giovanni Vitrotti and Roberto Omegna were also active. The success of the short films were immediate. The cinema fascinated with its ability to show distant geographic realities with unprecedented precision and, vice versa, to immortalize everyday moments. Sporting events, local events, intense road traffic, the arrival of a train, visits by famous people, but also natural disasters and calamities are filmed. Titles of the time include, ''Arrivo del treno alla Stazione di Milano'' ("Arrival of the train at Milan station") (1896), ''La battaglia di neve'' ("The snow battle") (1896), ''la gabbia dei matti'' ("The madmen's cage") (1896), ''Ballo in famiglia'' ("Family dance") (1896), ''Il finto storpio al Castello Sforzesco'' ("The fake cripple at the Castello Sforzesco") (1896) and ''La Fiera di Porta Genova'' ("The fair of Porta Genova") (1898), all shot by Italo Pacchioni, who was also the inventor of a
camera A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with a ...
and
projector A projector or image projector is an optical device that projects an image (or moving images) onto a surface, commonly a projection screen. Most projectors create an image by shining a light through a small transparent lens, but some newer types ...
, inspired by the cinematograph of Lumière brothers, kept at the
Cineteca Italiana Cineteca Italiana is a private film archive located in Milan, Italy, established in 1947, and as a foundation in 1996. History Established in 1947, and as a foundation in 1996, the Cineteca Italiana houses over 20,000 films and more than 100,000 ...
in Milan. If the interest of the masses were enthusiastic, the technological novelty would likely be snubbed, at least at the beginning, by intellectuals and the press. Despite initial doubt, in just two years, cinema climbs the hierarchy of society, intriguing the wealthier classes. On 28 January 1897, prince Victor Emmanuel and princess
Elena of Montenegro Elena of Montenegro (; 8 January 1873 – 28 November 1952) was a Montenegrin princess as the daughter of King Nicholas I of Montenegro and his wife, Queen Milena. She was Queen of Italy from 1900 until 1946 as wife of King Victor Emmanuel ...
attended a screening organized by Vittorio Calcina, in a room of the
Pitti Palace The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...
in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
. Interested in experimenting with the new medium, they were filmed in ''S.A.R. il Principe di Napoli e la Principessa Elena visitano il battistero di S. Giovanni a Firenze '' ("Their real heights the Prince of Naples and Princess Elena visit the baptistery of Saint John in Florence") and on the day of their wedding in ''Dimostrazione popolare alle LL. AA. i Principi sposi (al Pantheon – Roma)'' ("Popular demonstration at the their heights the princes spouses (at the
Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...
– Rome)").


1900s

In the early years of the 20th century, the phenomenon of itinerant cinemas developed throughout Italy, providing literacy of the visual medium. This innovative form of spectacle ran out, in a short time, a number of optical attractions such as magic lanterns, cineographers, stereoscopes, panoramas and dioramas that had fueled the European imagination and favored the circulation of a common market for images. The nascent Italian cinema, therefore, is still linked to the traditional shows of the '' commedia dell'arte'' or to those typical of circus folklore. Public screenings take place in the streets, in cafes or in variety theaters in the presence of a swindler who has the task of promoting and enriching the story. Between 1903 and 1909 the itinerant cinema Italian film was quieting, until then considered as a freak phenomenon, took on consistency assuming the characteristics of an authentic industry, led by three major organizations: Cines, based in Rome; and the Turin-based companies
Ambrosio Film Ambrosio Film was an Italian film production and distribution company which played a leading role in Italian cinema during the silent era. Established in Turin in 1906 by the pioneering filmmaker Arturo Ambrosio, assisted by cinematographers Gi ...
and
Itala Film Itala Film was an Italian film production company. Silent era It was founded during the silent era. In 1905, industrialists Carlo Rossi and William Remmert established a company in Turin, recruiting filmmakers from Pathé. Two years later, they ...
. Other companies soon followed in Milan and Naples, and these early companies quickly attained a respectable production quality and were able to market their products both within Italy and abroad. Early Italian films typically consisted of adaptations of books or stage plays, such as
Mario Caserini Mario Caserini (26 February 1874 – 17 November 1920) was an Italian film director, as well as an actor, screenwriter, and early pioneer of film making in the early portion of the 20th century. Caserini was born in Rome, Italy, and was marri ...
's '' Otello'' (1906) and
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 ...
's 1908 adaptation of the novel, ''
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 in ...
''. Also popular during this period were films about historical figures, such as Caserini's ''Beatrice Cenci'' (1909) and Ugo Falena's ''Lucrezia Borgia'' (1910). In 1905, Cines inaugurated the genre of the
historical film A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swa ...
, which in this decade gave great fortune to many Italian filmmakers. One of the first of these films was ''
La presa di Roma ''La presa di Roma'', also known as ''La breccia di Porta Pia'' or ''Bandiera bianca'', and distributed in English-speaking countries under the title ''The Capture of Roma'' is a 1905 Italian short black-and-white silent film directed by Filote ...
'' (1905), lasting 10 minutes, and made by
Filoteo Alberini Filoteo Alberini (14 March 1865 – 12 April 1937) was an Italian inventor, movie director, and one of the earliest pioneers of cinema. Biography Born in Orte, he began working as a handyman in his native town and, after completing the compulsor ...
. The operator employs for the first time actors of theatrical origin, exploiting the historical argument in a popular and pedagogical key. The film, assimilating Manzoni's lesson of making historical fiction plausible, reconstructs the Capture of Rome on 20 September 1870. The discovery of the spectacular potential of the cinematographic medium favored the development of a cinema with great ambitions, capable of incorporating all the cultural and historical suggestions of the country. Education is an inexhaustible source of ideas, ideas that are easily assimilated not only by a cultured public but also by the masses. Dozens of characters from texts make their appearance on the big screen such as the Count of Monte Cristo, Giordano Bruno,
Judith beheading Holofernes The account of the beheading of Holofernes by Judith is given in the deuterocanonical ''Book of Judith'', and is the subject of many paintings and sculptures from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. In the story, Judith, a beautiful widow, is ab ...
, Francesca da Rimini, Lorenzino de' Medici,
Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had co ...
, Count Ugolino and others. From an iconographic point of view, the main references are the great Renaissance and neoclassical artists, as well as symbolists and popular illustrations.


1910s

In the 1910s, the Italian film industry developed rapidly. In 1912, the year of the greatest expansion, 569 films were produced in Turin, 420 in Rome and 120 in Milan. Popular early Italian actors included
Emilio Ghione Emilio Luigi Carlo Giuseppe Maria Ghione (30 July 1879 – 7 January 1930), known as Emilio Ghione, was an Italian silent film actor, director and screenwriter. Ghione was best known for writing, directing, and starring in the Za La Mort series ...
,
Alberto Collo Alberto Collo (6 May 1883 – 7 May 1955) was an Italian actor who appeared in more than a hundred and thirty films during his career, mostly during the silent era. During the 1910s he starred in several films directed by Baldassarre Negroni.Molit ...
,
Bartolomeo Pagano Bartolomeo Pagano (27 September 1878 – 24 June 1947) was an Italian motion picture actor. Before his cinema career, Pagano was a stevedore who worked at the port of Genoa. There, he was discovered and selected to play the role of Maciste, a m ...
, Amleto Novelli,
Lyda Borelli Lyda Cini, Countess of Monselice (née Borelli, 22 March 1884 – 2 June 1959) was an Italian actress of cinema and theatre. Her career in theatre started when she was a child, acting on stage with Paola Pezzaglia in the French drama ''I d ...
,
Ida Carloni Talli Ida Carloni Talli (31 January 1860 – 23 April 1940) was an Italian film actress of the silent era. She appeared in 92 films between 1912 and 1924. She was born Rome and died in Milan. She made her debut as a stage actress in 1887.Ida Carlo ...
, Lidia Quaranta and
Maria Jacobini Maria Jacobini (17 February 1892 – 20 November 1944) was an Italian film actress. She was married to the film director Gennaro Righelli and appeared in many of his silent films for the Vesuvio Film Company.Moliterno p.266 She worked in the Ge ...
. Nino Martoglio's ''Lost in Darkness'', produced in 1914, documented life in the slums of
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, and is considered a precursor to the Neorealist movement of the 1940s and 1950s. In the three years leading up to
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, as production consolidates, mythological, comedy and drama films are exported all over the world. In the meantime, in the actor's field, the phenomenon of stardom was born which for a few years will experience unstoppable success. With the end of the decade,
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
definitively established itself as the main production center; this will remain, despite the crises that will periodically shake the industry, right up to the present day.


Historical blockbusters (1910s)

The
archetype The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that ...
s of this film genre was ''
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 in ...
'' (1908), by
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 ...
and Luigi Maggi and ''
Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...
'' (1909), by Maggi himself and
Arrigo Frusta Arrigo is an Italian given name. Derived from the latin form Arrigus, already used in Tuscany in the XI century, it was widely diffused during the Middle ages. Given name * Arrigo Barnabé (born 1951), Brazilian actor * Arrigo Boito (1842–19 ...
. This last film was inspired by the work of
Pietro Cossa Pietro Cossa (25 January 1830 – 30 August 1881) was an Italian dramatist. Life Cossa was born at Rome, and claimed descent from the family of Antipope John XXIII. He manifested an independent spirit from his youth, and was expelled from a Jes ...
who is iconographically based on the etchings of Bartolomeo Pinelli, neoclassicism and the show ''Nero, or the Destruction of Rome'' represented by the Barnum circus. Followed by ''Marin Faliero, Doge of Venice'' (1909), by Giuseppe De Liguoro, ''Otello'' (1909) by
Yambo Yambo may refer to: * Yambo Ouologuem (1940–2017), Malian writer * Yambo (writer), Italian writer born Enrico Novelli * Yambo, Burkina Faso * Yanbu' al Bahr, a Saudi Red Sea port *Yambo Records, a recording label *Yambo, a trivia game played by ...
and '' L'Odissea'' (1911), by Bertolini, Padovan and De Liguoro. ''
L'Inferno ''L'Inferno'' is a 1911 Italian silent film, loosely adapted from '' Inferno'', the first canticle of Dante Alighieri's ''Divine Comedy''. ''L'Inferno'' took over three years to make, and was the first full-length Italian feature film. Plot Da ...
'', produced by Milano Films in 1911, even before being an adaptation of Dante's canticle, was a cinematic translation of
Gustave Doré Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré ( , , ; 6 January 1832 – 23 January 1883) was a French artist, as a printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engravin ...
's engravings that experiments with the integration of optical effects and stage action, and it was the first Italian feature film ever 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 in ...
'' (1913), by
Eleuterio Rodolfi Eleuterio Rodolfi (1876–1933) was an Italian actor, screenwriter and film director. He was a leading figure in Italian cinema during the silent era, directing over a hundred films including '' The Last Days of Pompeii'' (1913).Everett p.19 Sel ...
, used innovative special effects. Enrico Guazzone's 1913 film '' Quo Vadis'' was one of the first blockbusters in the
history of cinema The history of film chronicles the development of a visual art form created using film technologies that began in the late 19th century. The advent of film as an artistic medium is not clearly defined. However, the commercial, public scree ...
, using thousands of extras and a lavish set design. The international success of the film marked the maturation of the genre and allows Guazzoni to make increasingly spectacular films such as '' Antony and Cleopatra'' (1913) and ''
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...
'' (1914).
Giovanni Pastrone Giovanni Pastrone, also known by his artistic name Piero Fosco (13 September 1883 – 27 June 1959), was an Italian film pioneer, director, screenwriter, actor and technician. Pastrone was born in Montechiaro d'Asti. He worked during the era of ...
's 1914 film ''
Cabiria ''Cabiria'' is a 1914 Italian epic silent film, directed by Giovanni Pastrone and shot in Turin. The film is set in ancient Sicily, Carthage, and Cirta during the period of the Second Punic War (218–202 BC). It follows a melodramatic mai ...
'' was an even larger production, requiring two years and a record budget to produce, it was the first epic film ever made and it is considered the most famous Italian
silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, 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) ...
. It was also the first film in history to be shown in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
. After Guazzoni came
Emilio Ghione Emilio Luigi Carlo Giuseppe Maria Ghione (30 July 1879 – 7 January 1930), known as Emilio Ghione, was an Italian silent film actor, director and screenwriter. Ghione was best known for writing, directing, and starring in the Za La Mort series ...
, Febo Mari,
Carmine Gallone Carmine Gallone (10 September 1885 – 11 March 1973) was an early Italian film director, screenwriter, and film producer, who was also controversial for his works of pro-Fascist propaganda and historical revisionism. Considered one of Itali ...
, Giulio Antamoro and many others who contributed to the expansion of the genre. After the great success of ''Cabiria'', with the changing tastes of the public and the first signs of the industrial crisis, the genre began to show signs of crisis. Pastrone's plan to adapt the ''Bible'' with thousands of extras remained unfulfilled. Antamoro's ''Christus'' (1916) and Guazzoni's '' The Crusaders'' (1918) remained notable for their iconographic complexity but offered no substantial novelties. Despite sporadic attempts to reconnect with the ''grandeur'' of the past, the trend of historical blockbusters was interrupted at the beginning of the 1920s.


Proto-giallo (1910s)

In the first and second decade of the 20th century, came a prolific film production aimed at investigative and mystery contents, supported by a well-assorted Italian and foreign literature that favors its transposition into film. What would later take on the synthesis of the ''
giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...
'', in fact, was produced and distributed at the dawn of Italian cinema. The most prolific production houses in the 1910s were Cines,
Ambrosio Film Ambrosio Film was an Italian film production and distribution company which played a leading role in Italian cinema during the silent era. Established in Turin in 1906 by the pioneering filmmaker Arturo Ambrosio, assisted by cinematographers Gi ...
,
Itala Film Itala Film was an Italian film production company. Silent era It was founded during the silent era. In 1905, industrialists Carlo Rossi and William Remmert established a company in Turin, recruiting filmmakers from Pathé. Two years later, they ...
, Aquila Films, Milano Films and many others, while titles such as ''Il delitto del magistrato'' (1907), ''Il cadavere misterioso'' (1908), ''Il piccolo Sherlock Holmes'' (1909), ''L'abisso'' (1910) and ''Alibi atroce'' (1910), breached the imagination of the first cinema users who demanded a greater offer. The popular consensus is remarkable to the point of encouraging the film industry to invest further production resources, since these films are also distributed on the French and Anglo-Saxon markets. Thus directors among the most prolific in this field such as Oreste Mentasti, Luigi Maggi,
Arrigo Frusta Arrigo is an Italian given name. Derived from the latin form Arrigus, already used in Tuscany in the XI century, it was widely diffused during the Middle ages. Given name * Arrigo Barnabé (born 1951), Brazilian actor * Arrigo Boito (1842–19 ...
and Ubaldo Maria Del Colle, together with many others less known, direct several dozen films where classic narrative elements of the silent proto-giallo (mystery, crime, investigation investigative and final twist) constitute the structural aspects of cinematic representation.
Elvira Notari Elvira Notari (born Elvira Coda; 10 February 1875 – 17 December 1946) was an Italian film director, one of the country's earliest and most prolific female filmmaker. She is credited as the first woman who made over sixty feature films and about ...
, the first female director ever in Italy and one of the premieres in the history of world cinema, directs ''Carmela, la sartina di Montesanto'' (1916), while in Palermo, Lucarelli Film produced ''La cassaforte n. 8'' (1914) and ''Ipnotismo'' (1914), the Azzurri Film ''La regina della notte'' (1915) and the Lumen Film ''Il romanzo fantastico del Dr. Mercanton o il giustiziere invisibile'' (1915) and ''Profumo mortale'' (1915), all films ascribable to the proto-giallo that multiplied in the following decades, becoming preparatory to the subsequent birth of the ''
giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...
''.


Stardom (1910s)

Between 1913 and 1920 there was the rise, development and decline of the phenomenon of cinematographic stardom, born with the release of '' Ma l'amor mio non-muore'' (1913), by
Mario Caserini Mario Caserini (26 February 1874 – 17 November 1920) was an Italian film director, as well as an actor, screenwriter, and early pioneer of film making in the early portion of the 20th century. Caserini was born in Rome, Italy, and was marri ...
. The film had great success with the public and encoded the setting and aesthetics of female stardom. Within just a few years, Eleonora Duse, Pina Menichelli, Rina De Liguoro, Leda Gys, Hesperia, Vittoria Lepanto,
Mary Cleo Tarlarini Mary Cleo Tarlarini (1878–1954) was an Italian stage and film actress.Wilcox p.369 Selected filmography * '' Jacobo Ortis'' (1916) * '' The Ship'' (1921) * '' The Redemption'' (1924) * '' La donna perduta'' (1940) References Bibliography * ...
and Italia Almirante Manzini established themselves. Films such as '' Fior di male'' (1914), by
Carmine Gallone Carmine Gallone (10 September 1885 – 11 March 1973) was an early Italian film director, screenwriter, and film producer, who was also controversial for his works of pro-Fascist propaganda and historical revisionism. Considered one of Itali ...
, '' Il fuoco'' (1915), by
Giovanni Pastrone Giovanni Pastrone, also known by his artistic name Piero Fosco (13 September 1883 – 27 June 1959), was an Italian film pioneer, director, screenwriter, actor and technician. Pastrone was born in Montechiaro d'Asti. He worked during the era of ...
, ''
Rapsodia satanica ''Rapsodia Satanica'' is a 1915 Italian silent film directed by Nino Oxilia featuring Lyda Borelli in a female version of Faust based on poems by . Pietro Mascagni wrote his only film music for the film and conducted the first performance in Ju ...
'' (1917), by
Nino Oxilia Nino Oxilia (13 November 1889 – 18 November 1917) was an Italian playwright, screenwriter and film director.Moliterno p. 258 His 1911 play '' Goodbye Youth'' was turned into several films. He also wrote the first lyrics for the song "Giovinezz ...
and ''
Cenere ''Cenere'' is a 1916 silent film directed by and starring Febo Mari. It is adapted from the 1904 novel by the Nobel Prize-winning Sardinian writer Grazia Deledda. It is notable as the only film performance by the Italian theater star Eleonora Duse ...
'' (1917), by Febo Mari, changed the national costume, imposing canons of beauty, role models and objects of desire. These models, strongly stylized according to the cultural and artistic trends of the time, moved away from naturalism in favor of melodramatic acting, pictorial gesture and theatrical pose; all favored by the incessant use of close-up which focuses the attention on the expressiveness of the actress.


Comic short films (1910s)

The most successful comedian in Italy was André Deed, better known in Italy as ''Cretinetti'', star of comic short film for
Itala Film Itala Film was an Italian film production company. Silent era It was founded during the silent era. In 1905, industrialists Carlo Rossi and William Remmert established a company in Turin, recruiting filmmakers from Pathé. Two years later, they ...
. Its success paved the way for Marcel Fabre (''Robinet''), Ernesto Vaser (''Fricot'') and many others. The only actor of a certain substance, however, was Ferdinand Guillaume, who became famous with the stage name of ''Polidor''. The historical interest of these films lay in their ability to reveal the aspirations and fears of a petty-bourgeois society torn between the desire for affirmation and the uncertainties of the present. It was significant that the protagonists of Italian comedians never place themselves in open contrast with society or embody the desire for social revenge (as happens for example with Charlie Chaplin), but rather tried to integrate into a strongly desired world.


Futurist cinema (1910s)

Italian futurist cinema was the oldest movement of European
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
cinema. Italian futurism, an
artistic Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wh ...
and social movement, impacted the Italian film industry from 1916 to 1919. It influenced Russian Futurist cinema and German Expressionist cinema. Its cultural importance was considerable and influenced all subsequent avant-gardes, as well as some authors of narrative cinema; its echo expands to the dreamlike visions of some films by Alfred Hitchcock. Futurism emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the car, the airplane, and the industrial city. Its key figures were the Italians
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti (; 22 December 1876 – 2 December 1944) was an Italian poet, editor, art theorist, and founder of the Futurist movement. He was associated with the utopian and Symbolist artistic and literary community Abbaye d ...
, Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carrà,
Fortunato Depero Fortunato Depero (30 March 1892 – 29 November 1960) was an Italian Futurism (art), futurist painter, writer, sculptor, and graphic designer. Biography Although born in Fondo or in the neighboring village of Malosco, according to other sou ...
,
Gino Severini Gino Severini (7 April 1883 – 26 February 1966) was an Italian painter and a leading member of the Futurist movement. For much of his life he divided his time between Paris and Rome. He was associated with neo-classicism and the "return to orde ...
,
Giacomo Balla Giacomo Balla (18 July 1871 – 1 March 1958) was an Italian painter, art teacher and poet best known as a key proponent of Futurism. In his paintings he depicted light, movement and speed. He was concerned with expressing movement in his works, ...
, and
Luigi Russolo Luigi Carlo Filippo Russolo (30 April 1885 – 4 February 1947) was an Italian Futurist painter, composer, builder of experimental musical instruments, and the author of the manifesto ''The Art of Noises'' (1913). He is often regarded as one of ...
. It glorified modernity and aimed to liberate Italy from the weight of its past. The 1916 Manifesto of Futuristic Cinematography was signed by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Armando Ginna, Bruno Corra, Giacomo Balla and others. To the Futurists, cinema was an ideal art form, being a fresh medium, and able to be manipulated by speed, special effects and editing. Most of the futuristic-themed films of this period have been lost, but critics cite ''
Thaïs Thaïs or Thais ( el, Θαΐς; flourished 4th century BC) was a famous Greek ''hetaira'' who accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaigns. Likely from Athens, she is most famous for instigating the burning of Persepolis. At the time, Thaï ...
'' (1917) by
Anton Giulio Bragaglia __NOTOC__ Anton Giulio Bragaglia (11 February 1890 – 15 July 1960) was a pioneer in Italian Futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty ...
as one of the most influential, serving as the main inspiration for German Expressionist cinema in the following decade. The Italian film industry struggled against rising foreign competition in the years following
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Several major studios, among them Cines and Ambrosio, formed the Unione Cinematografica Italiana to coordinate a national strategy for film production. This effort was largely unsuccessful, however, due to a wide disconnect between production and exhibition (some movies weren't released until several years after they were produced).


1920s

With the end of World War I, Italian cinema went through a period of crisis due to many factors such as production disorganization, increased costs, technological backwardness, loss of foreign markets and inability to cope with international competition, in particular with that of Hollywood. The main causes included the lack of a generational change with a production still dominated by filmmakers and producers of literary training, unable to face the challenges of modernity. The first half of the 1920s marked a sharp decrease in production; from 350 films produced in 1921 to 60 in 1924. Literature and theater are still the preferred narrative sources. The feuilletons resist, mostly taken from classical or popular texts and directed by specialists such as
Roberto Roberti Vincenzo Leone (24 July 1879 – 10 January 1959), known professionally as Roberto Roberti, was an Italian actor, screenwriter and film director. He made over sixty films, mostly during the silent era. He was married to the actress Bice Valeria ...
and the religious blockbusters of Giulio Antamoro. On the basis of the latest generation of divas, a sentimental cinema for women spread, centered on figures on the margins of society who, instead of struggling to emancipate themselves (as happens in contemporary Hollywood cinema), go through an authentic ordeal in order to preserve their own virtue. Protest and rebellion by the female protagonists are out of the question. It is a strongly conservative cinema, tied to social rules upset by the war and in the process of dissolution throughout Europe. An exemplary case is that of '' A Woman's Story'' (1920) by Eugenio Perego, which uses an original narrative construction to propose a 19th-century morality with melodramatic tones. A particular genre is that of a realist setting, due to the work of the first female director of Italian cinema,
Elvira Notari Elvira Notari (born Elvira Coda; 10 February 1875 – 17 December 1946) was an Italian film director, one of the country's earliest and most prolific female filmmaker. She is credited as the first woman who made over sixty feature films and about ...
, who directs numerous films influenced by popular theater and taken from famous dramas, Neapolitan songs, appendix novels or inspired by facts of chronicle. Another film with a realist setting is '' Lost in the Dark'' (1914) by director Nino Martoglio, considered by critics as a prime example of neorealist cinema. The revival of Italian cinema took place at the end of the decade with the production of larger-scale films. During this period, a group of intellectuals close to the fortnightly ''cinematografo'' led by Alessandro Blasetti launched a program that was as simple as it was ambitious. Aware of the Italian cultural backwardness, they decided to break all ties with the previous tradition through a rediscovery of the peasant world, hitherto practically absent in Italian cinema. ''
Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
'' (1929) by Alessandro Blasetti shows the evident influence of the Soviet and German avant-gardes in an attempt to renew Italian cinema in accordance with the interests of the fascist regime. ''
Rails Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...
'' (1929) by
Mario Camerini Mario Camerini (6 February 1895 – 4 February 1981) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. The cousin of Augusto Genina, he made the most well-known films in Italy during the 1930s, most of them comedies starring Vittorio De Sica. H ...
blends the traditional genre of comedy with kammerspiel and realist film, revealing the director's ability to outline the characters of the middle class. While not comparable to the best results of international cinema of the period, the works of Camerini and Blasetti testify to a generational transition between Italian directors and intellectuals, and above all an emancipation from literary models and an approach to the tastes of the public.


1930s

The sound cinema arrived in Italy in 1930, three years after the release of ''
The Jazz Singer ''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolate ...
'' (1927), and immediately led to a debate on the validity of spoken cinema and its relationship with the theater. Some directors enthusiastically face the new challenge. The advent of talkies led to stricter censorship by the Fascist government. The first Italian talking picture was ''
The Song of Love ''The Song of Love'' (also known as ''Le chant d'amour'' or ''Love Song'') is a 1914 painting by Italian metaphysical painter Giorgio de Chirico. It is one of the most famous works by Chirico and an early example of the surrealist style, thoug ...
'' (1930) by Gennaro Righelli, which was a great success with the public. Alessandro Blasetti also experimented with the use of an optical track for sound in the film ''
Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...
'' (1931), shot before ''The Song of Love'' but released a few months later. Similar to Righelli's film is '' What Scoundrels Men Are!'' (1932) by
Mario Camerini Mario Camerini (6 February 1895 – 4 February 1981) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. The cousin of Augusto Genina, he made the most well-known films in Italy during the 1930s, most of them comedies starring Vittorio De Sica. H ...
, which has the merit of making
Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...
debut on the screens. Historical films such as Blasetti's '' 1860'' (1934) and
Carmine Gallone Carmine Gallone (10 September 1885 – 11 March 1973) was an early Italian film director, screenwriter, and film producer, who was also controversial for his works of pro-Fascist propaganda and historical revisionism. Considered one of Itali ...
's '' Scipio Africanus: The Defeat of Hannibal'' (1937) were also popular during this period. With the transition to sound cinema, most of the Italian silent film actors, still linked to theatrical stylization, find themselves disqualified. The era of divas, dandies and strongmen, who barely survived the 1920s, is definitely over. Even if some performers will move on to directing or producing, the arrival of sound favors the generational change and the consequent modernization of the structures. Italian-born director Frank Capra received three Academy Awards for Best Director for the films ''
It Happened One Night ''It Happened One Night'' is a 1934 pre-Code American romantic comedy film with elements of screwball comedy directed and co-produced by Frank Capra, in collaboration with Harry Cohn, in which a pampered socialite ( Claudette Colbert) tr ...
'' (1934, the first Big Five winner at the Academy Awards), ''
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town ''Mr. Deeds Goes to Town'' is a 1936 American comedy-drama romance film directed by Frank Capra and starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in her first featured role. Based on the 1935 short story "Opera Hat" by Clarence Budington Kelland, which ...
'' (1936) and '' You Can't Take It with You'' (1938).


Cinecittà (1930s–present)

In 1934, the Italian government created the General Directorate for Cinema (''Direzione Generale per le Cinematografia''), and appointed
Luigi Freddi Luigi Freddi (12 June 1895, Milan – 17 March 1977, Sabaudia) was an Italian journalist and politician, principally notable for being the first vice seсretary of the ''Fasci italiani all'estero'', and later one of those most responsible for Itali ...
its director. With the approval of Benito Mussolini, this directorate called for the establishment of a town southeast of Rome devoted exclusively to cinema, dubbed the
Cinecittà Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City Studios), is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios we ...
("Cinema City"), under the slogan "''Il cinema è l'arma più forte''" ("Cinema is the most powerful weapon"). The studios were constructed during the Fascist era as part of a plan to revive the Italian film industry, which had reached its low point in 1931. Mussolini himself inaugurated the studios on 21 April 1937. Post-production units and sets were constructed and heavily used initially. Early films such as '' Scipio Africanus'' (1937) and '' The Iron Crown'' (1941) showcased the technological advancement of the studios. Seven thousand people were involved in the filming of the battle scene from ''Scipio Africanus'', and live elephants were brought in as a part of the re-enactment of the
Battle of Zama The Battle of Zama was fought in 202 BC near Zama, now in Tunisia, and marked the end of the Second Punic War. A Roman army led by Publius Cornelius Scipio, with crucial support from Numidian leader Masinissa, defeated the Carthaginian ...
. The Cinecittà provided everything necessary for filmmaking: theaters, technical services, and even a cinematography school, the
Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia The Centro sperimentale di cinematografia (Experimental Film Centre or Italian National film school) was established in 1935 in Italy and aims to promote the art and technique of cinematography and film. The centre is the oldest film school in ...
, for younger apprentices. The Cinecittà studios were Europe's most advanced production facilities, and greatly boosted the technical quality of Italian films. Many films are still shot entirely in Cinecittà. Benito Mussolini founded Cinecittà studio also for the production of
Fascist propaganda The propaganda used by the National Fascist Party (PNF) in the years leading up to and during Benito Mussolini's leadership of Italy (1922–1943) was a crucial instrument for acquiring and maintaining power, and for the implementation of Fascist ...
until
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. During this period, Mussolini's son, Vittorio, created a national production company and organized the work of noted authors, directors and actors (including even some political opponents), thereby creating an interesting communication network among them, which produced several noted friendships and stimulated cultural interaction. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is still the largest film studio in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. Filmmakers such as Federico Fellini,
Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...
,
Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the ...
, Sergio Leone,
Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...
, Francis Ford Coppola,
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...
, and
Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apoca ...
have worked at Cinecittà. More than 3,000 movies have been filmed there, of which 90 received an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nomination and 47 of these won it.


Telefoni Bianchi (1930s–1940s)

During the 1930s, light comedies known as
Telefoni Bianchi ''Telefoni Bianchi'' (; white telephones) films, also called deco films, were made by Italian film industry in the 1930s and the 1940s in imitation of American comedies of the time in a sharp contrast to the other important style of the era, cal ...
("white telephones") were predominant in Italian cinema. These films, which featured lavish set designs, promoted conservative values and respect for authority, and thus typically avoided the scrutiny of government censors. Telefoni Bianchi proved to be the testing ground of numerous screenwriters destined to impose themselves in the following decades (including
Cesare Zavattini Cesare Zavattini (20 September 1902 – 13 October 1989) was an Italian screenwriter and one of the first theorists and proponents of the Neorealist movement in Italian cinema. Biography Born in Luzzara near Reggio Emilia in northern Italy, ...
and
Sergio Amidei Sergio Amidei (30 October 1904 – 14 April 1981) was an Italian screenwriter and an important figure in Italy's neorealist movement. Amidei was born in Trieste. He worked with famed Italian directors such as Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio ...
), and above all of numerous set designers such as
Guido Fiorini Guido Fiorini (1897–1966) was an Italian engineer, architect and art director.Poretti p.128 He was associated with the futurist movement. Selected filmography * ''Loyalty of Love'' (1934) * '' Just Married'' (1934) * ''Red Passport'' (1935) * ' ...
, Gino Carlo Sensani and Antonio Valente, who, by virtue successful graphic inventions led these productions to become a kind of "summa" of the petty-bourgeois aesthetics of the time. The first film of the genre Telefoni Bianchi was '' The Private Secretary'' (1931), by
Goffredo Alessandrini Goffredo Alessandrini (20 November 1904, in Cairo – 16 May 1978, in Rome) was an Italian scriptwriter and film director. He also acted, edited, and produced some films. He practiced athletics in his youth, and won a title of Italian champion ...
. Among the authors,
Mario Camerini Mario Camerini (6 February 1895 – 4 February 1981) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. The cousin of Augusto Genina, he made the most well-known films in Italy during the 1930s, most of them comedies starring Vittorio De Sica. H ...
is the most representative director of the genre. After having practiced the most diverse trends in the 1930s, he happily moved into the territory of sentimental comedy with '' What Scoundrels Men Are!'' (1932), ''
Il signor Max ''Il Signor Max'' is a 1937 Italian "Telefoni Bianchi, white-telephones" comedy film directed by Mario Camerini and starring Vittorio De Sica and Assia Noris. Plot Gianni is a poor, young newspaper salesman in Rome. However, during his vacations h ...
'' (1937) and ''
Department Store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
'' (1939). In other films he compares himself with the Hollywood-style comedy on the model of Frank Capra ('' Heartbeat'', 1939) and the surreal one of
René Clair René Clair (11 November 1898 – 15 March 1981), born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker and writer. He first established his reputation in the 1920s as a director of silent films in which comedy was often mingled with fantasy. He wen ...
('' I'll Give a Million'', 1936). Camerini is interested in the figure of the typical and popular Italian, so much so that he anticipates some elements of the future Italian comedy. His major interpreter,
Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...
, will continue his lesson in ''
Maddalena, Zero for Conduct ''Maddalena, Zero for Conduct'' (Italian: ''Maddalena... zero in condotta'') is a 1940 Italian " white-telephones" comedy film directed by Vittorio De Sica.Cardullo p.117 It is a remake of the Hungarian film '' Magda Expelled'' (1938). Plot A mys ...
'' (1940) and '' Teresa Venerdì'' (1941), emphasizing above all the direction of the actors and the care for the settings. Other directors include Mario Mattoli ('' Schoolgirl Diary'', 1941),
Jean de Limur Jean de Limur (13 November 1887, Vouhé, Charente-Maritime – 5 June 1976, Paris) was a French film director, actor and screenwriter. His works include '' La Garçonne'' (1936) and '' The Letter'' (1929). A French army officer and a designer, ...
(''Apparition'', 1944) and
Max Neufeld Max Neufeld (13 February 1887 – 2 December 1967) was an Austrian film director, actor and screenwriter. He directed 70 films between 1919 and 1957. He directed the 1934 film '' The Song of the Sun'', which starred Vittorio De Sica. Sele ...
(''
The House of Shame ''The House of Shame'' is a 1928 American silent drama film directed by Burton L. King and starring Creighton Hale, Virginia Brown Faire and Lloyd Whitlock.Pitts p.85 Cast * Creighton Hale as Harvey Baremore * Virginia Brown Faire as Druid ...
'', 1938; '' A Thousand Lire a Month'', 1939). The realist comedies of
Mario Bonnard Mario Bonnard (24 December 1889 – 22 March 1965) was an Italian actor and film director. Bonnard was born and died in Rome. He began his cinematic career as an actor becoming a popular romantic lead in numerous silent films made before World ...
(''
Before the Postman ''There's Room Up Ahead'' (Italian: ''Avanti c'è posto'') is a 1942 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Bonnard and starring Aldo Fabrizi, Andrea Checchi and Adriana Benetti.Moliterno p.45 It was made at Cinecittà in Rome. Plot A young gi ...
'', 1942; ''
The Peddler and the Lady ''The Peddler and the Lady'' (Italian title: ''Campo de' fiori'') is a 1943 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Bonnard and starring Aldo Fabrizi, Caterina Boratto and Anna Magnani.Reich & Garofalo p.101 Much of the film is set on the Campo ...
'', 1943) are partially different in character, which partially deviate from the imprint of Telefoni Bianchi.


Fascist propaganda (1930s–1940s)

In the fascist propaganda cinema, at the beginning, the representations of the squads and the first fascist actions were rare. '' The Old Guard'' (1934), by Alessandro Blasetti evokes the supposed vitalistic spontaneity of squadism with populist tones, but is not appreciated by official critics. '' Black Shirt'' (1933), by
Giovacchino Forzano Giovacchino Forzano (; 19 November 1884 – 28 October 1970) was an Italian playwright, librettist, stage and film director. A resourceful writer, he authored numerous popular plays and produced opera librettos for most of the major Italian comp ...
, made for the 10th anniversary of the
March on Rome The March on Rome ( it, Marcia su Roma) was an organized mass demonstration and a coup d'état in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 1922, ...
, celebrated the regime's policies (the reclamation of the Pontine marshes and the construction of Littoria) alternating narrative sequences with documentary passages. With political consolidation, the government authority required the film industry to strengthen the regime's identification with the country's history and culture. Hence the intention to reread Italian history in an authoritarian perspective, teleologically reducing every past event to a harbinger of the "fascist revolution", in continuity with the historiographical work of
Gioacchino Volpe Gioacchino Volpe (16 February 1876 – 1 October 1971) was an Italian historian and, during the years between the two world wars, a politician. Biography Born in Paganica, Volpe graduated in Letters at the University of Pisa, and in 1906 he beca ...
. After the first attempts in this direction, aimed above all at underlining the alleged link between the
Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
and
Fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
('' Villafranca'' by Forzano, 1933; '' 1860'' by Blasetti, 1933), the trend reached its peak just before the war. '' Cavalry'' (1936), by
Goffredo Alessandrini Goffredo Alessandrini (20 November 1904, in Cairo – 16 May 1978, in Rome) was an Italian scriptwriter and film director. He also acted, edited, and produced some films. He practiced athletics in his youth, and won a title of Italian champion ...
, evokes the nobility of the Savoy fighters by presenting their deeds as anticipations of squadism. ''
Condottieri ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italy, Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other ...
'' (1937) by Luis Trenker, tells the story of
Giovanni delle Bande Nere Lodovico de' Medici, also known as Giovanni delle Bande Nere (6 April 1498 – 30 November 1526) was an Italian ''condottiero''. He is known for leading the Black Bands and serving valiantly in military combat under his relatives, Pope Leo X and ...
, explicitly establishing a parallel with Benito Mussolini, while '' Scipio Africanus: The Defeat of Hannibal'' (1937) by
Carmine Gallone Carmine Gallone (10 September 1885 – 11 March 1973) was an early Italian film director, screenwriter, and film producer, who was also controversial for his works of pro-Fascist propaganda and historical revisionism. Considered one of Itali ...
(one of the greatest financial efforts of the time), it celebrates the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
and indirectly the Fascist Empire. The invasion of Ethiopia gives Italian directors the opportunity to extend the horizons of the settings. '' The Great Appeal'' (1936) by
Mario Camerini Mario Camerini (6 February 1895 – 4 February 1981) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. The cousin of Augusto Genina, he made the most well-known films in Italy during the 1930s, most of them comedies starring Vittorio De Sica. H ...
, exalts imperialism by describing the "new land" as an opportunity for work and redemption, contrasting the heroism of young soldiers with bourgeois fearlessness. The anti-pacifist controversy that accompanies colonial enterprises is also evident in '' Lo squadrone bianco'' (1936) by Augusto Genina, which combines propaganda rhetoric with notable battle sequences shot in the
Italian Tripolitania Italian Tripolitania was an Italian colony, located in present-day western Libya, that existed from 1911 to 1934. It was part of the territory conquered from the Ottoman Empire after the Italo-Turkish War in 1911. Italian Tripolitania included t ...
desert. Most of the films celebrating the empire are predominantly documentaries, aimed at disguising the war as a struggle of civilization against barbarism. The
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
is described in the documentaries ''Los novios de la muerte'' (1936) by
Romolo Marcellini Romolo Marcellini (6 October 1910 – 3 June 1999) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 22 films between 1937 and 1969. Selected filmography * ''Stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for ...
and ''Arriba España, España una, grande, libre!'' (1939) by
Giorgio Ferroni Giorgio Ferroni (12 April 1908 – 1981) was an Italian film director. Life and career Giorgio Ferroni was born in Perugia on 12 April 1908. Ferroni began his career in film with short documentaries during World War II World War  ...
, and is the backdrop for another dozen films, among which the most spectacular is '' The Siege of the Alcazar'' (1940) by Augusto Genina. Films such as ''
Pietro Micca Pietro Micca (6 March 1677 – 30 August 1706), also known as Pierre Micha, was an Italian soldier who became a national hero of the Duchy of Savoy for his sacrifice in the defence of Turin against the French troops. Early life Micca was born ...
'' (1938) by
Aldo Vergano Aldo Vergano (1891–1957) was an Italian director, screenwriter and journalist. He was the father of actress Serena Vergano. Biography Born in Rome, was son of Sebastiano Lodovico Vergano and Eleonora Zuddas. Vergano was the co-founder with ...
, '' Ettore Fieramosca'' (1938), made in the same year by Alessandro Blasetti, and ''Fanfulla da Lodi'' (1940) by Giulio Antamoro can also be counted as propaganda films (albeit indirect), in which, a pretext for the epic narration of historical events, a clear apology for dedication to the homeland (in some cases even to the point of personal sacrifice) is made in the same vein as colonial films with a contemporary setting. With Italy's participation in the World War II, the fascist regime further strengthens its control over production and requires a more decisive commitment to propaganda. In addition to the now canonical documentaries, short films and newsreels, there is also an increase in feature films in praise of Italian war enterprises. Among the most representative we find '' Bengasi'' (1942) by Genina, ''Gente dell'aria'' (1943) by Esodo Pratelli, ''
The Three Pilots ''The Three Pilots'' ( it, I tre aquilotti) is a 1942 Italian war drama film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Michela Belmonte, Leonardo Cortese and Alberto Sordi.Brunetta p.93 It was shot at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome and at the Acca ...
'' (1942) by Mario Mattoli (based on a screenplay by Vittorio Mussolini), ''Il treno crociato'' (1943) by Carlo Campogalliani, ''
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
'' (1943) by
Carmine Gallone Carmine Gallone (10 September 1885 – 11 March 1973) was an early Italian film director, screenwriter, and film producer, who was also controversial for his works of pro-Fascist propaganda and historical revisionism. Considered one of Itali ...
and '' Men of the Mountain'' (1943) by
Aldo Vergano Aldo Vergano (1891–1957) was an Italian director, screenwriter and journalist. He was the father of actress Serena Vergano. Biography Born in Rome, was son of Sebastiano Lodovico Vergano and Eleonora Zuddas. Vergano was the co-founder with ...
under the supervision of Blasetti. ''Uomini sul fondo'' (1941) by
Francesco De Robertis Francesco De Robertis (1902–1959) was an Italian screenwriter, film editor and director. His semi-documentary film-making style of the early 1940s has been credited as an influence on the development of Italian neorealism.Bondanella, p. 32 Se ...
is also notable due to its almost documentary approach. The most successful film of the period is ''
We the Living ''We the Living'' is the debut novel of the Russian American novelist Ayn Rand. It is a story of life in post-revolutionary Russia and was Rand's first statement against communism. Rand observes in the foreword that ''We the Living'' was the cl ...
'' (1942) by
Goffredo Alessandrini Goffredo Alessandrini (20 November 1904, in Cairo – 16 May 1978, in Rome) was an Italian scriptwriter and film director. He also acted, edited, and produced some films. He practiced athletics in his youth, and won a title of Italian champion ...
, made as a single film, but then distributed in two parts due to its excessive length. Referable to the genre of anti-communist drama, this sombre melodrama (set in the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
) is inspired by the novel of the same name by the writer Ayn Rand which exalts the most radical philosophical individualism. Precisely because of this generic criticism of authoritarianism, the diptych could be interpreted as a mild accusation against the fascist regime. Among the directors who give their contribution to the war propaganda there is also
Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...
, author of a trilogy composed of '' The White Ship'' (1941), '' A Pilot Returns'' (1942) and ''
The Man with a Cross ''The Man with a Cross'' ( it, L'uomo dalla croce) is a 1943 Italian war film directed by Roberto Rossellini and starring Alberto Tavazzi, Roswita Schmidt and Attilio Dottesio. It was the final part of Rossellini's "Fascist trilogy" following '' ...
'' (1943). Anticipating in some ways his works of maturity, the director adopted a modest and immediate style, which does not contrast the effectiveness of the propaganda but neither does it exalt the dominant war rhetoric; it was the same anti-spectacular approach to which he remained faithful throughout his life.


1940s


Neorealism (1940s–1950s)

By the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the Italian "neorealist" movement had begun to take shape. Neorealist films typically dealt with the working class (in contrast to the ''Telefoni Bianchi''), and were shot on location. Many neorealist films, but not all, used non-professional actors. Though the term "neorealism" was used for the first time to describe
Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the ...
’s 1943 film, ''
Ossessione ''Ossessione'' (, English: ''Obsession'') is a 1943 Italian film based on the 1934 novel '' The Postman Always Rings Twice'' by James M. Cain. Luchino Visconti’s first feature film, it is considered by many to be the first Italian neorealist fi ...
'', there were several important precursors to the movement, most notably Camerini's '' What Scoundrels Men Are!'' (1932), which was the first Italian film shot entirely on location, and Blasetti's 1942 film, '' Four Steps in the Clouds''. ''Ossessione'' angered Fascist officials. Upon viewing the film, Vittorio Mussolini is reported to have shouted, "This is not Italy!" before walking out of the theater. The film was subsequently banned in the Fascist-controlled parts of Italy. While neorealism exploded after the war, and was incredibly influential at the international level, neorealist films made up only a small percentage of Italian films produced during this period, as postwar Italian moviegoers preferred escapist comedies starring actors such as
Totò Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi de Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April 1967), best known by his stage name Totò (), or simply as Antonio de Curtis, and nicknamed ''il Principe della risata ...
and
Alberto Sordi Alberto Sordi (15 June 1920 – 24 February 2003) was an Italian actor, voice actor, singer, comedian, director and screenwriter. Early life Born in Rome to a schoolteacher and a musician and the last of five children, Sordi was named in hon ...
. Neorealist works such as
Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...
's trilogy ''
Rome, Open City ''Rome, Open City'' ( it, Roma città aperta, also released as ''Open City'') is a 1945 Italian neorealist war drama film directed by Roberto Rossellini and co-written by Sergio Amidei, Celeste Negarville and Federico Fellini. Set in Rome in ...
'' (1945), '' Paisà'' (1946), and ''
Germany, Year Zero ''Germany, Year Zero'' ( it, Germania anno zero) is a 1948 film directed by Roberto Rossellini, and is the final film in Rossellini's unofficial war film trilogy, following ''Rome, Open City'' and ''Paisà''. ''Germany Year Zero'' takes place in ...
'' (1948), with professional actors such as
Anna Magnani Anna Maria Magnani (; 7 March 1908 – 26 September 1973) was an Italian actress.Obituary ''Variety'', 3 October 1973, pg. 47 She was known for her explosive acting and earthy, realistic portrayals of characters. Born in Rome, she worked her ...
and a number of non-professional actors, attempted to describe the difficult economic and moral conditions of postwar Italy and the changes in public mentality in everyday life. Visconti's '' The Earth Trembles'' (1948) was shot on location in a Sicilian fishing village, and used local non-professional actors.
Giuseppe De Santis Giuseppe De Santis (11 February 1917 – 16 May 1997) was an Italian film director. One of the most idealistic Neorealism (art), neorealist filmmakers of the 1940s and 1950s, he wrote and directed films punctuated by ardent cries for social ...
, on other hand, used actors such as
Silvana Mangano Silvana Mangano (; 21 April 1930 – 16 December 1989) was an Italian film actress. She was one of a generation of thespians who arose from the neorealist movement, and went on to become a major female star, regarded as a sex symbol for the 19 ...
and Vittorio Gassman in his 1949 film, ''
Bitter Rice ''Bitter Rice'' ( it, Riso Amaro ) is a 1949 Italian film made by Lux Film, written and directed by Giuseppe De Santis. Produced by Dino De Laurentiis, starring Silvana Mangano, Raf Vallone, Doris Dowling and Vittorio Gassman, ''Bitter Rice'' was ...
'', which is set in the Po Valley during rice-harvesting season. Poetry and cruelty of life were harmonically combined in the works that
Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...
wrote and directed together with screenwriter
Cesare Zavattini Cesare Zavattini (20 September 1902 – 13 October 1989) was an Italian screenwriter and one of the first theorists and proponents of the Neorealist movement in Italian cinema. Biography Born in Luzzara near Reggio Emilia in northern Italy, ...
: among them, '' Shoeshine'' (1946), '' The Bicycle Thief'' (1948) and '' Miracle in Milan'' (1951). The 1952 film '' Umberto D.'' showed a poor old man with his little dog, who must beg for alms against his dignity in the loneliness of the new society. This work is perhaps De Sica's masterpiece and one of the most important works in Italian cinema. It was not a commercial success and since then it has been shown on Italian television only a few times. Yet it is perhaps the most violent attack, in the apparent quietness of the action, against the rules of the new economy, the new mentality, the new values, and it embodies both a conservative and a progressive view. Although ''Umberto D.'' is considered the end of the neorealist period, later films such as Federico Fellini's ''
La Strada ''La strada'' () is a 1954 Italian drama film directed by Federico Fellini and co-written by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano. The film tells the story of Gelsomina, a simple-minded young woman ( Giulietta Masina) bought from her mothe ...
'' (1954) and De Sica's 1960 film ''
Two Women ''Two Women'' ( it, La ciociara , rough literal translation "The Woman from Ciociaria") is a 1960 war drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica from a screenplay by Cesare Zavattini and De Sica, based on the novel of the same name by Alberto ...
'' (for which Sophia Loren won the Oscar for Best Actress) are grouped with the genre. Director
Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...
's first film, ''
Accattone ''Accattone'' is a 1961 Italian drama film written and directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. Despite an original screenplay, the film is often perceived as a cinematic rendition of Pasolini's earlier novels, particularly '' Ragazzi di vita'' (''The R ...
'' (1961), shows a strong neorealist influence. Italian neorealist cinema influenced filmmakers around the world, and helped inspire other film movements, such as the French New Wave and the
Polish Film School Polish Film School ( pl, Polska Szkoła Filmowa) refers to an informal group of Polish film directors and screenplay writers active between 1956 and approximately 1963. Among the most prominent representatives of the school are Andrzej Wajda, And ...
. The Neorealist period is often simply referred to as "The Golden Age" of Italian cinema by critics, filmmakers, and scholars. File:Girotti e Calamai.jpg, ''
Ossessione ''Ossessione'' (, English: ''Obsession'') is a 1943 Italian film based on the 1934 novel '' The Postman Always Rings Twice'' by James M. Cain. Luchino Visconti’s first feature film, it is considered by many to be the first Italian neorealist fi ...
'' (1943), by
Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the ...
. File:ROMA C~1.JPG, A still shot from ''
Rome, Open City ''Rome, Open City'' ( it, Roma città aperta, also released as ''Open City'') is a 1945 Italian neorealist war drama film directed by Roberto Rossellini and co-written by Sergio Amidei, Celeste Negarville and Federico Fellini. Set in Rome in ...
'' (1945), by
Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...
. LadriDiBicicletteStaiola1948.jpg, ''
Bicycle Thieves ''Bicycle Thieves'' ( it, Ladri di biciclette; sometimes known in the United States as ''The Bicycle Thief'') is a 1948 Italian neorealist drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It follows the story of a poor father searching in post- World ...
'' (1948), by
Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...
, ranked among the best movies ever made and part of the canon of classic cinema. Battle-of-Algiers-screenshot.jpg,
Gillo Pontecorvo Gilberto Pontecorvo (; 19 November 1919 – 12 October 2006) was an Italian filmmaker associated with the political cinema movement of the 1960s and 1970s. He is best known for directing the landmark war docudrama ''The Battle of Algiers'' (19 ...
's ''
The Battle of Algiers ar, Maʿrakat al-Jazāʾir , director = Gillo Pontecorvo , producer = Antonio MusuSaadi Yacef , writer = Franco Solinas , story = Franco SolinasGillo Pontecorvo , starring = Jean MartinSaadi YacefBrahim H ...
'' (1966) is often associated with Italian neorealism.


Calligrafismo (1940s)

Calligrafismo Calligrafismo (, "caligraphism") is an Italian style of filmmaking relating to some films made in Italy in the first half of the 1940s and endowed with an expressive complexity that isolates them from the general context. Calligrafismo is in a sh ...
is in a sharp contrast to
Telefoni Bianchi ''Telefoni Bianchi'' (; white telephones) films, also called deco films, were made by Italian film industry in the 1930s and the 1940s in imitation of American comedies of the time in a sharp contrast to the other important style of the era, cal ...
-American style comedies and is rather
artistic Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wh ...
, highly formalistic, expressive in complexity and deals mainly with contemporary literary material, above all the pieces of Italian realism from authors like Corrado Alvaro,
Ennio Flaiano Ennio Flaiano (5 March 1910 – 20 November 1972) was an Italian screenwriter, playwright, novelist, journalist, and drama critic. Best known for his work with Federico Fellini, Flaiano co-wrote ten screenplays with the Italian director, including ...
, Emilio Cecchi, Francesco Pasinetti,
Vitaliano Brancati Vitaliano Brancati (; 24 July 1907 – 25 September 1954) was an Italian novelist, dramatist, poet and screenwriter. Biography Born in Pachino, Syracuse, Brancati studied in Catania, where he graduated in letters and where he spent the most pa ...
, Mario Bonfantini and Umberto Barbaro. The best-known exponent of this genre is
Mario Soldati Mario Soldati (17 November 1906 – 19 June 1999) was an Italian writer and film director. In 1954 he won the Strega Prize for ''Lettere da Capri.'' He directed several works adapted from novels, and worked with leading Italian actresses, su ...
, a long-time writer and director destined to establish himself with films of literary ancestry and solid formal structure. His films put at the center of the story characters endowed with a dramatic and psychological strength foreign to both white-phone cinema and propaganda films, and found in works such as '' Dora Nelson'' (1939), '' Piccolo mondo antico'' (1941), '' Tragic Night'' (1942), '' Malombra'' (1942) and '' In High Places'' (1943).
Luigi Chiarini Luigi Chiarini (20 June 1900 – 12 November 1975) was an Italian film theorist, essayist, screenwriter and film director. Life and career Born in Rome, Chiarini wrote extensively about film theory and in 1935 he founded the drama school Centr ...
, already active as a critic, deepens the trend in his ''
Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
'' (1942), '' Street of the Five Moons'' (1942) and ''
The Innkeeper ''The Innkeeper'' (Italian: ''La locandiera'' also known as ''Mirandolina'') is a 1944 Italian historical comedy film directed by Luigi Chiarini and starring Luisa Ferida, Armando Falconi and Osvaldo Valenti.Reich & Garafalo p.28 The film is an a ...
'' (1944). The internal conflicts of the characters and the scenographic richness are also recurrent in the first films by Alberto Lattuada (''
Giacomo the Idealist ''Giacomo the Idealist'' (Italian: ''Giacomo l'idealista'') is a 1943 Italian drama film directed by Alberto Lattuada and starring Massimo Serato, Marina Berti and Andrea Checchi.Moliterno p.267 It represents the directorial debut of Lattuada. ...
'', 1943) and
Renato Castellani Renato Castellani (4 September 1913 in Varigotti, Liguria – 28 December 1985 in Rome) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Early life Son of a representative of Kodak, he was born in Varigotti, a hamlet at the time of Final Pia, ...
('' A Pistol Shot'', 1942), dominated by a sense of moral and cultural decay that seems to anticipate the end of the war. Another important example of a calligraphic film is the film version of '' The Betrothed'' (1941), by
Mario Camerini Mario Camerini (6 February 1895 – 4 February 1981) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. The cousin of Augusto Genina, he made the most well-known films in Italy during the 1930s, most of them comedies starring Vittorio De Sica. H ...
(very faithful in the staging of Manzoni's masterpiece), which due to the perceived income, became the most popular feature film between 1941 and 1942.


Animation (1940s–present)

The pioneer of the Italian cartoon was Francesco Guido, better known as
Gibba Gibba (pen name of Francesco Maurizio Guido; 18 December 1924 – 7 October 2018) was an Italian animator who did several erotic cartoons in the 1970s and 1980s. He died, aged 93 on 7 October 2018 in Albenga. Filmography *''Scandalosa Gilda'' ( ...
. Immediately after the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, he produced the first animated medium-length film of Italian cinema entitled ''L'ultimo sciuscià'' (1946), which took up themes typical of neorealism and in the following decade the feature films ''Rompicollo and I picchiatelli'', in collaboration with Antonio Attanasi. In the 1970s, after many animated documentaries, Gibba himself will return to the feature film with the erotic ''
Il nano e la strega ' (Translation: ''The dwarf and the witch'', English title: ''King Dick'') is a 1973 Italian adult animated film. Plot A tyrannical King - Charles the Impotent - has taken over the Kingdom. During Charles's terrible reign; Master Limpcock is hav ...
'' (1973) and ''Il racconto della giungla'' (1974). Also interesting are the contributions of the painter and set designer Emanuele Luzzati who, after some valuable short films, made in 1976 one of the masterpieces of Italian animation: ''Il flauto magico'' ("The Magic Flute"), based on the homonymous opera by Mozart. In 1949, the designer Nino Pagot presented ''
The Dynamite Brothers ''I fratelli Dinamite'' (internationally released as ''The Dynamite Brothers'') is a 1949 Italian animation film directed by Nino and Toni Pagot. It is considered the first Italian feature-length animated film and the first Italian film in Tech ...
'' at the
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
, one of the first animated feature films of the time, released in theaters in conjunction with ''
La Rosa di Bagdad ''La Rosa di Bagdad'' (English: ''The Rose of Baghdad'') is a 1949 Italian animated film by Anton Gino Domeneghini. In 1952, the film was dubbed into English, retitled ''The Singing Princess'' and dubbed by Julie Andrews as her first venture into v ...
'' (1949), made by the animator
Anton Gino Domeneghini Anton may refer to: People *Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Anton (surname) Places *Anton Municipality, Bulgaria **Anton, Sofia Province, a village *Antón District, Panama **Antón, a town and capital of th ...
. In the early 1950s, the cartoonist
Romano Scarpa Romano Scarpa (September 27, 1927 – April 23, 2005) was one of the most famous Italian creators of Disney comics. Biography Growing up in Venice he developed a particular love for American cartoons and Disney comics, that, at the time, were ...
created the short film ''La piccola fiammiferaia'' (1953), which remains, like the two previous films, little more than an isolated case. Apart from these examples, Italian animation in the 1950s and 1960s failed to become a major reality and remains confined to the television sector, due to the various commissions provided by the
Carosello ''Carosello'' () was an Italian television advertising show broadcast on RAI from 1957 to 1977. The series mainly showed short sketch comedy films using live action, various types of animation, and puppetry. It had an audience of about 20 milli ...
container. But it is with
Bruno Bozzetto Bruno Bozzetto (born 3 March 1938) is an Italian cartoon animator and film director, creator of many short pieces, mainly of a political or satirical nature. He created his first animated short "Tapum! the weapons' story" in 1958 at the age of ...
that the Italian cartoon reaches an international dimension: his debut feature film ''
West and Soda ''West and soda'' (also known as ''The West Way Out'') is a 1965 traditionally animated Italian feature film directed by Bruno Bozzetto. It is a parody of the traditional American Western. In an interview, Bozzetto claimed to have invented th ...
'' (1965), an irresistible caricature of the Western genre, received acclaim from both audiences and critics. A few years later his second work entitled ''
VIP my Brother Superman ''VIP my Brother Superman'' ( it, VIP, mio fratello superuomo), often known in English as ''The SuperVips'', is a 1968 Italian animated film directed by Bruno Bozzetto. It is a parody of superheroes and enjoyed a good commercial and critical succe ...
'' was released, distributed in 1968. After many satirical short films (centered on the popular figure of "Signor Rossi") he returned to the feature film with what is considered his most ambitious work, ''
Allegro Non Troppo ''Allegro non troppo'' is a 1976 Italian animated film directed by Bruno Bozzetto. Featuring six pieces of classical music, the film is a parody of Walt Disney's 1940 feature film, ''Fantasia'', two of its segments being derived from the earlier ...
'' (1977). Inspired by the well-known Disney '' Fantasia'', it is a mixed media film, in which animated episodes are molded to the notes of many classical music pieces. Another illustrator to underline is the artist
Pino Zac Giuseppe Zaccaria (23 April 1930 – 25 August 1985), best known as Pino Zac, was an Italian illustrator, cartoonist and animator. Biography Born in Trapani, Sicily, Zac spent his childhood in Pratola Peligna, Abruzzo and eventually moved to R ...
who in 1971 shot (again with mixed technique) ''The Nonexistent Knight'', based on the novel of the same name by
Italo Calvino Italo Calvino (, also , ;. RAI (circa 1970), retrieved 25 October 2012. 15 October 1923 – 19 September 1985) was an Italian writer and journalist. His best known works include the '' Our Ancestors'' trilogy (1952–1959), the ''Cosmicomi ...
. In the 1990s, Italian animation entered a new phase of production due to the Turin Lanterna Magica studio which in 1996, under the direction of
Enzo D'Alò Enzo D'Alò (born 7 September 1953) is an Italian animator and director. Life and career Born in Naples, D'Alò moved to Turin in 1979 and there he started his career as animator working with the group "La Lanterna Magica". In 1983 he debuted ...
, created the intriguing Christmas fairy tale ''
La freccia azzurra ''How the Toys Saved Christmas'' is a 1996 Italian animated film directed by Enzo D'Alò, based on a tale by Gianni Rodari. In the original version, the story took place during the Epiphany Eve, because in the Folklore of Italy the Befana is a ...
'', based on a short story by
Gianni Rodari Giovanni Francesco "Gianni" Rodari (; 23 October 1920 – 14 April 1980) was an Italian writer and journalist, most famous for his works of children's literature, notably '' Il romanzo di Cipollino''. For his lasting contribution as a children's ...
. The film was a success and paved the way for other feature films. In fact, in 1998, '' Lucky and Zorba'' based on a novel by
Luis Sepúlveda Luis Sepúlveda Calfucura (October 4, 1949 – April 16, 2020) was a Chilean writer and journalist. A communist militant and fervent opponent of Augusto Pinochet's regime, he was imprisoned and tortured by the military dictatorship during the ...
was distributed, which attracted the favor of the public, reaching a new apex in the Italian animated cinema. The director Enzo d'Alò, who separated from the Lanterna Magica studio, produced other films in the following years such as ''
Momo Momo may refer to: Geography * Momo (department), a division of Northwest Province in Cameroon * Momo, Gabon, a town in the Woleu-Ntem province of Gabon * Momo, Piedmont, a town in the province of Novara, in northern Italy * Joffrey Tower, in ...
'' (2001) and '' Opopomoz'' (2003). The Turin studio distributed on its behalf the films ''
Aida of the Trees ''Aida of the Trees'' ( it, Aida degli alberi) is a 2001 Italian musical adventure fantasy animated film written and directed by Guido Manuli with soundtrack by Ennio Morricone. It is the third movie produced by the studio Lanterna Magica after '' ...
'' (2001) and ''
Totò Sapore e la magica storia della pizza ''Totò Sapore e la magica storia della pizza'' (English: Totò Sapore and the magical story of pizza) is a 2003 Italian animated film, with some dialogues made in Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: ...
'' (2003), accompanied by a good response at the box office. In 2003, the first entirely Italian animated film in computer graphics was released entitled ''L'apetta Giulia and Signora Vita'', directed by Paolo Modugno. To underline the work ''La Storia di Leo'' (2007) by director Mario Cambi, winner, the following year, at the Giffoni Film Festival. In 2010, the first Italian animated film in 3D technology was made, directed by
Iginio Straffi Iginio Straffi is an Italian animator and former comic book author. He is the founder and president of Rainbow SpA, which he co-owns alongside the American media company Paramount Global. Straffi is the creator of the studio's animated series ''Wi ...
, entitled '' Winx Club 3D: Magical Adventure'', based on the homonymous series; in the meantime Enzo D'Alò returns to theaters, presenting his ''
Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel '' The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan ...
'' (2012). In 2012, the film '' Gladiators of Rome'', also shot in 3D technology, received credit from the public, followed by the feature film '' Winx Club: The Mystery of the Abyss'' (2014), both again by Iginio Straffi. Finally, '' The Art of Happiness'' (2013) by Alessandro Rak, a film made in Naples by 40 authors, including only 10 designers and animators from the Mad Entertainment studio, a true absolute record for an animated film was made. '' Cinderella the Cat'' (2017), taken from the text ''
Pentamerone The ''Pentamerone'', subtitled ''Lo cunto de li cunti'' ("The Tale of Tales"), is a seventeenth-century Neapolitan fairy tale collection by Italian poet and courtier Giambattista Basile. Background The stories in the ''Pentamerone'' were collec ...
'' by
Giambattista Basile Giambattista Basile (February 1566 – February 1632) was an Italian poet, courtier, and fairy tale collector. His collections include the oldest recorded forms of many well-known (and more obscure) European fairy tales. He is chiefly remembere ...
, came out of the same studio. The work won two David di Donatello's, one of which was for special effects, becoming the first animated film to be nominated, and win, in this category.


1950s

Starting from the mid-1950s, Italian cinema freed itself from neorealism by tackling purely existential topics, films with different styles and points of view, often more introspective than descriptive. Thus we are witnessing a new flowering of filmmakers who contribute in a fundamental way to the development of the art. Michelangelo Antonioni is the first to establish himself, becoming a reference author for all contemporary cinema. This charge of novelty is recognizable from the beginning as the director's first work, ''
Story of a Love Affair ''Story of a Love Affair'' ( it, Cronaca di un amore) is a 1950 Italian drama film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and starring Massimo Girotti and Lucia Bosè. Despite some neorealist background, the film was not fully compliant with the conte ...
'' (1950), marks an indelible break with the world of neorealism and the consequent birth of a modern cinema. Antonioni investigated the world of the Italian bourgeoisie with a critical eye, left out of the post-war cinematic lens. In doing so, works of psychological research such as '' I Vinti'' (1952), '' The Lady Without Camelias'' (1953) and ''
Le Amiche ''Le Amiche'' (, lit. "The girlfriends") is a 1955 Italian drama film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and starring Eleonora Rossi Drago, Gabriele Ferzetti, Franco Fabrizi, and Valentina Cortese. Based on Cesare Pavese's 1949 novella ''Tra do ...
'' (1955), free adaptation of the short story ''Tra donne sole'' by Cesare Pavese, came to light. In 1957, he staged the unusual proletarian drama '' Il Grido'', with which he obtained critical acclaim. In 1955, the David di Donatello was established, with its Best Picture category being awarded for the first time only in 1970.


Federico Fellini (1950s–1990s)

Federico Fellini is recognized as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time. Fellini won the
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
for ''
La Dolce Vita ''La Dolce Vita'' (; Italian for "the sweet life" or "the good life"Kezich, 203) is a 1960 satirical comedy-drama film directed and co-written (with Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli and Brunello Rondi) by Federico Fellini. The film stars Marcello ...
'', was nominated for twelve
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, and won four in the category of Best Foreign Language Film, the most for any director in the history of the academy. He received an honorary award for Lifetime Achievement at the 65th Academy Awards in Los Angeles. His other well-known films include ''
La Strada ''La strada'' () is a 1954 Italian drama film directed by Federico Fellini and co-written by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano. The film tells the story of Gelsomina, a simple-minded young woman ( Giulietta Masina) bought from her mothe ...
'' (1954), ''
Nights of Cabiria ''Nights of Cabiria'' ( it, Le notti di Cabiria) is a 1957 drama film co-written and directed by Federico Fellini. It stars Giulietta Masina as Cabiria, a prostitute living in Rome. The cast also features François Périer and Amedeo Nazzari. ...
'' (1957), ''
Juliet of the Spirits ''Juliet of the Spirits'' ( it, Giulietta degli spiriti) is a 1965 fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini and starring Giulietta Masina, Sandra Milo, Mario Pisu, Valentina Cortese, and Valeska Gert. The film is about the vi ...
'' (1967), ''
Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petr ...
'' (1969), '' Roma'' (1972), '' Amarcord'' (1973), and '' Fellini's Casanova'' (1976). Personal and highly
idiosyncratic An idiosyncrasy is an unusual feature of a person (though there are also other uses, see below). It can also mean an odd habit. The term is often used to express eccentricity or peculiarity. A synonym may be "quirk". Etymology The term "idiosyncr ...
visions of society, Fellini's films are a unique combination of memory, dreams, fantasy and desire. The adjectives "Fellinian" and "Felliniesque" are "synonymous with any kind of extravagant, fanciful, even baroque image in the cinema and in art in general". ''La Dolce Vita'' contributed the term ''
paparazzi Paparazzi (, ; ; singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects ...
'' to the English language, derived from Paparazzo, the photographer friend of journalist Marcello Rubini ( Marcello Mastroianni). Contemporary filmmakers such as
Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), '' Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993 ...
,
Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including '' Time Bandits'' (1981), '' ...
,
Emir Kusturica Emir Kusturica ( sr-cyrl, Емир Кустурица; born 24 November 1954) is a Serbian film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and musician. He also has French citizenship.http://www.serbia.com/emir-kusturica-artist-builder-and-anti-glo ...
, and David Lynch have cited Fellini's influence on their work.


Pink neorealism (1950s–1960s)

Although '' Umberto D.'' is considered the end of the neorealist period this, subsequent works turned toward lighter, sweetened and mildly optimistic atmospheres, more coherent with the improving conditions of Italy just before the
economic boom An economic expansion is an increase in the level of economic activity, and of the goods and services available. It is a period of economic growth as measured by a rise in real GDP. The explanation of fluctuations in aggregate economic activit ...
; this genre became known as ''pink neorealism''. The precursor of pink neorealism was Renato Castellani, who helped bring realist comedy into vogue with '' Under the Sun of Rome'' (1948) and '' It's Forever Springtime'' (1949), both shot on location and with non-professional actors, and above all with public success and criticism of '' Two Cents Worth of Hope'' (1952), which laid the foundations for pink neorealism. Notable films of pink neorealism, which combine popular comedy and realist motifs, are '' Pane, amore e fantasia'' (1953) by
Luigi Comencini Luigi Comencini (; 8 June 1916 – 6 April 2007)
''The Guardian'' was an Italian
and '' Poveri ma belli'' (1957) by
Dino Risi Dino Risi (23 December 1916 – 7 June 2008) was an Italian film director. With Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Nanni Loy and Ettore Scola, he was one of the masters of ''commedia all'italiana''. Biography Risi was born in Milan. He had an o ...
, both works in perfect harmony with the evolution of the Italian costume. The large influx at the box office from the two films remained almost unchanged in the sequels '' Bread, Love and Jealousy'' (1954), '' Scandal in Sorrento'' (1955) and '' Pretty But Poor'' (1957), also directed by Luigi Comencini and Dino Risi. Similarly, stories of daily life told with gentle irony (without losing sight of the social fabric) can be found in the work of the Milanese
Luciano Emmer Luciano Emmer (19 January 1918 – 16 September 2009) was an Italian film director. He was born in Milan, but most of his childhood lived in Venice. He started as filmmaker at filming Giotto's frescoes in Padua in 1938. Screenwriter Serg ...
, whose films '' Sunday in August'' (1950), ''
Three Girls from Rome ''Three Girls from Rome'' ( it, Le ragazze di Piazza Spagna, released as ''Girls of the Spanish Steps'' in the UK) is a 1952 Italian classic comedy drama film directed by Luciano Emmer. Cast *Lucia Bosè as Marisa *Cosetta Greco as Elena *Lilian ...
'' (1952) and ''
High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
'' (1954), are the best known examples. Another film of the pink neorealism genre was '' Susanna Whipped Cream'' (1957) by Steno. This trend allowed some actresses to become real celebrities, such as Sophia Loren,
Gina Lollobrigida Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (born 4 July 1927) is an Italian actress, photojournalist, and politician. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. As o ...
,
Silvana Pampanini Silvana Pampanini (25 September 1925 – 6 January 2016) was an Italian film actress, director and singer. She was also the niece of the well-known soprano of the golden era of opera, Dame Rosetta Pampanini. Silvana Pampanini caused a sensation ...
,
Lucia Bosé Lucia may refer to: Arts and culture * ''Lucía'', a 1968 Cuban film by Humberto Solás * ''Lucia'' (film), a 2013 Kannada-language film * '' Lucia & The Best Boys'', a Scottish indie rock band formerly known as ''LUCIA'' * "Lucia", a Swedish c ...
,
Barbara Bouchet Barbara Bouchet (born Bärbel Gutscher; 15 August 1943)
glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com; ...
, Eleonora Rossi Drago,
Silvana Mangano Silvana Mangano (; 21 April 1930 – 16 December 1989) was an Italian film actress. She was one of a generation of thespians who arose from the neorealist movement, and went on to become a major female star, regarded as a sex symbol for the 19 ...
,
Virna Lisi Verna or Virna may refer to: People * Verna Aardema (1911–2000), American author of children's books * Verna Bloom (1939–2019), American actress * Virna De Angeli (born 1976), Italian former sprinter * Virna Dias (born 1971), Brazilian reti ...
,
Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose "Claudia" Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938) is an Italian actress. She has starred in some of the most iconic European films of the 1960s and 1970s, acting in Italian, French, and English. Born and raised in La Goulette, a ...
and
Stefania Sandrelli Stefania Sandrelli (born 5 June 1946) is an Italian actress, famous for her many roles in the ''commedia all'Italiana'', starting from the 1960s. She was 14 years old when she starred in '' Divorce Italian Style'' as Angela, the cousin and love i ...
. Soon pink neorealism was replaced by the
Commedia all'italiana Commedia all'italiana (, pl. Commedie all'italiana, "Comedy in the Italian way") or Italian-style comedy is an Italian film genre born in Italy in the 1950s and developed in the 1960s and 1970s. It is widely considered to have started with Mar ...
, a unique genre that, born on an ideally humouristic line, talked instead very seriously about important social themes.


Commedia all'Italiana (1950s–1970s)

Commedia all'italiana Commedia all'italiana (, pl. Commedie all'italiana, "Comedy in the Italian way") or Italian-style comedy is an Italian film genre born in Italy in the 1950s and developed in the 1960s and 1970s. It is widely considered to have started with Mar ...
("Comedy in the Italian way") is an Italian film genre born in Italy in the 1950s and developed in the following 1960s and 1970s. It is widely considered to have started with Mario Monicelli's ''
Big Deal on Madonna Street ''Big Deal on Madonna Street'' ( it, I soliti ignoti; released in the UK as ''Persons Unknown'') is a 1958 Italian comedy caper film directed by Mario Monicelli and considered to be among the masterpieces of Italian cinema. Its original Italian ...
'' in 1958 and derives its name from the title of Pietro Germi's ''
Divorce Italian Style ''Divorce Italian Style'' ( it, Divorzio all'italiana) is a 1961 Italian dark comedy film directed by Pietro Germi. The screenplay is by Germi, Ennio De Concini, Alfredo Giannetti, and Agenore Incrocci, based on Giovanni Arpino's novel '' Un de ...
'', 1961. According to most of the critics, '' La Terrazza'' by Ettore Scola (1980) is the last work considered part of the Commedia all'italiana. Rather than a specific genre, the term indicates a period (approximately from the late 1950s to the early 1970s) in which the Italian film industry was producing many successful comedies, with some common traits like satire of manners, farcical and grotesque overtones, a strong focus on "spicy" social issues of the period (like sexual matters, divorce, contraception, marriage of the clergy, the economic rise of the country and its various consequences, the traditional religious influence of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
) and a prevailing middle-class setting, often characterized by a substantial background of sadness and
social criticism Social criticism is a form of academic or journalistic criticism focusing on social issues in contemporary society, in particular with respect to perceived injustices and power relations in general. Social criticism of the Enlightenment The or ...
that diluted the comic contents. The genre of Commedia all'italiana differs markedly from the light and disengaged comedy from the so-called "pink neorealism" trend, in vogue until all of the 1950s, since, starting from the lesson of neorealism, is based on a more frank adherence in writing to reality; therefore, alongside the comic situations and plots typical of traditional comedy, always combines, with irony, a biting and sometimes bitter satire of manners, which reflects the evolution of Italian society in those years. The success of films belonging to the "Commedia all'italiana" genre is due both to the presence of an entire generation of great actors, who knew how to masterfully embody the vices and virtues, and the attempts at emancipation but also the vulgarities of the Italians of the time, both to the careful work of directors, storytellers and screenwriters, who invented a real genre, with essentially new connotations, managing to find precious material for their cinematographic creations in the folds of a rapid evolution with many contradictions. Among the actors the main representatives are
Alberto Sordi Alberto Sordi (15 June 1920 – 24 February 2003) was an Italian actor, voice actor, singer, comedian, director and screenwriter. Early life Born in Rome to a schoolteacher and a musician and the last of five children, Sordi was named in hon ...
,
Ugo Tognazzi Ugo Tognazzi (23 March 1922 – 27 October 1990) was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter. Early life Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a travelling clerk fo ...
, Vittorio Gassman, Marcello Mastroianni and
Nino Manfredi Saturnino "Nino" Manfredi (22 March 1921 – 4 June 2004) was an Italian actor, voice actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, comedian, singer, author, radio personality and television presenter. He was one of the most prominent Italian a ...
, while among the actresses is
Monica Vitti Monica Vitti (born Maria Luisa Ceciarelli; 3 November 1931 – 2 February 2022) was an Italian actress who starred in several award-winning films directed by Michelangelo Antonioni during the 1960s. After working with Antonioni, Vitti changed fo ...
. Among directors and films, in 1961
Dino Risi Dino Risi (23 December 1916 – 7 June 2008) was an Italian film director. With Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Nanni Loy and Ettore Scola, he was one of the masters of ''commedia all'italiana''. Biography Risi was born in Milan. He had an o ...
directed ''Una vita difficile'' (''
A Difficult Life ''A Difficult Life'' (Italian: ''Una vita difficile'') is a ''Commedia all'italiana'' or Italian-style comedy film directed by Dino Risi in 1961. The film was included on the 100 Italian Films To Be Saved (100 film italiani da salvare). Plot Th ...
''), then ''
Il Sorpasso ''Il sorpasso'' (, occasionally titled ''The Easy Life'') is a 1962 Italian cult comedy film co-written and directed by Dino Risi and starring Vittorio Gassman, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Catherine Spaak. It is considered Risi's masterpiece and ...
'' (''The Easy Life''), now a cult-movie, followed by: ''
I Mostri ''I mostri'' (also known as ''Opiate '67'' or, in a cut version, ''15 from Rome'') is a 1963 commedia all'italiana film by Italian director Dino Risi. It was coproduced with France. The film was a huge success in Italy. It was censored in Spain. ...
'' (''The Monsters'', also known as ''15 From Rome''), ''In nome del popolo italiano'' (''
In the Name of the Italian People ''In the Name of the Italian People'' ( it, In nome del popolo italiano) is a 1971 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Dino Risi. It represents a reflection about the crisis of the Italian judiciary and the growing phenomenon of corruption. Plo ...
'') and ''
Profumo di donna ''Scent of a Woman'' ( it, Profumo di donna) is a 1974 Commedia all'italiana film directed by Dino Risi, based on ''Il buio e il miele'', a story by Giovanni Arpino. Both Risi and the leading actor Vittorio Gassman won important Italian and Frenc ...
'' (''Scent of a Woman''). Monicelli's works include ''La grande guerra'' (''
The Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
''), ''I compagni'' (''
The Organizer ''The Organizer'' ( it, I compagni"''I compagni''" literally translates into "''The Comrades''.") is a 1963 Italian-French-Yugoslavian-produced drama film written by Mario Monicelli and Age & Scarpelli, and directed by Mario Monicelli. Set in Tu ...
''), '' L'armata Brancaleone'', ''Vogliamo i colonnelli'' ('' We Want the Colonels''), ''Romanzo popolare'' ('' Come Home and Meet My Wife'') and the ''Amici miei'' ('' My Friends'') series. For the majority of critics the true and proper "Commedia all'italiana" is to be considered definitively waned since the beginning of the 1980s, giving way, at most, to an "Commedia italiana" ("Italian comedy").


Totò (1950s–1960s)

At this time, on the more commercial side of production, the phenomenon of
Totò Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi de Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April 1967), best known by his stage name Totò (), or simply as Antonio de Curtis, and nicknamed ''il Principe della risata ...
, a Neapolitan actor who is acclaimed as the major Italian comic, exploded. His films (often with
Aldo Fabrizi Aldo Fabrizi (; born Aldo Fabbrizi; 1 November 1905 – 2 April 1990) was an Italian actor, director, screenwriter and comedian, best known for the role of the heroic priest in Roberto Rossellini's ''Rome, Open City'' and as partner of Totò in ...
, Peppino De Filippo and almost always with
Mario Castellani Mario Castellani (24 November 190625 April 1978) was an Italian comic actor, best known as the sidekick of famous comic actor Antonio De Curtis (Totò). He appeared with the latter in all his major movies, as well as many of Totò's theatre pro ...
) expressed a sort of neorealistic satire, in the means of a ''guitto'' (a "hammy" actor) as well as with the art of the great dramatic actor he also was. Totò is one of the symbols of the
cinema of Naples The history of cinema in Naples begins at the end of the 19th century and over time it has recorded cinematographic works, production houses and notable filmmakers. Over the decades, the Neapolitan capital has also been used as a film set for m ...
. A "film-machine" who produced dozens of titles per year, his repertoire was frequently repeated. His personal story (a prince born in the poorest ''rione'' (section of the city) of
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
), his unique twisted face, his special mimic expressions and his gestures created an inimitable personage and made him one of the most beloved Italians of the 1960s. Some of his best-known films are ''
Fear and Sand ''Fear and Sand'' ( it, Fifa e arena) is a 1948 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Totò. Plot Nicolino is a kitchen boy who works in a small pharmacy in the country, run by a woman unbearably rude. So Nicolino really wa ...
'' by Mario Mattoli, ''
Toto Tours Italy ''Toto Tours Italy'' ( it, Totò al giro d'Italia) is a 1948 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Totò. The film features cameos of famous cyclists and other sportsmen of the time: Fausto Coppi, Gino Bartali, Fiorenzo M ...
'' by Mario Mattoli, '' Toto the Sheik'' by Mario Mattoli, '' Cops and Robbers'' by Mario Monicelli, '' Toto and the Women'' by Mario Monicelli, '' Totò Tarzan'' by Mario Mattoli, ''
Toto the Third Man ''Toto the Third Man'' ( it, Totò terzo uomo) is a 1951 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Totò. Plot In a small village Peter and Paul (both starring Toto), twin brothers of opposite characters, Peter, mayor of the t ...
'' by Mario Mattoli, ''
Toto and the King of Rome ''Toto and the King of Rome'' ( it, Totò e i re di Roma) is a 1952 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Monicelli and Steno. Italian horror film director Lucio Fulci worked on this film as an assistant director.Thrower, Stephen (1999). Beyond T ...
'' by Mario Monicelli and Steno, '' Toto in Color'' by Steno (one of the first Italian color movies, 1952, in
Ferrania FILM Ferrania s.r.l. is a photographic film manufacturing company located in Ferrania (Liguria), Italy. Ferrania was founded in 1923 as a maker of photographic film, papers, and photographic equipment, including cameras. The company was purchas ...
color), ''
Big Deal on Madonna Street ''Big Deal on Madonna Street'' ( it, I soliti ignoti; released in the UK as ''Persons Unknown'') is a 1958 Italian comedy caper film directed by Mario Monicelli and considered to be among the masterpieces of Italian cinema. Its original Italian ...
'' by Mario Monicelli, '' Toto, Peppino, and the Hussy'' by
Camillo Mastrocinque Camillo Mastrocinque (11 May 1901 – 23 April 1969) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed more than 60 films between 1937 and 1968, and is known to horror film fans for directing '' Terror in the Crypt'' (1964) starring ...
and ''
The Law Is the Law ''The Law Is the Law'' (french: La loi, c'est la loi, it, La legge è legge) is a 1958 French-Italian comedy film directed by Christian-Jaque. It was entered into the 8th Berlin International Film Festival. Plot In the village of Assola, div ...
'' by Christian-Jaque.
Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...
's ''
The Hawks and the Sparrows ''The Hawks and the Sparrows'' ( it, Uccellacci e uccellini, literally "Birds of prey and Little Birds") is a 1966 Italian film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. It was entered into the 1966 Cannes Film Festival where a "Special Mention" was made ...
'' and the episode "Che cosa sono le nuvole" from ''
Caprice Italian Style ''Caprice Italian Style'' ( it, Capriccio all'italiana) is a 1968 Italian comedy film directed by six different directors, including Mario Monicelli and Pier Paolo Pasolini. The film starred both Totò and the comic duo Franco and Ciccio. Plot ...
'' (the latter released after his death), showed his dramatic skills.


Don Camillo and Peppone (1950s–1980s)

A series of black-and-white films based on Don Camillo and Peppone characters created by the Italian writer and journalist
Giovannino Guareschi Giovannino Oliviero Giuseppe Guareschi (; 1 May 1908 – 22 July 1968) was an Italian journalist, cartoonist and humorist whose best known creation is the priest Don Camillo. Life and career Giovannino Guareschi was born into a middle-class famil ...
were made between 1952 and 1965. These were French-Italian coproductions, and starred
Fernandel Fernand Joseph Désiré Contandin (8 May 1903 – 26 February 1971), better known as Fernandel, was a French actor and singer. Born near Marseille, France, to Désirée Bedouin and Denis Contandin, originating in Perosa Argentina, an Occitan t ...
as the Italian priest Don Camillo and
Gino Cervi Luigi Cervi (3 May 1901 – 3 January 1974), better known as Gino Cervi (), was an Italian actor. He was best known for portraying Peppone in a series of comedies based on the character ''Don Camillo'' (1952-1965), and police detective Jules ...
as Giuseppe 'Peppone' Bottazzi, the Communist Mayor of their rural town. The titles are: ''
The Little World of Don Camillo ''The Little World of Don Camillo'' ( it, Don Camillo; french: Le Petit Monde de don Camillo) is a 1952 Italian-French film directed by Julien Duvivier, starring Fernandel and Gino Cervi. It was the first film in the ''"Don Camillo"'' series, whic ...
'' (1952), ''
The Return of Don Camillo ''The Return of Don Camillo'' (Italian: ''Il ritorno di Don Camillo''; French: ''Le Retour de don Camillo'') is a 1953 French-Italian comedy film directed by Julien Duvivier and starring Fernandel, Gino Cervi and Édouard Delmont. The film's set ...
'' (1953), ''
Don Camillo's Last Round ''Don Camillo's Last Round'' (French: ''La grande bagarre de Don Camillo'', Italian: ''Don Camillo e l'onorevole Peppone'') is a 1955 French-Italian comedy film directed by Carmine Gallone and starring Fernandel, Gino Cervi and Leda Gloria. It was ...
'' (1955), '' Don Camillo: Monsignor'' (1961), and ''
Don Camillo in Moscow ''Don Camillo in Moscow'' ( it, Il compagno Don Camillo, "Comrade Don Camillo"; french: Don Camillo en Russie, "Don Camillo in Russia") is a 1965 Italian comedy film directed by Luigi Comencini. It was the fifth film in the Don Camillo series ...
'' (1965). The movies were a huge commercial success in their native countries. In 1952, ''Little World of Don Camillo'' became the highest-grossing film in both Italy and France, while ''The Return of Don Camillo'' was the second most popular film of 1953 at the Italian and French box office.
Mario Camerini Mario Camerini (6 February 1895 – 4 February 1981) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. The cousin of Augusto Genina, he made the most well-known films in Italy during the 1930s, most of them comedies starring Vittorio De Sica. H ...
began filming the film ''Don Camillo e i giovani d'oggi'', but had to stop filming due to Fernandel's falling ill, which resulted in his untimely death. The film was then realized in 1972 with
Gastone Moschin Gastone Moschin (8 June 1929 – 4 September 2017) was an Italian stage, television and film actor. Career Born in San Giovanni Lupatoto (Veneto), Moschin graduated from the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico and then began ...
playing the role of Don Camillo and
Lionel Stander Lionel Jay Stander (January 11, 1908 – November 30, 1994) was an American actor in films, radio, theater and television. He is best remembered for his role as majordomo Max on the 1980s mystery television series '' Hart to Hart''. Early ...
as Peppone. A new Don Camillo film, titled '' The World of Don Camillo'', was also remade in 1983, an Italian production with
Terence Hill Terence Hill (born Mario Girotti; 29 March 1939) is an Italian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He began his career as a child actor and gained international fame for starring roles in action and comedy films, many with longtim ...
directing and also starring as Don Camillo.
Colin Blakely Colin George Blakely (23 September 1930 – 7 May 1987) was a Northern Irish actor. He had roles in the films '' A Man for All Seasons'' (1966), '' The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'' (1970), '' Murder on the Orient Express'' (1974), and '' ...
performed Peppone in one of his last film roles.


Hollywood on the Tiber (1950s–1960s)

Hollywood on the Tiber Hollywood on the Tiber is a phrase used to describe the period in the 1950s and 1960s when the Italian capital of Rome emerged as a major location for international filmmaking attracting many foreign productions to the Cinecittà studios. By contr ...
is a phrase used to describe the period in the 1950s and 1960s when the Italian capital of
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
emerged as a major location for international
filmmaking 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, cast ...
attracting many foreign productions to the
Cinecittà Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City Studios), is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios we ...
studios, the largest film studio in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
. By contrast to the native Italian film industry, these movies were made in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
for global release. Although the primary markets for such films were American and British audiences, they enjoyed widespread popularity in other countries, including Italy. In the late 1940s, Hollywood studios began to shift production abroad to Europe. Italy was, along with Britain, one of the major destinations for American film companies. Large-budget films shot at Cinecittà during the "Hollywood on the Tiber" era such as '' Quo Vadis'' (1951), ''
Roman Holiday ''Roman Holiday'' is a 1953 American romantic comedy film directed and produced by William Wyler. It stars Audrey Hepburn as a princess out to see Rome on her own and Gregory Peck as a reporter. Hepburn won an Academy Award for Best Actress f ...
'' (1953), '' Ben-Hur'' (1959), and '' Cleopatra'' (1963) were made in English with international casts and sometimes, but not always, Italian settings or themes. The heyday of what was dubbed '"Hollywood on the Tiber" was between 1950 and 1970, during which time many of the most famous names in world cinema made films in Italy. The phrase "Hollywood on Tiber", a reference to the river that runs through Rome, was coined in 1950 by ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' magazine during the making of ''Quo Vadis''. File:Quo Vadis (1951) trailer 8.jpg, '' Quo Vadis'' by Mervyn LeRoy (1951) File:Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck on Vespa in Roman Holiday trailer.jpg, Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in ''
Roman Holiday ''Roman Holiday'' is a 1953 American romantic comedy film directed and produced by William Wyler. It stars Audrey Hepburn as a princess out to see Rome on her own and Gregory Peck as a reporter. Hepburn won an Academy Award for Best Actress f ...
'' by
William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a Swiss-German-American film director and producer who won the Academy Award for Best Director three times, those being for '' Mrs. Miniver'' (1942), ''The Best Years of ...
(1953) File:Taylor and Burton Cleopatra.jpg,
Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...
and Elizabeth Taylor in '' Cleopatra'' by Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1963)


Sword-and-sandal (a.k.a. Peplum) (1950s–1960s)

Sword-and-sandal, also known as ''peplum'' (''pepla'' plural), is a
subgenre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
of largely
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
-made historical, mythological, or Biblical epics mostly set in the
Greco-Roman antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
or the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
. These films attempted to emulate the big-budget Hollywood historical epics of the time. With the release of 1958's ''
Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...
'', starring American bodybuilder Steve Reeves, the Italian film industry gained entree to the American film market. These films were low-budget costume/adventure dramas, and had immediate appeal with both European and American audiences. Besides the many films starring a variety of muscle men as Hercules, heroes such as
Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...
and Italian fictional hero
Maciste Maciste () is one of the oldest recurring characters of cinema, created by Gabriele d'Annunzio and Giovanni Pastrone. He is featured throughout the history of the cinema of Italy from the 1910s to the mid-1960s. He is usually depicted as a Herc ...
were common. Sometimes dismissed as low-quality escapist fare, the sword-and-sandal allowed newer directors such as Sergio Leone and
Mario Bava Mario Bava (31 July 1914 – 27 April 1980) was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, cinematographer, special effects artist and screenwriter, frequently referred to as the "Master of Italian Horror" and the "Master of the M ...
a means of breaking into the film industry. Some, such as Mario Bava's '' Hercules in the Haunted World'' (Italian: Ercole Al Centro Della Terra) are considered seminal works in their own right. As the genre matured, budgets sometimes increased, as evidenced in 1962's '' I sette gladiatori'' (''The Seven Gladiators'' in 1964 US release), a wide-screen epic with impressive sets and matte-painting work. Most sword-and-sandal films were in
color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are assoc ...
, whereas previous Italian efforts had often been black and white. File:Douglas Mangano.jpg, Kirk Douglas and
Silvana Mangano Silvana Mangano (; 21 April 1930 – 16 December 1989) was an Italian film actress. She was one of a generation of thespians who arose from the neorealist movement, and went on to become a major female star, regarded as a sex symbol for the 19 ...
in a pause during the shootings of '' Ulysses'' by
Mario Camerini Mario Camerini (6 February 1895 – 4 February 1981) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. The cousin of Augusto Genina, he made the most well-known films in Italy during the 1930s, most of them comedies starring Vittorio De Sica. H ...
(1954) File:Steve Reeves e Gordon Scott in Romolo e Remo.jpg, '' Duel of the Titans'' by
Sergio Corbucci Sergio Corbucci (; 6 December 1926 – 1 December 1990) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed both very violent Spaghetti Westerns and bloodless Bud Spencer and Terence Hill action comedies. He is the older bro ...
(1961) File:Arrivano i titani (film).JPG, ''
My Son, the Hero ''My Son, the Hero'' (Italian title: ''Arrivano i titani'' - ''The Coming of the Titans''; alternative UK title: ''Sons of Thunder'') is a 1962 mythological sword-and-sandal comedy film directed by Duccio Tessari and starring Giuliano Gemma, Jacque ...
'' by
Duccio Tessari Duccio Tessari (11 October 1926 – 6 September 1994) was an Italian director, screenwriter and actor, considered one of the fathers of Spaghetti Westerns. Born in Genoa, Tessari started in the fifties as documentarist and as screenwriter of pe ...
(1962)


Musicarelli (1950s–1970s)

Musicarello The musicarello (; plural: musicarelli) is a film subgenre which emerged in Italy and which is characterised by the presence in main roles of young singers, already famous among their peers, and their new record album. In the films there are alm ...
(pl. musicarelli) is a film subgenre which emerged in Italy and which is characterised by the presence in main roles of young singers, already famous among their peers, and their new record album. The genre began in the late 1950s, and had its peak of production in the 1960s. The film which started the genre is considered to be '' I ragazzi del Juke-Box'' by
Lucio Fulci Lucio Fulci (; 17 June 1927 – 13 March 1996) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Although he worked in a wide array of genres through a career spanning nearly five decades, including comedies and Spaghetti Westerns, he ga ...
(1959). The musicarelli were inspired by two American musicals, in particular '' Jailhouse Rock'' by Richard Thorpe (1957) and earlier '' Love Me Tender'' by Robert D. Webb (1956), both starring
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
. At the heart of the musicarello is a hit song, or a song that the producers hoped would become a hit, that usually shares its title with the film itself and sometimes has lyrics depicting a part of the plot. In the films there are almost always tender and chaste love stories accompanied by the desire to have fun and dance without thoughts. Musicarelli reflect the desire and need for emancipation of young
Italians , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...
, highlighting some generational frictions. With the arrival of the 1968 student protests the genre started to decline, because the generational revolt became explicitly political and at the same time there was no longer a music equally directed to the whole youth-audience. For some time the duo Al Bano and Romina Power continued to enjoy success in musicarello films, but their films (like their songs) were a return to the traditional melody and to the musical films of the previous decades.


1960s


Spaghetti Western (1960s–1970s)

On the heels of the sword-and-sandal craze, a related genre, the Spaghetti Western arose and was popular both in Italy and elsewhere. These films differed from traditional Western (genre), westerns by being filmed in Europe on limited budgets, but featured vivid cinematography. The term was used by foreign critics because most of these westerns were produced and directed by Italians. The most popular Spaghetti Westerns were those of Sergio Leone, credited as the inventor of the genre, whose
Dollars Trilogy ''Dollars Trilogy'' ( it, link=no, Trilogia del dollaro), also known as the ''Man with No Name Trilogy'' ( it, link=no, Trilogia dell'Uomo senza nome) or the ''Blood Money Trilogy'', is an Italian film series consisting of three Spaghetti Weste ...
(1964's ''A Fistful of Dollars'', an unauthorized remake of the Japanese film ''Yojimbo'' by Akira Kurosawa; 1965's ''For a Few Dollars More'', an original sequel; and 1966's ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'', a World-famous prequel), featuring Clint Eastwood as a character marketed as "the Man with No Name" and notorious scores by Ennio Morricone, came to define the genre along with ''Once Upon a Time in the West'' (1968). Another popular Spaghetti Western film is
Sergio Corbucci Sergio Corbucci (; 6 December 1926 – 1 December 1990) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed both very violent Spaghetti Westerns and bloodless Bud Spencer and Terence Hill action comedies. He is the older bro ...
''Django (1966 film), Django'' (1966), starring Franco Nero as Django (character), the titular character, another ''Yojimbo'' plagiarism, produced to capitalize on the success of ''A Fistful of Dollars''. The original ''Django'' was followed by both an authorized sequel (1987's ''Django Strikes Again'') and an overwhelming number of unauthorized uses of the same character in other films. File:Clint Eastwood1.png, Clint Eastwood as the Man with No Name in ''For a Few Dollars More'' (1965), part of Sergio Leone's
Dollars Trilogy ''Dollars Trilogy'' ( it, link=no, Trilogia del dollaro), also known as the ''Man with No Name Trilogy'' ( it, link=no, Trilogia dell'Uomo senza nome) or the ''Blood Money Trilogy'', is an Italian film series consisting of three Spaghetti Weste ...
. File:Franco Nero (Django).jpg, Franco Nero as Django (character), Django in the Django (1966 film), film of the same name by
Sergio Corbucci Sergio Corbucci (; 6 December 1926 – 1 December 1990) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed both very violent Spaghetti Westerns and bloodless Bud Spencer and Terence Hill action comedies. He is the older bro ...
(1966). File:Il pistolero dell Ave Maria - 1969 Mann.png, ''The Forgotten Pistolero'' by Ferdinando Baldi (1969)


Bud Spencer and Terence Hill (1960s–1990s)

Also considered Spaghetti Westerns is a film genre which combined traditional western ambiance with a
Commedia all'italiana Commedia all'italiana (, pl. Commedie all'italiana, "Comedy in the Italian way") or Italian-style comedy is an Italian film genre born in Italy in the 1950s and developed in the 1960s and 1970s. It is widely considered to have started with Mar ...
-type comedy; films including ''They Call Me Trinity'' (1970) and ''Trinity Is Still My Name'' (1971), both by Enzo Barboni, which featured Terence Hill and Bud Spencer, Bud Spencer and Terence Hill, the stage names of Carlo Pedersoli and Mario Girotti. Terence Hill and Bud Spencer made numerous films together. Most of their early films were Spaghetti Westerns, beginning with ''God Forgives... I Don't!'' (1967), the first part of a trilogy, followed by ''Ace High (1968 film), Ace High'' (1968) and ''Boot Hill (film), Boot Hill'' (1969), but they also starred in comedies such as ''... All the Way, Boys!'' (1972) and ''Watch Out, We're Mad!'' (1974). The next films shot by the couple of actors, almost all comedies, were ''Two Missionaries'' (1974), ''Crime Busters'' (1977), ''Odds and Evens (film), Odds and Evens'' (1978), ''I'm for the Hippopotamus'' (1979), ''Who Finds a Friend Finds a Treasure'' (1981), ''Go for It (1983 film), Go for It'' (1983), ''Double Trouble (1984 film), Double Trouble'' (1984), ''Miami Supercops'' (1985) and ''Troublemakers (1994 film), Troublemakers'' (1994).


Giallo (1960s–present)

During the 1960s and 1970s, Italian filmmakers
Mario Bava Mario Bava (31 July 1914 – 27 April 1980) was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, cinematographer, special effects artist and screenwriter, frequently referred to as the "Master of Italian Horror" and the "Master of the M ...
, Riccardo Freda, Antonio Margheriti and Dario Argento developed ''
giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...
'' (plural ''gialli'', from :wiktionary:giallo, ''giallo'', Italian for "yellow") horror films that become classics and influenced the genre in other countries. Representative films include: ''The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963 film), The Girl Who Knew Too Much'' (1963), ''Castle of Blood'' (1964), ''The Bird with the Crystal Plumage'' (1970), ''Twitch of the Death Nerve'' (1971), ''Deep Red'' (1975) and ''Suspiria'' (1977). ''Giallo'' is a genre of mystery fiction and thriller (genre), thrillers and often contains Slasher film, slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, Sexploitation film, sexploitation, and, less frequently, supernatural, supernatural horror elements. ''Giallo'' developed in the mid-to-late 1960s, peaked in popularity during the 1970s, and subsequently declined in commercial mainstream filmmaking over the next few decades, though examples continue to be produced. It was a predecessor to, and had significant influence on, the later American slasher film genre. ''Giallo'' usually blends the atmosphere and suspense of thriller fiction with elements of horror fiction (such as slasher violence) and eroticism (similar to the French ''fantastique'' genre), and often involves a mysterious killer whose identity is not revealed until the final act of the film. Most critics agree that the ''giallo'' represents a distinct category with unique features, but there is some disagreement on what exactly defines a ''giallo'' film. ''Giallo'' films are generally characterized as gruesome murder-mystery thrillers that combine the suspense elements of detective fiction with scenes of shocking horror fiction, horror, featuring excessive bloodletting, stylish camerawork and often jarring musical arrangements. The Archetype, archetypal ''giallo'' plot involves a mysterious, black-gloved psychopathic killer who stalks and butchers a series of beautiful women. While most ''gialli'' involve a human killer, some also feature a supernatural element. The typical ''giallo'' protagonist is an outsider of some type, often a traveller, tourist, outcast, or even an alienated or disgraced private investigator, and frequently a young woman, often a young woman who is lonely or alone in a strange or foreign situation or environment (''gialli'' rarely or less frequently feature law enforcement officers as chief protagonists). The protagonists are generally or often unconnected to the murders before they begin and are drawn to help find the killer through their role as a witness to one of the murders. The mystery is the identity of the killer, who is often revealed in the Climax (narrative), climax to be another key character, who conceals his or her identity with a disguise (usually some combination of hat, mask, sunglasses, gloves, and trench coat). Thus, the literary whodunit element of the ''giallo'' novels is retained, while being filtered through horror genre elements and Italy's long-standing tradition of opera and staged Grand Guignol, grand guignol drama. The structure of ''giallo'' films is also sometimes reminiscent of the so-called "weird menace" pulp magazine horror mystery genre alongside Edgar Allan Poe and Agatha Christie. File:Sei donne per l'assassino.png, A scene from ''Blood and Black Lace'' by
Mario Bava Mario Bava (31 July 1914 – 27 April 1980) was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, cinematographer, special effects artist and screenwriter, frequently referred to as the "Master of Italian Horror" and the "Master of the M ...
(1964) File:L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo (1970) Eva Renzi 4.png, ''The Bird with the Crystal Plumage'' by Dario Argento (1970) File:Profondo rosso Calandra.jpg, Giuliana Calandra in a famous scene from ''Deep Red'' by Dario Argento (1975) File:Suspiria 1977.jpg, Suzy (Jessica Harper) and Sara (Stefania Casini) in ''Suspiria'' (1977), the first film in Dario Argento's "The Three Mothers" trilogy


Poliziotteschi (1960s–1970s)

Poliziotteschi (plural of poliziottesco) films constitute a subgenre of crime and action film that emerged in Italy in the late 1960s and reached the height of their popularity in the 1970s. They are also known as ''polizieschi all'italiana'', Euro-crime, Italo-crime, spaghetti crime films', or simply Italian crime films. Influenced by both 1970s Gangster film#French gangster films, French crime films and gritty 1960s and 1970s American Crime thriller, cop films and vigilante films, poliziotteschi films were made amidst an atmosphere of Anni di piombo, socio-political turmoil in Italy and increasing Italian crime rates. The films generally featured graphic and brutal violence, organized crime, car chases, vigilantism, heist film, heists, gunfights, and corruption up to the highest levels. The protagonists were generally tough working class loners, willing to act outside a corrupt or overly bureaucratic system. Most notable international actors acted in this genre of films such Alain Delon, Henry Silva, Fred Williamson, Charles Bronson, Tomas Milian and others international stars.


Franco and Ciccio (1960s–1980s)

Franco and Ciccio were a comedy duo formed by Italian actors Franco Franchi (1928–1992) and Ciccio Ingrassia (1922–2003), particularly popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Together, they appeared in 116 films, usually as the main characters, and occasionally as supporting characters in films featuring well-known actors such as
Totò Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi de Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April 1967), best known by his stage name Totò (), or simply as Antonio de Curtis, and nicknamed ''il Principe della risata ...
, Domenico Modugno, Vittorio Gassman, Buster Keaton and Vincent Price. Their collaboration began in 1954 in the theater field, and ended with Franchi's death in 1992. The two made their cinema debuts in 1960 with the film ''Appuntamento a Ischia''. After, seeing them in this film Modugno who, wanted them with him in his film, and remained active until 1984 when they shot their last film together, ''Kaos (film), Kaos'', although there were some interruptions in 1973, and from 1975 to 1980. They acted in films certainly made in a short time and with few means, such as those shot with director Marcello Ciorciolini, sometimes even making a dozen films in a year, often without a real script and where they often improvised on the set. Also are the 13 films directed by
Lucio Fulci Lucio Fulci (; 17 June 1927 – 13 March 1996) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Although he worked in a wide array of genres through a career spanning nearly five decades, including comedies and Spaghetti Westerns, he ga ...
, who was the architect of the reversal of their typical roles by making Ciccio the serious one, the sidekick, and Franco the comic one. They also worked with important directors such as
Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...
and the Taviani brothers. Considered at the time as protagonists of B movie, they were subsequently reevaluated by critics for their comedy and creative abilities, becoming the subject of study. The huge success with the public is evidenced by the box office earnings, which in the 1960s, represented 10% of the annual earnings in Italy.


Social and political cinema (1960s–1970s)

The auteur cinema of the 1960s continues its path by analyzing distinct themes and problems. A new authorial vision is emancipated from the surreal and existential veins of Fellini and Antonioni which sees cinema as an ideal means of denouncing corruption and malfeasance, both in the political system and in the industrial world. Thus was born the structure of the investigative film which, starting from the neorealist analysis of the facts, adding to them a concise critical judgment, with the manifest intent of shaking the consciences of public opinion. This typology deliberately touches upon burning issues, often targeting the established power, with the intent of reconstructing a historical truth that is often hidden or denied. The precursor of this way of understanding the director's profession was Francesco Rosi. In 1962 he inaugurated the investigation film project retracing, through a series of long Flashback (narrative), flashbacks, the life of the homonym Sicilian criminal in the film ''Salvatore Giuliano (film), Salvatore Giuliano''. The following year he directed Rod Steiger in ''Hands over the City'' (1963), in which he courageously denounced the collusion existing between the various organs of the State and the building exploitation in Naples. The film was awarded the Golden Lion at the
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
. One of Francesco Rosi's most famous films of denunciation is ''The Mattei Affair'' (1972), a rigorous documentary into the mysterious disappearance of Enrico Mattei, manager of Eni, a large Italian state group. The film won the
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the Cannes Film Festival and became (together with the tight ''Illustrious Corpses'' (1976)) a true model for similar denunciation films produced both in Italy and abroad. Famous films of denunciation by Elio Petri are ''The Working Class Goes to Heaven'' (1971), a corrosive denunciation of life in the factory (winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes) and ''Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion'' (1970). The latter (accompanied by the incisive soundtrack by Ennio Morricone) is a dry psychoanalytic thriller centered on the aberrations of power, analyzed in a pathological key. The film obtained a wide consensus, winning the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film the following year. Arguments related to civilian cinema can be found in the work of Damiano Damiani, who with ''The Day of the Owl (film), The Day of the Owl'' (1968) enjoyed considerable success. Other feature films include, ''Confessions of a Police Captain'' (1971), ''The Case Is Closed, Forget It'' (1971), ''How to Kill a Judge'' (1974) and ''I Am Afraid'' (1977). Also Pasquale Squitieri for the film ''Il prefetto di ferro'' (1977) and Giuliano Montaldo, who after some experiences as an actor, staged some historical and political films such as ''The Fifth Day of Peace'' (1970), ''Sacco & Vanzetti (1971 film), Sacco & Vanzetti'' (1971) and ''Giordano Bruno (film), Giordano Bruno'' (1973). Also Nanni Loy for the film ''In Prison Awaiting Trial'' (1971) starring
Alberto Sordi Alberto Sordi (15 June 1920 – 24 February 2003) was an Italian actor, voice actor, singer, comedian, director and screenwriter. Early life Born in Rome to a schoolteacher and a musician and the last of five children, Sordi was named in hon ...
.


1970s

In the 1970s the work done by the director Lina Wertmüller was influential, who together with the well-established actors Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato, gave life to successful films such as ''The Seduction of Mimi'' (1972), ''Love and Anarchy'' (1973) and ''Swept Away (1974 film), Swept Away'' (1974). Two years later, with ''Seven Beauties'' (1976), she obtained four nominations for the
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, making her the first woman ever to receive a nomination for best director. The last protagonist of the great season of the comedy is the director Ettore Scola. Throughout the 1950s, he played the role of screenwriter, and then makes his directorial debut in 1964 with the film ''Let's Talk About Women''. In 1974, he directed his best known film, ''We All Loved Each Other So Much'', which traces 30 years of Italian history through the stories of three friends: the lawyer Gianni Perego ( Vittorio Gassman), the porter Antonio (
Nino Manfredi Saturnino "Nino" Manfredi (22 March 1921 – 4 June 2004) was an Italian actor, voice actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, comedian, singer, author, radio personality and television presenter. He was one of the most prominent Italian a ...
) and the intellectual Nicola (Stefano Satta Flores). Other films include, ''Down and Dirty (film), Down and Dirty'' (1976) starring Nino Manfredi, and ''A Special Day'' (1977) starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni.


Commedia sexy all'italiana (1970s–1980s)

Commedia sexy all'italiana is characterized typically by both abundant female nudity and comedy, and by the minimal weight given to social criticism that was the basic ingredient of the main commedia all'italiana genre. Stories are often set in affluent environments such as wealthy households. It is closely connected to the sexual revolution, and it was something extremely new and innovative for that period. For the first time, films with female nudity could be watched at the cinema. Pornography and scenes of explicit sex were still forbidden in Italian cinemas, but partial nudity was somewhat tolerated. The genre has been described as a cross between Sex comedy, bawdy comedy and humorous softcore porn, erotic film with ample slapstick elements which follows more or less clichéd storylines. During this time, commedia sexy all'italiana films, described by the film critics of the time as not artistic or "trash films", were very popular in Italy. Today they are widely re-evaluated and have become real cult movies. They also allowed the producers of Italian cinema to have enough revenue to produce successful artistic films. These comedy films were of little artistic value and reached their popularity by confronting Italian social taboos, most notably in the sexual sphere. Actors such as Lando Buzzanca, Lino Banfi, Renzo Montagnani, Alvaro Vitali, Gloria Guida,
Barbara Bouchet Barbara Bouchet (born Bärbel Gutscher; 15 August 1943)
glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com; ...
and Edwige Fenech owe much of their popularity to these films.


Fantozzi (1970s–1990s)

The films starring Ugo Fantozzi, a character invented by Paolo Villaggio for his television sketches and newspaper short stories, also fell within the comic satirical comedy genre. Although Villaggio's movies tend to bridge comedy with a more elevated social satire, this character had a great impact on Italian society, to such a degree that the adjective ''fantozziano'' entered the lexicon. Ugo Fantozzi represents the
archetype The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that ...
of the average Italian of the 1970s, middle-class with a simple lifestyle with the anxieties common to an entire class of workers, being re-evaluated by critics. Of the many films telling of Fantozzi's misadventures, the most notable and famous were ''Fantozzi (film), Fantozzi'' (1975) and ''Il secondo tragico Fantozzi'' (1976), both directed by Luciano Salce, but many others were produced. The other films were ''Fantozzi contro tutti'' (1980) directed by Neri Parenti, ''Fantozzi subisce ancora'' (1983) by Neri Parenti, ''Superfantozzi'' (1986) by Neri Parenti, ''Fantozzi va in pensione'' (1988) by Neri Parenti, ''Fantozzi alla riscossa'' (1990) by Neri Parenti, ''Fantozzi in paradiso'' (1993) by Neri Parenti, ''Fantozzi - Il ritorno'' (1996) by Neri Parenti and ''Fantozzi 2000 - La clonazione'' (1999) by Domenico Saverni.


Sceneggiata (1970s–1990s)

The sceneggiata (pl. sceneggiate) or sceneggiata napoletana is a form of musical drama typical of
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
. Beginning as a form of musical theatre after
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, it was also adapted for cinema; sceneggiata films became especially popular in the 1970s, and contributed to the genre becoming more widely known outside Naples. The most famous actors who played dramas were Mario Merola (singer), Mario Merola, Mario Trevi, and Nino D'Angelo. The sceneggiata can be roughly described as a "musical soap opera", where action and dialogue are interspersed with Canzone Napoletana, Neapolitan songs. Plots revolve around melodramatic themes drawing from the Neapolitan culture and tradition, including passion, jealousy, betrayal, personal deceit and treachery, honor, vengeance, and life in the world of petty crime. Songs and dialogue were originally in Neapolitan dialect, although, especially in filmic production, Italian language, Italian has sometimes been preferred, to reach a larger audience. ''Sgarro alla camorra'' (i.e. "Offence to the Camorra", 1973), written and directed by Ettore Maria Fizzarotti and starring Mario Merola (singer), Mario Merola at his film debut, is regarded as the first sceneggiata film and as a prototype for the genre. It was shot in Cetara, Campania, Cetara, Province of Salerno. Outside Italy, sceneggiata is mostly known in areas populated by Italian diaspora, Italian immigrants. Besides Naples, the second homeland of sceneggiata is probably Little Italy in New York City.


1980s

The 1980s was a period of decline for Italian filmmaking. In 1985, only 80 films were produced (the least since the postwar period) and the total number of audience decreased from 525 million in 1970, to 123 million. It is a physiological process that invests, in the same period as other countries, with a great cinematographic tradition such as Japan, United Kingdom and France. The era of producers ended; Carlo Ponti and Dino De Laurentiis work abroad, Goffredo Lombardo and Franco Cristaldi were no longer key figures. The crisis affects the Italian Film genre, genre cinema above all, which, by virtue of the success of commercial television, is deprived of the vast majority of its audience. As a result, movie theaters began showing mainly Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood films, which steadily took over, while many other movie theaters closed. Among the major artistic films of this era were ''La città delle donne'', ''E la nave va'', ''Ginger and Fred'' by Federico Fellini, Fellini, ''L'albero degli zoccoli'' by Ermanno Olmi (winner of the
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the Cannes Film Festival), ''La notte di San Lorenzo'' by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, Antonioni's ''Identificazione di una donna'', and ''Bianca (1984 film), Bianca'' and ''La messa è finita'' by
Nanni Moretti Giovanni "Nanni" Moretti (; born 19 August 1953) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His films have won accolades including a Palme d'Or at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival for ''The Son's Room'', a Silver Bear at the ...
. Although not entirely Italian,
Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...
's ''The Last Emperor'', winner of 9 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director, and ''Once Upon a Time in America'' of Sergio Leone came out of this period also. ''Non ci resta che piangere'', directed by and starring both
Roberto Benigni Roberto Remigio Benigni (; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film ''Life Is Beautiful'' (1997), f ...
and Massimo Troisi, is a cult movie in Italy. Carlo Verdone, actor, screenwriter and film director, is best known for his comedic roles in Italian classics, which he also wrote and directed. His career was jumpstarted by his first three successes, ''Fun Is Beautiful, Un sacco bello'' (1980), ''Bianco, rosso e Verdone'' (1981) and ''Talcum Powder (film), Borotalco'' (1982). Since the 1990s, he has been introducing more serious subjects in his work, linked to the excesses of society and the individual's hardships in confronting it; some examples are ''Maledetto il giorno che t'ho incontrato, Maledetto il giorno che t'ho incontrata'' (1992), ''My Best Enemy (2006 film), Il mio miglior nemico'' (2006) and ''Me, Them and Lara, Io, loro e Lara'' (2010). Francesco Nuti began his professional career as an actor in the late 1970s, when he formed the cabaret group ''Giancattivi'' together with Alessandro Benvenuti and Athina Cenci. The group took part in the TV shows ''Black Out'' and ''Non Stop'' for RAI TV, and shot their first feature film, ''West of Paperino'' (1981), written and directed by Benvenuti. The following year Nuti abandoned the trio and began a solo career with three movies directed by Maurizio Ponzi: ''What a Ghostly Silence There Is Tonight'' (1982), ''The Pool Hustlers'' (1982) and ''Son contento'' (1983). Starting in 1985, he began to direct his movies, scoring an immediate success with the films ''Casablanca, Casablanca '' and '' All the Fault of Paradise'' (1985), ''Stregati'' (1987), ''Caruso Pascoski, Son of a Pole'' (1988), ''Willy Signori e vengo da lontano'' (1990) and ''Women in Skirts'' (1991). The 1990s were however a period of decline for the Tuscan director, with poorly successful movies such as ''OcchioPinocchio'' (1994), ''Mr. Fifteen Balls'' (1998), ''Io amo Andrea'' (2000) and ''Caruso, Zero for Conduct'' (2001). The cinepanettoni (singular: ''cinepanettone'') are a series of Farce, farcical Comedy film, comedy films, one or two of which are scheduled for release annually in Italy during the Christmas period. The films were originally produced by Aurelio De Laurentiis' Filmauro studio. These films are usually focused on the holidays of stereotypical Italians: bungling, wealthy and presumptuous members of the middle class who visit famous, glamorous or exotic places.


1990s

The economic crisis that emerged in the 1980s began to ease over the next decade. Nonetheless, the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons marked an all-time low in the number of films made, in the national market share (15 percent), in the total number of viewers (under 90 million per year) and in the number of cinemas. The effect of this industrial contraction sanctions the total disappearance of Italian Film genre, genre cinema in the middle of the decade, as it was no longer suitable to compete with the contemporary big Hollywood Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters (mainly due to the enormous budget differences available), with its directors and actors who therefore almost entirely switch to television film. A new generation of directors has helped return Italian cinema to a healthy level since the end of the 1980s. Probably the most noted film of the period is ''Nuovo Cinema Paradiso'', for which Giuseppe Tornatore won a 1989 Oscar (awarded in 1990) for Best Foreign Language Film. This award was followed when
Gabriele Salvatores Gabriele Salvatores (born 30 July 1950) is an Italian Academy Award-winning film director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Naples, Salvatores debuted as a theatre director in 1972, founding in Milan the Teatro dell'Elfo, for which he directe ...
's ''Mediterraneo (film), Mediterraneo'' won the same prize for 1991. ''Il Postino: The Postman'' (1994), directed by the British Michael Radford and starring Massimo Troisi, received five nominations at the Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Troisi, and won for Academy Award for Best Original Score, Best Original Score. Another exploit was in 1998 when
Roberto Benigni Roberto Remigio Benigni (; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film ''Life Is Beautiful'' (1997), f ...
won three Oscars for his movie ''Life Is Beautiful'' (''La vita è bella)'' (Best Actor for Benigni himself, Best Foreign Film, Best Music). The film was also nominated for Best Picture. Leonardo Pieraccioni made his directorial debut with ''The Graduates (1995 film), The Graduates'' (1995). In 1996 he directed his breakthrough film ''The Cyclone (1996 film), The Cyclone'', which grossed Italian lira, Lire 75 billion at the box office.


2000s

With the new millennium, the Italian film industry regained stability and critical recognition. In 1995, 93 films were produced, while in 2005, 274 films were made. In 2006, the national market share reached 31 percent. In 2001,
Nanni Moretti Giovanni "Nanni" Moretti (; born 19 August 1953) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His films have won accolades including a Palme d'Or at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival for ''The Son's Room'', a Silver Bear at the ...
's film ''The Son's Room'' (''La stanza del figlio'') received the
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the Cannes Film Festival. Other noteworthy recent Italian films include: ''Jona che visse nella balena'' directed by Roberto Faenza, ''Il grande cocomero'' by Francesca Archibugi, ''The Profession of Arms (2001 film), The Profession of Arms'' (''Il mestiere delle armi'') by Olmi, ''L'ora di religione'' by
Marco Bellocchio Marco Bellocchio (; born 9 November 1939) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Life and career Born in Bobbio, near Piacenza, Marco Bellocchio had a strict Catholic upbringing – his father was a lawyer, his mother a schoolt ...
, ''Il ladro di bambini'', ''Lamerica'', ''The Keys to the House'' (''Le chiavi di casa'') by Gianni Amelio, ''I'm Not Scared'' (''Io non-ho paura'') by
Gabriele Salvatores Gabriele Salvatores (born 30 July 1950) is an Italian Academy Award-winning film director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Naples, Salvatores debuted as a theatre director in 1972, founding in Milan the Teatro dell'Elfo, for which he directe ...
, ''Le Fate Ignoranti'', ''Facing Windows'' (''La finestra di fronte'') by Ferzan Özpetek, ''Good Morning, Night'' (''Buongiorno, notte'') by
Marco Bellocchio Marco Bellocchio (; born 9 November 1939) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Life and career Born in Bobbio, near Piacenza, Marco Bellocchio had a strict Catholic upbringing – his father was a lawyer, his mother a schoolt ...
, ''The Best of Youth'' (''La meglio gioventù'') by
Marco Tullio Giordana Marco Tullio Giordana (born 1 October 1950) is an Italian Film director, director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Milan, during the 1970s he approaches the cinema by collaborating on the screenplay of Roberto Faenza's 1977 documentary ''F ...
, ''The Beast in the Heart'' (''La bestia nel cuore'') by Cristina Comencini. In 2008
Paolo Sorrentino Paolo Sorrentino (; born 31 May 1970) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and writer. His 2013 film ''The Great Beauty'' won the Academy Awards, Academy Award, the Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe, and the British Academy of Film and Te ...
's ''Il Divo (film), Il Divo'', a biographical film based on the life of Giulio Andreotti, won the Jury prize and ''Gomorra (film), Gomorra'', a crime drama film, directed by
Matteo Garrone Matteo Garrone (born 15 October 1968) is an Italian filmmaker. Born in Rome, the son of a theatre critic, Nico Garrone and a photographer, in 1996 Garrone won the ''Sacher d'Oro'', an award sponsored by Nanni Moretti, with the short film ''Silho ...
won the Gran Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.


2010s

Paolo Sorrentino's ''The Great Beauty'' (''La Grande Bellezza'') won the 86th Academy Awards, 2014 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The two highest-grossing Italian films in Italy have both been directed by Gennaro Nunziante and starred Checco Zalone: ''Sole a catinelle'' (2013) with €51.8 million, and ''Quo Vado?'' (2016) with €65.3 million. ''They Call Me Jeeg'', a 2016 critically acclaimed superhero film directed by Gabriele Mainetti and starring Claudio Santamaria, won many awards, such as eight David di Donatello, two Nastro d'Argento, and a Globo d'oro. Gianfranco Rosi (director), Gianfranco Rosi's documentary film ''Fire at Sea'' (2016) won the
Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...
at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. ''They Call Me Jeeg'' and ''Fire at Sea'' were also selected as the Italian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards, but they were not nominated. Other successful 2010s Italian films include: ''Vincere'' and ''The Traitor (2019 film), The Traitor'' by
Marco Bellocchio Marco Bellocchio (; born 9 November 1939) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Life and career Born in Bobbio, near Piacenza, Marco Bellocchio had a strict Catholic upbringing – his father was a lawyer, his mother a schoolt ...
, ''The First Beautiful Thing'' (''La prima cosa bella''), ''Human Capital (2013 film), Human Capital'' (''Il capitale umano'') and ''Like Crazy (2016 film), Like Crazy'' (''La pazza gioia'') by Paolo Virzì, ''We Have a Pope (film), We Have a Pope'' (''Habemus Papam'') and ''Mia Madre'' by
Nanni Moretti Giovanni "Nanni" Moretti (; born 19 August 1953) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His films have won accolades including a Palme d'Or at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival for ''The Son's Room'', a Silver Bear at the ...
, ''Caesar Must Die'' (''Cesare deve morire'') by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, ''Don't Be Bad'' (''Non essere cattivo'') by Claudio Caligari, ''Romanzo Criminale'' by Michele Placido (that spawned a TV series, ''Romanzo criminale - La serie''), ''Youth (2015 film), Youth'' (''La giovinezza'') by Paolo Sorrentino, ''Suburra (film), Suburra'' by Stefano Sollima, ''Perfect Strangers (2016 film), Perfect Strangers'' (''Perfetti sconosciuti'') by Paolo Genovese, ''Mediterranea (film), Mediterranea'' and ''A Ciambra'' by Jonas Carpignano, ''Italian Race'' (''Veloce come il vento'') and ''The First King: Birth of an Empire'' (''Il primo re'') by Matteo Rovere, and ''Tale of Tales (2015 film), Tale of Tales'' (''Il racconto dei racconti''), ''Dogman (film), Dogman'' and ''Pinocchio (2019 film), Pinocchio'' by Matteo Garrone. ''Call Me by Your Name (film), Call Me by Your Name'' (2017), the final installment in Luca Guadagnino's thematic ''Desire'' trilogy, following ''I Am Love (film), I Am Love'' (2009) and ''A Bigger Splash (2015 film), A Bigger Splash'' (2015), received widespread acclaim and List of accolades received by Call Me by Your Name (film), numerous accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and the nomination for Best Picture in 2018. ''Perfect Strangers (2016 film), Perfect Strangers'' by Paolo Genovese was included in the ''Guinness World Records'' as it became the most remade film in cinema history, with a total of 18 versions of the film.


2020s

Successful 2020s Italian films include: ''The Life Ahead'' by Edoardo Ponti, ''Hidden Away (2020 film), Hidden Away'' by Giorgio Diritti, ''Bad Tales'' by Damiano and Fabio D'Innocenzo, ''The Predators (film), The Predators'' by Pietro Castellitto, ''Padrenostro'' by Claudio Noce, ''Notturno (film), Notturno'' by Gianfranco Rosi (director), Gianfranco Rosi, ''The King of Laughter'' by Mario Martone, ''A Chiara'' by Jonas Carpignano, ''Freaks Out'' by Gabriele Mainetti, ''The Hand of God (film), The Hand of God'' by
Paolo Sorrentino Paolo Sorrentino (; born 31 May 1970) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and writer. His 2013 film ''The Great Beauty'' won the Academy Awards, Academy Award, the Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe, and the British Academy of Film and Te ...
, ''Nostalgia (2022 film), Nostalgia'' by Mario Martone, ''Dry (2022 film), Dry'' by Paolo Giordano, ''The Hanging Sun'' by Francesco Carrozzini and ' by Pupi Avati.


Cinematheques

Cineteca Nazionale Cineteca Nazionale is a film archive located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1949. By law it manages the so-called legal deposit, with the task of collecting, preserving and disseminating the productions of Italian cinema. It is the only Italian ...
is a film archive located in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
. Founded in 1949, here are 80,000 films on file, 600,000 photographs, 50,000 posters and the collection of the Italian Association for the History of Cinema Research (AIRSC). It arose from the archival heritage of the
Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia The Centro sperimentale di cinematografia (Experimental Film Centre or Italian National film school) was established in 1935 in Italy and aims to promote the art and technique of cinematography and film. The centre is the oldest film school in ...
, which in 1943, had been removed by the Operation Achse, Nazi occupiers, losing unique materials.
Cineteca Italiana Cineteca Italiana is a private film archive located in Milan, Italy, established in 1947, and as a foundation in 1996. History Established in 1947, and as a foundation in 1996, the Cineteca Italiana houses over 20,000 films and more than 100,000 ...
is a private film archive located in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
. Established in 1947, and as a Foundation (nonprofit), foundation in 1996, the Cineteca Italiana houses over 20,000 films and more than 100,000 photographs from the history of Italian and Film industry, international cinema. Cineteca di Bologna is a film archive in
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
. It was founded in 1962.


Museums

The National Museum of Cinema (Italian: ''Museo Nazionale del Cinema'') located in
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
is a motion picture museum inside the Mole Antonelliana tower. It is operated by the ''Maria Adriana Prolo Foundation'', and the core of its collection is the result of the work of the historian and collector Maria Adriana Prolo. It was housed in the ''Palazzo Chiablese''. In 2008, with 532,196 visitors, it ranked 13th among the most visited Italian museums. The museum houses pre-cinematographic optical devices such as magic lanterns, earlier and current film technologies, stage items from early Italian movies and other memorabilia. Along the exhibition path of about 35,000 square feet (3,200 m2) on five levels, it is possible to visit some areas devoted to the different kinds of film crew, and in the main hall, fitted in the temple hall of the Mole (which was a building originally intended as a synagogue), a series of chapels representing several film genres. The Museum of Precinema (Italian: ''Museo del Precinema'') is a museum in the Palazzo Angeli, Prato della Valle, Padua, related to the history of precinema, or precursors of film. It was created in 1998 to display the Minici Zotti Collection, in collaboration with the Comune of Padova. It also produces interactive touring exhibitions and makes valuable loans to other prestigious exhibitions such as ''Lanterne magique et film peint'' at the Cinémathèque Française in Paris and the National Museum of Cinema in
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
. The Cinema Museum of
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
is located in
Cinecittà Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City Studios), is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios we ...
. The collections consist of movie posters and playbills, cine cameras, projectors, magic lanterns, stage costumes and the patent of
Filoteo Alberini Filoteo Alberini (14 March 1865 – 12 April 1937) was an Italian inventor, movie director, and one of the earliest pioneers of cinema. Biography Born in Orte, he began working as a handyman in his native town and, after completing the compulsor ...
's "
kinetograph The Kinetoscope is an early motion picture exhibition device, designed for films to be viewed by one person at a time through a peephole viewer window. The Kinetoscope was not a movie projector, but it introduced the basic approach that woul ...
". The
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
Cinema Museum, managed by the
Cineteca Italiana Cineteca Italiana is a private film archive located in Milan, Italy, established in 1947, and as a foundation in 1996. History Established in 1947, and as a foundation in 1996, the Cineteca Italiana houses over 20,000 films and more than 100,000 ...
, is divided into three sections, the precinema, animation cinema and "Milan as a film set", as well as multimedia and interactive stations. The Catania Cinema Museum exhibits documents concerning cinema, its techniques and its history, with particular attention to the link between cinema and Sicily. The Cinema Museum of Syracuse, Sicily, Syracuse collects more than 10,000 exhibits on display in 12 rooms.


Italian Academy Award winners

After the United States and the United Kingdom, Italy has the most
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
s wins. Italy is the most awarded country at the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, with 14 awards won, 3 Academy Honorary Award, Special Awards and 31 List of Italian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, nominations. Winners with the year of the ceremony: *'' Shoeshine'' (1947), by
Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...
(Honorary Award) *''
Bicycle Thieves ''Bicycle Thieves'' ( it, Ladri di biciclette; sometimes known in the United States as ''The Bicycle Thief'') is a 1948 Italian neorealist drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It follows the story of a poor father searching in post- World ...
'' (1949), by Vittorio De Sica (Honorary Award) *''The Walls of Malapaga'' (1950), by René Clément (Honorary Award) *''
La Strada ''La strada'' () is a 1954 Italian drama film directed by Federico Fellini and co-written by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano. The film tells the story of Gelsomina, a simple-minded young woman ( Giulietta Masina) bought from her mothe ...
'' (1956), by Federico Fellini *''
Nights of Cabiria ''Nights of Cabiria'' ( it, Le notti di Cabiria) is a 1957 drama film co-written and directed by Federico Fellini. It stars Giulietta Masina as Cabiria, a prostitute living in Rome. The cast also features François Périer and Amedeo Nazzari. ...
'' (1957), by Federico Fellini *''8½'' (1963), by Federico Fellini *''Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow'' (1964), by
Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...
*''Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion'' (1970), by Elio Petri *''The Garden of the Finzi-Continis'' (1971), by Vittorio De Sica *'' Amarcord'' (1973), by Federico Fellini *''Cinema Paradiso'' (1989), by Giuseppe Tornatore *''Mediterraneo'' (1992), by
Gabriele Salvatores Gabriele Salvatores (born 30 July 1950) is an Italian Academy Award-winning film director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Naples, Salvatores debuted as a theatre director in 1972, founding in Milan the Teatro dell'Elfo, for which he directe ...
*''Life Is Beautiful'' (1998), by
Roberto Benigni Roberto Remigio Benigni (; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film ''Life Is Beautiful'' (1997), f ...
*''The Great Beauty'' (2013), by
Paolo Sorrentino Paolo Sorrentino (; born 31 May 1970) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and writer. His 2013 film ''The Great Beauty'' won the Academy Awards, Academy Award, the Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe, and the British Academy of Film and Te ...
In 1961, Sophia Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as a woman who is raped in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, along with her adolescent daughter, in
Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...
's ''
Two Women ''Two Women'' ( it, La ciociara , rough literal translation "The Woman from Ciociaria") is a 1960 war drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica from a screenplay by Cesare Zavattini and De Sica, based on the novel of the same name by Alberto ...
''. She was the first actress to win an Academy Award for a performance in any foreign language, and the second Italian leading lady Oscar-winner, after
Anna Magnani Anna Maria Magnani (; 7 March 1908 – 26 September 1973) was an Italian actress.Obituary ''Variety'', 3 October 1973, pg. 47 She was known for her explosive acting and earthy, realistic portrayals of characters. Born in Rome, she worked her ...
for ''The Rose Tattoo''. In 1998,
Roberto Benigni Roberto Remigio Benigni (; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film ''Life Is Beautiful'' (1997), f ...
was the first Italian actor to win for the Academy Award for Best Actor, Best Actor for ''Life Is Beautiful''. Italian-born filmmaker Frank Capra won three times at the Academy Award for Best Director, for ''
It Happened One Night ''It Happened One Night'' is a 1934 pre-Code American romantic comedy film with elements of screwball comedy directed and co-produced by Frank Capra, in collaboration with Harry Cohn, in which a pampered socialite ( Claudette Colbert) tr ...
'', ''
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town ''Mr. Deeds Goes to Town'' is a 1936 American comedy-drama romance film directed by Frank Capra and starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in her first featured role. Based on the 1935 short story "Opera Hat" by Clarence Budington Kelland, which ...
'' and '' You Can't Take It with You''.
Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...
won the award for ''The Last Emperor'', and also Best Adapted Screenplay for the same movie. Ennio De Concini, Alfredo Giannetti and Pietro Germi won the award for Best Original Screenplay for ''
Divorce Italian Style ''Divorce Italian Style'' ( it, Divorzio all'italiana) is a 1961 Italian dark comedy film directed by Pietro Germi. The screenplay is by Germi, Ennio De Concini, Alfredo Giannetti, and Agenore Incrocci, based on Giovanni Arpino's novel '' Un de ...
''. The Academy Award for Best Film Editing was won by Gabriella Cristiani for ''The Last Emperor'' and by Pietro Scalia for ''JFK (film), JFK'' and ''Black Hawk Down (film), Black Hawk Down''. The award for Best Original Score was won by Nino Rota for ''The Godfather Part II''; Giorgio Moroder for ''Midnight Express (film), Midnight Express''; Nicola Piovani for ''Life is Beautiful''; Dario Marianelli for ''Atonement (2007 film), Atonement''; and Ennio Morricone for ''The Hateful Eight''. Giorgio Moroder also won the award for Best Original Song for ''Flashdance'' and ''Top Gun''. The Italian winners at the Academy Award for Best Production Design are Dario Simoni for ''Lawrence of Arabia (film), Lawrence of Arabia'' and ''Doctor Zhivago (film), Doctor Zhivago''; Elio Altramura and Gianni Quaranta for ''A Room with a View (1985 film), A Room with a View''; Bruno Cesari, Osvaldo Desideri and Ferdinando Scarfiotti for ''The Last Emperor''; Luciana Arrighi for ''Howards End (film), Howards End''; and Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo for ''The Aviator (2004 film), The Aviator'', ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007 film), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' and ''Hugo (film), Hugo''. The winners at the Academy Award for Best Cinematography are: Tony Gaudio for ''Anthony Adverse''; Pasqualino De Santis for ''Romeo and Juliet (1968 film), Romeo and Juliet''; Vittorio Storaro for ''Apocalypse Now'', ''Reds (film), Reds'' and ''The Last Emperor''; and Mauro Fiore for ''Avatar (2009 film), Avatar''. The winners at the Academy Award for Best Costume Design are Piero Gherardi for ''La dolce vita'' and ''8½''; Vittorio Nino Novarese for '' Cleopatra'' and ''Cromwell (film), Cromwell''; Danilo Donati for ''The Taming of the Shrew'', ''Romeo and Juliet (1968 film), Romeo and Juliet'', and '' Fellini's Casanova''; Franca Squarciapino for ''Cyrano de Bergerac (1990 film), Cyrano de Bergerac''; Gabriella Pescucci for ''The Age of Innocence (1993 film), The Age of Innocence''; and Milena Canonero for ''Barry Lyndon'', ''Chariots of Fire'', ''Marie Antoinette (2006 film), Marie Antoinette'' and ''The Grand Budapest Hotel''. Special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi won three Oscars: one Special Achievement Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for ''King Kong (1976 film), King Kong'' and two Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects for ''Alien (film), Alien'' (1979) and ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial''. The Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling was won by Manlio Rocchetti for ''Driving Miss Daisy'', and Alessandro Bertolazzi and Giorgio Gregorini for ''Suicide Squad (film), Suicide Squad''. Sophia Loren, Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Dino De Laurentiis, Ennio Morricone, and Piero Tosi also received the Academy Honorary Award.


Festivals

*
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
, founded in 1932, is the world's oldest film festival and one of the "Film festival#Notable festivals, Big Three" film festivals, alongside the Cannes Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival. The Big Three are internationally acclaimed for giving creators the artistic freedom to express themselves through film. The most prestigious award given out at the Venice Film Festival is the Golden Lion, inspired by the Lion of Saint Mark, which was one of the best known symbols of the ancient Republic of Venice (697–1797). * David di Donatello, named after Donatello's ''David (Donatello), David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema). Following the same criteria as the
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, the ''David di Donatello'' Awards (known by the moniker "Donatellos") were established in 1955 and first awarded in Rome on 5 July 1956. *Bari International Film Festival, is an annual film festival held since 2009 in Bari. *BigScreen Festival, is a film festival that focuses on Chinese cinema, Chinese and Italian cinema. It was first held in 2004 in Padua, Italy, but in 2006 moved to Kunming, Yunnan, China. *Capri Hollywood International Film Festival, is an annual international film festival held every late December or early January in Capri *Cartoons on the Bay, is an international festival held in Italy dedicated to television-, film- and transmedia- animation. It is organised by the public service broadcaster RAI. The festival has been staged in Amalfi, Salerno, Rapallo, Santa Margherita Ligure, Portofino, Positano, Venice and
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
. *Ciak d'oro, is an Italian annual film award. It was established in 1986 by the magazine ''Ciak (Italian magazine), Ciak''. It is the only award of Italian cinema that has the audience as jury: *Il Cinema Ritrovato, is organised every summer by the Cineteca di Bologna, and is the world's major festival of film restoration. *CinemadaMare Film Festival, is the annual film festival for youth amateur short movie makers that is held in Italy. *Courmayeur Noir Film Festival, is a film noir film festival, held each December in Courmayeur. *Fantafestival, is a film festival devoted to Science fiction film, science fiction, Fantasy film, fantasy and horror film that has been held annually in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
since 1981. *Far East Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Udine, Italy. It is one of the most important events promoting Asian Cinema in Europe. *Festival del Cinema all'Aperto "Accordi @ DISACCORDI", is a film festival in
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
. *Flaiano Prizes, are a set of Italian international awards recognizing achievements in the fields of creative writing, cinema, theater and radio-television. * Giffoni Film Festival, is one of the most well-known children's film festivals in the world. It takes place in a small Italian town of Giffoni Valle Piana in Campania, Southern Italy, close to Salerno and
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
. *Globo d'oro, is an Italian annual film award. It was established in 1960 and it has as jury the
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
Foreign Press Association. *Gran Paradiso Film Festival, is an International Nature and Environment Film Festival based in the Gran Paradiso National Park *Grolla d'oro, is an Italian film awards held in Saint-Vincent, Aosta Valley, Saint-Vincent. *Io Isabella International Film Week, is the first film festival in the south of Italy, and the second in Italy, devoted to women and documentary filmmaking. *Ischia Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Ischia, Italy. *Italian Environmental Film Festival, is an Italian film festival founded in 1998 and taking place every year in
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
. *Jalari in corto, is held annually at Parco Jalari in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto. *La Guarimba International Film Festival, is an international film festival that annually takes place in Amantea (Calabria) and which shows short films from all over the world, divided into the following categories: Fiction, Animation, Documentary, Insomnia, Music Video and La Grotta dei Piccoli – children's film selection. *Lucca Film Festival, is an annual event that has been held in Lucca since 2005. *MedFilm Festival, is a film festival created in 1995 in Rome. *Milan Film Festival, is an annual film festival held since 1996 in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
. *Napoli Film Festival, is a film festival that takes place every year since 1997 in
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
. *Nastro d'Argento, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani''). It is the oldest Italian film award, given every year at the Teatro Antico in Taormina. *People and Religions – Terni Film Festival, is an international film festival, which takes place annually in November at the CityPlex Politeama Lucioli in Terni. *Pordenone Silent Film Festival, is an annual festival of
silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, 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) ...
held in October in Pordenone, northern Italy. It is the first, largest and most important international festival dedicated to silent film *Riviera International Film Festival, is an international film festival dedicated to filmmakers under 35 that takes place every year in Sestri Levante. *Rome Film Festival, is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. *Salerno Film Festival, is a film festival that takes place in Salerno. *Sardinia International Ethnographic Film Festival, is an International Ethnographic film Festival based in Nuoro. *Taormina Film Fest, is a film festival that takes place in Taormina. *Torino Film Festival, is an international film festival held annually in
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
*Trieste Film Festival, is an international film festival founded in 1989 and held annually on the third week of January in Trieste.


Auteurs

Italy has produced many important cinematography ''auteurs'', including: * Federico Fellini (1920–1993) is recognized as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time. His films have ranked highly in critical polls such as that of ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' and ''Sight & Sound'', which lists his 1963 film ''8½, '' as the 10th-greatest film. * Michelangelo Antonioni (1912–2007) films have been described as "enigmatic and intricate mood pieces" that feature elusive plots, striking composition (visual arts), visual composition, and a preoccupation with modern landscapes. His work would substantially influence subsequent art cinema. Blow-Up is one of his best-known works. *
Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...
(1906–1977) was one of the most prominent directors of the
Italian neorealist Italian neorealism ( it, Neorealismo), also known as the Golden Age, is a national film movement characterized by stories set amongst the poor and the working class. They are filmed on location, frequently with non-professional actors. They pri ...
cinema, contributing to the movement with films such as ''
Rome, Open City ''Rome, Open City'' ( it, Roma città aperta, also released as ''Open City'') is a 1945 Italian neorealist war drama film directed by Roberto Rossellini and co-written by Sergio Amidei, Celeste Negarville and Federico Fellini. Set in Rome in ...
'' (1945), ''Paisan'' (1946) and ''
Germany, Year Zero ''Germany, Year Zero'' ( it, Germania anno zero) is a 1948 film directed by Roberto Rossellini, and is the final film in Rossellini's unofficial war film trilogy, following ''Rome, Open City'' and ''Paisà''. ''Germany Year Zero'' takes place in ...
'' (1948). *
Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...
(1901–1974) was a leading figure in the Italian neorealism, neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Shoeshine (film), Sciuscià'' and ''
Bicycle Thieves ''Bicycle Thieves'' ( it, Ladri di biciclette; sometimes known in the United States as ''The Bicycle Thief'') is a 1948 Italian neorealist drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It follows the story of a poor father searching in post- World ...
'' (honorary), while ''Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow'' and ''The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (film), Il giardino dei Finzi Contini'' won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. *
Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the ...
(1906–1976) was a major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, and he was one of the fathers of Italian neorealism, cinematic neorealism, but later moved towards luxurious, sweeping epics dealing with themes of beauty, decadence, death and European history – especially the decay of the nobility and the bourgeoisie was repeated several times in his films. * Ettore Scola (1931–2016) received a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film in 1978 for his film ''A Special Day'' and over the course of his film career was nominated for five
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for Best Foreign Language Film. * Sergio Leone (1929–1989) credited as the creator of the Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cinema. *
Luigi Comencini Luigi Comencini (; 8 June 1916 – 6 April 2007)
''The Guardian'' was an Italian
(1916–2007) was one of the masters of the ''Commedia all'Italiana'' (Comedy Italian style). *
Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...
(1922–1975) was a controversial personality in Italy due to his straightforward style, Pasolini's legacy remains partly contentious. He voiced strong criticism of petite bourgeoisie, petty bourgeois values and the emerging "totalitarianism of consumerism" in Italy, juxtaposing socio-political polemics with a critical examination of taboo sexual matters. *
Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...
(1941–2018) is considered one of the great filmmakers of the Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved widespread international acclaim. He was the first Italian filmmaker to win the Academy Award for Best Director for ''The Last Emperor'' (1987), one of many accolades including two Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globes, two David di Donatellos, a BAFTA Awards, British Academy Award, and a César Awards, César Award. * Franco Zeffirelli (1923–2019) movies included the romantic drama ''Romeo and Juliet (1968 film), Romeo and Juliet'' (1968), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director, and his 1967 version of ''The Taming of the Shrew (1967 film), The Taming of the Shrew'' with Elizabeth Taylor and
Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...
. * Ermanno Olmi (1931–2018) best known film is ''The Tree of Wooden Clogs'' (''L'Albero degli zoccoli''), which was awarded the
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival. The film drew heavily on Olmi's grandmother's stories about peasant life in agricultural regions of Italy. * Mario Monicelli (1915–2010) was one of the masters of the ''Commedia all'Italiana'' (Comedy Italian style). He was nominated six times for an Academy Awards, Oscar, and was awarded the Golden Lion for his career. * Marco Ferreri (1928–1997) is considered one of the greatest European cinematic provocateurs of his time and had a constant presence in prestigious festival circuit – including eight films in competition in Cannes Film Festival and a
Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...
win in 1991 Berlin Film Festival. Three of his films are among 100 film italiani da salvare, 100 films selected for preservation for significant contribution to Italian cinema. * Elio Petri (1929–1982) is best known for the 1970 Academy Award-winning film ''Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion''. *
Dino Risi Dino Risi (23 December 1916 – 7 June 2008) was an Italian film director. With Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Nanni Loy and Ettore Scola, he was one of the masters of ''commedia all'italiana''. Biography Risi was born in Milan. He had an o ...
(1916–2008) was one of the masters of the ''Commedia all'Italiana'' (Comedy Italian style). * Lina Wertmüller (1928–2021), with ''Seven Beauties'' (1976), obtained four nominations for the
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, making her the first woman ever to receive a nomination for best director. In 2019, Wertmüller was announced as one of four recipients of the Academy Honorary Award for her career, the second female director to be so honoured. * Francesco Rosi (1922–2015) film ''The Mattei Affair'' won the
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. At the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival 13 of his films were screened, in a section reserved for film-makers of outstanding quality and achievement. He received the Honorary Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement, accompanied by the screening of his 1962 film ''Salvatore Giuliano (film), Salvatore Giuliano''. In 2012 the Venice Biennale awarded Rosi the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. * Florestano Vancini (1926–2008) 1966 film ''Seasons of Our Love, Le stagioni del nostro amore'', starring Enrico Maria Salerno, was entered into the 16th Berlin International Film Festival. His 1973 film ''The Assassination of Matteotti'' was entered into the 8th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Special Prize. *
Gillo Pontecorvo Gilberto Pontecorvo (; 19 November 1919 – 12 October 2006) was an Italian filmmaker associated with the political cinema movement of the 1960s and 1970s. He is best known for directing the landmark war docudrama ''The Battle of Algiers'' (19 ...
(1919–2006) worked as a film director for more than a decade before his best known film ''The Battle of Algiers (film), La battaglia di Algeri'' (''The Battle of Algiers'', 1966) was released. It won the Golden Lion at the
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
in 1966. * Luigi Magni (1928–2013) in 1977 achieved critical recognition with ''In nome del Papa Re'', which also gave him his first David di Donatello Award. He received a second David di Donatello in 1995, for the screenplay of ''Nemici d'infanzia'', and a special David di Donatello Lifetime Career Award in 2008. * Pietro Germi (1914–1974) won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for ''The Birds, the Bees and the Italians''. His 1968 film ''Serafino (film), Serafino'' won the Golden Prize at the 6th Moscow International Film Festival. * Paolo and Vittorio Taviani at the Cannes Film Festival won the ''
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
'' and the FIPRESCI prize for ''Padre Padrone'' in 1977 and ''Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival), Grand Prix du Jury'' for ''La notte di San Lorenzo'' (''The Night of the Shooting Stars'', 1982). In 2012 they won the
Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...
at the Berlin International Film Festival with ''Caesar Must Die''. * Valerio Zurlini (1926–1982) 1962 film ''Family Diary'' earned him the Golden Lion at the
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
(it tied with Andrei Tarkovsky, Tarkovsky's ''Ivan's Childhood''). His 1965 film ''The Camp Followers'' was entered into the 4th Moscow International Film Festival where it won the Special Silver Prize. These directors' works often span many decades and genres. Present ''auteurs'' include: * Giuliano Montaldo (1930) in 1965 he wrote and directed ''The Reckless, Una bella grinta'', a cynical representation of the economic boom of Italy, winning the Special Prize of the Jury at 15th Berlin International Film Festival. In 1982 he directed the television miniseries ''Marco Polo (mini-series), Marco Polo'', which won the Emmy Award for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries, Outstanding Miniseries. * Ruggero Deodato (1939) career has spanned a wide range of genres including sword-and-sandal, Comedy film, comedy, Drama (film and television), drama, poliziottesco and Science fiction film, science fiction, yet he is perhaps best known for directing violent and gory horror films with strong elements of realism. Deodato has been an influence on film directors like Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino and Eli Roth. * Giuseppe Tornatore (1956) is considered one of the directors who brought critical acclaim back to Italian cinema. Probably his most noted film is ''Cinema Paradiso'', for which Tornatore won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. *
Marco Bellocchio Marco Bellocchio (; born 9 November 1939) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Life and career Born in Bobbio, near Piacenza, Marco Bellocchio had a strict Catholic upbringing – his father was a lawyer, his mother a schoolt ...
(1939) in 1991 won the Jury Grand Prix, Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize at the 41st Berlin International Film Festival for his film ''The Conviction''. *
Nanni Moretti Giovanni "Nanni" Moretti (; born 19 August 1953) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His films have won accolades including a Palme d'Or at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival for ''The Son's Room'', a Silver Bear at the ...
(1953) films have won accolades including a
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival for ''The Son's Room'', a Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize, Silver Bear at the 36th Berlin International Film Festival, 1986 Berlin Film Festival for ''The Mass Is Ended'' and a Silver Lion at the 38th Venice International Film Festival, 1981 Venice Film Festival for ''Sweet Dreams (1981 film), Sweet Dreams'', in addition to the David di Donatello Award for David di Donatello for Best Film, Best Film on three separate occasions (for ''Caro diario'' in 1994, ''The Son's Room'' in 2001 and ''The Caiman, Il caimano'' in 2006). *
Gabriele Salvatores Gabriele Salvatores (born 30 July 1950) is an Italian Academy Award-winning film director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Naples, Salvatores debuted as a theatre director in 1972, founding in Milan the Teatro dell'Elfo, for which he directe ...
(1950) in 1991 received international praise for ''Mediterraneo'', which won an Academy Award as best foreign film. It also won three David di Donatello, the most important award for Italian cinema, and a Silver Ribbon. * Gianni Amelio (1945) 1989 film ''Open Doors (film), Open Doors'' (''Porte aperte''), featuring Gian Maria Volonté, confirmed his status as one of Italy's best film directors and won a nomination as Best Foreign Film at 1991 Academy Awards. The film received also four Felix, two Silver Ribbon, four David di Donatello and three Golden Globes awards. * Dario Argento (1940) work in the horror genre during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the subgenre known as ''
giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...
'', has led him to being referred to as the "Master of the Thrill" and the "Master of Horror". *
Paolo Sorrentino Paolo Sorrentino (; born 31 May 1970) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and writer. His 2013 film ''The Great Beauty'' won the Academy Awards, Academy Award, the Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe, and the British Academy of Film and Te ...
(1970) 2013 film The Great Beauty, ''La Grande Bellezza'' won the Academy Awards, Academy Award, the Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe, and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Bafta Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In Italy he was honoured with five David di Donatello and six Nastro d'Argento. He also directed the international co-production Youth (2015 film), Youth, which won Best Film at the European Film Awards and earned him a win for Best Director. *
Matteo Garrone Matteo Garrone (born 15 October 1968) is an Italian filmmaker. Born in Rome, the son of a theatre critic, Nico Garrone and a photographer, in 1996 Garrone won the ''Sacher d'Oro'', an award sponsored by Nanni Moretti, with the short film ''Silho ...
(1968) won Best Director at the European Film Awards and at the David di Donatello Awards for ''Gomorrah (film), Gomorrah'' (2008), among many other awards. His film ''Reality (2012 film), Reality'' (2012) competed in competition at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and won the Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival), Grand Prix. *
Marco Tullio Giordana Marco Tullio Giordana (born 1 October 1950) is an Italian Film director, director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Milan, during the 1970s he approaches the cinema by collaborating on the screenplay of Roberto Faenza's 1977 documentary ''F ...
(1950) film ''Once You're Born You Can No Longer Hide, Quando sei nato non puoi più nasconderti'' was entered into the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. * Paolo Virzì (1964) film ''Ovosodo'' won in 1997 the Jury Grand Prix of the Venice International Film Festival. * Mario Martone (1959) film ''Nasty Love, L'amore molesto'' was entered into the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. His 2010 film ''Noi credevamo'' competed for the Golden Lion at the 67th Venice International Film Festival. * Gianfranco Rosi (director), Gianfranco Rosi (1963) 2013 film ''Sacro GRA'' won the Golden Lion at the 70th Venice Film Festival, while his 2016 film ''Fire at Sea'' won the
Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...
at the 66th Berlin Film Festival. * Luca Guadagnino (1971) for directing and producing ''Call Me by Your Name (film), Call Me by Your Name'' (2017), received widespread critical acclaim and several accolades, including nominations for the Academy Award for Best Picture, Nastro d'Argento for Best Director, BAFTA Award for Best Direction and BAFTA Award for Best Film, Best Film, and Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama.


Actors and actresses

* Alida Valli was an Italian actress who appeared in more than 100 films in a 70-year career, spanning from the 1930s to the early 2000s. She was one of the biggest stars of Italian film during the Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist era, once being coined "the most beautiful woman in the world" by Benito Mussolini, but managed to find continued international success post-
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. According to Frédéric Mitterrand, Valli was the only actress in Europe to equal Marlene Dietrich or Greta Garbo. *
Alberto Sordi Alberto Sordi (15 June 1920 – 24 February 2003) was an Italian actor, voice actor, singer, comedian, director and screenwriter. Early life Born in Rome to a schoolteacher and a musician and the last of five children, Sordi was named in hon ...
won seven David di Donatello, Italy's most prestigious film award, holding the record of David di Donatello as best actor, and four awards for his works from the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists. He also received a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
in 1995, and Golden Globe Award, The Golden Globe Award for his performance as an Italian labourer stranded in Sweden in ''To Bed or Not to Bed''. At the 22nd Berlin International Film Festival, he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor award for ''In Prison Awaiting Trial, Detenuto in attesa di giudizio''. At the 13th Moscow International Film Festival he won a Special Prize for ''I Know That You Know That I Know''. * Alvaro Vitali was an electrician until he was discovered by Federico Fellini and played a small part in ''Fellini Satyricon, Satyricon'' (1969), it led to other roles, notably in the movie '' Amarcord'' (1973). In the 1970s, Vitali became one of the most charismatic actors in the commedia erotica all'italiana (erotic comedy) genre. *
Anna Magnani Anna Maria Magnani (; 7 March 1908 – 26 September 1973) was an Italian actress.Obituary ''Variety'', 3 October 1973, pg. 47 She was known for her explosive acting and earthy, realistic portrayals of characters. Born in Rome, she worked her ...
was known for her explosive acting and earthy, realistic portrayals of characters. ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' described her personality as "fiery", and drama critic Harold Clurman said her acting was "volcanic". In the realm of Italian cinema, she was "passionate, fearless, and exciting," an actress whom film historian Barry Monush calls "the volcanic earth mother of all Italian cinema." Director
Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...
called her "the greatest acting genius since Eleonora Duse". She was also the first Italian actor (either male or female) to win an Academy Award in an acting category, for her performance in The Rose Tattoo (film), The Rose Tattoo. * Bud Spencer was known for action-comedy and Spaghetti Western roles with his long-time film partner
Terence Hill Terence Hill (born Mario Girotti; 29 March 1939) is an Italian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He began his career as a child actor and gained international fame for starring roles in action and comedy films, many with longtim ...
. The duo "garnered world acclaim and attracted millions to theater seats". Spencer and Hill appeared in, produced and directed over 20 films together. *
Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose "Claudia" Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938) is an Italian actress. She has starred in some of the most iconic European films of the 1960s and 1970s, acting in Italian, French, and English. Born and raised in La Goulette, a ...
is a Tunisian-born Italian film actress who starred in some of the most acclaimed European films of the 1960s and 1970s, mainly Italian or French, but also in many English-language films. * Elio Germano is the recipient of many accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and a Silver Bear for Best Actor. * Giancarlo Giannini is an Italian actor, voice actor, film director and screenwriter. He won a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Love and Anarchy'' (1973) and received an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination for his performance in ''Seven Beauties'' (1975). *
Gino Cervi Luigi Cervi (3 May 1901 – 3 January 1974), better known as Gino Cervi (), was an Italian actor. He was best known for portraying Peppone in a series of comedies based on the character ''Don Camillo'' (1952-1965), and police detective Jules ...
was best known for his role of Giuseppe Bottazzi ("Peppone"), the Communist mayor in the Don Camillo movies of the 1950s and the 1960s. He shared great understanding and friendship with co-star
Fernandel Fernand Joseph Désiré Contandin (8 May 1903 – 26 February 1971), better known as Fernandel, was a French actor and singer. Born near Marseille, France, to Désirée Bedouin and Denis Contandin, originating in Perosa Argentina, an Occitan t ...
during the 15 years playing their respective roles in ''Don Camillo'' movies. Toward the end of his career he played Commissioner Maigret for eight years in the Italian TV adaptation of the celebrated series of crime novels by Georges Simenon, ''Le inchieste del commissario Maigret'' (1964–1972), during which he also starred in a spin-off movie ''Maigret a Pigalle'' (Mario Landi, 1966), produced by his son Antonio Cervi. * Gian Maria Volonté was remembered for his versatility as an interpreter, his outspoken left-wing leanings and fiery temper on and off-screen. He is perhaps most famous outside Italy for his roles in four Spaghetti Western films: Ramón Rojo and El Indio in Sergio Leone's ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964) and ''For a Few Dollars More'' (1965), El Chuncho Munoz in Damiano Damiani's ''A Bullet for the General'' (1966) and Professor Brad Fletcher in Sergio Sollima's ''Face to Face (1967 film), Face to Face'' (1967). *
Gina Lollobrigida Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (born 4 July 1927) is an Italian actress, photojournalist, and politician. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. As o ...
was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. As of 2022, Lollobrigida is among the last living, high-profile international actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. * Giovanna Mezzogiorno is the principal female character from ''Love in the Time of Cholera (film), Love in the Time of Cholera'' based on the book written by Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez and directed by Mike Newell (director), Mike Newell (''Four Weddings and a Funeral''). After two films shot in 2008, ''Sono Viva'' and ''Palermo Shooting'' by Wim Wenders, in 2009 she achieved great international success with ''Vincere'' by
Marco Bellocchio Marco Bellocchio (; born 9 November 1939) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Life and career Born in Bobbio, near Piacenza, Marco Bellocchio had a strict Catholic upbringing – his father was a lawyer, his mother a schoolt ...
, selected for the official competition in Cannes and a solid candidate for the final award. * Giuliano Gemma is best known internationally for his work in Spaghetti Westerns, particularly for his performances as the title character in
Duccio Tessari Duccio Tessari (11 October 1926 – 6 September 1994) was an Italian director, screenwriter and actor, considered one of the fathers of Spaghetti Westerns. Born in Genoa, Tessari started in the fifties as documentarist and as screenwriter of pe ...
's ''A Pistol for Ringo'' (1965), Captain Montgomery Brown/'Ringo' in Tessari's ''The Return of Ringo'' (1965), the title character in Michele Lupo's ''Arizona Colt'' (1966), Scott Mary in Tonino Valerii's ''Day of Anger'' (1967) and Michael "California" Random in Lupo's ''California (1977 film), California'' (1977). * Giulietta Masina was an Italian film actress, best known for her performances of Gelsomina in ''
La Strada ''La strada'' () is a 1954 Italian drama film directed by Federico Fellini and co-written by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano. The film tells the story of Gelsomina, a simple-minded young woman ( Giulietta Masina) bought from her mothe ...
'' (1954) and Cabiria in ''
Nights of Cabiria ''Nights of Cabiria'' ( it, Le notti di Cabiria) is a 1957 drama film co-written and directed by Federico Fellini. It stars Giulietta Masina as Cabiria, a prostitute living in Rome. The cast also features François Périer and Amedeo Nazzari. ...
'' (1957). Cinema historian Peter Bondanella described Masina's work as "masterful" and "unforgettable," and Charlie Chaplin, with whose work Masina's is often compared, called her "the actress who moved him most." Both ''La Strada'' and ''Nights of Cabiria'' won
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
s for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Foreign Language Film and were described as having been "inspired" by Masina's "humanity." * Isabella Rossellini is an Italian-American actress, author, philanthropist, and model. The daughter of the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and the Italian film director
Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...
, she is noted for her successful tenure as a Lancôme model, and for her roles in films such as ''Blue Velvet (film), Blue Velvet'' (1986) and ''Death Becomes Her'' (1992). Rossellini received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance in ''Crime of the Century (1996 film), Crime of the Century'' (1996). * Massimo Troisi was an Italian actor, cabaret performer, screenwriter, and film director. He is best known for his works in the films ''Ricomincio da tre, I'm Starting from Three'' (1981) and ''Il Postino: The Postman'' (1994), for which he was posthumously nominated for two Academy Awards, Oscars. Nicknamed "the comedian of feelings," he is considered one of the most important actors of Italian theater and cinema. * Marcello Mastroianni was an Italian film actor, regarded as one of Italy's most iconic male performers of the 20th century. A pet actor of five-time Academy Award-winning director Federico Fellini, he starred in such films as ''
La Dolce Vita ''La Dolce Vita'' (; Italian for "the sweet life" or "the good life"Kezich, 203) is a 1960 satirical comedy-drama film directed and co-written (with Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli and Brunello Rondi) by Federico Fellini. The film stars Marcello ...
''; ''8½''; ''La Notte''; ''
Divorce Italian Style ''Divorce Italian Style'' ( it, Divorzio all'italiana) is a 1961 Italian dark comedy film directed by Pietro Germi. The screenplay is by Germi, Ennio De Concini, Alfredo Giannetti, and Agenore Incrocci, based on Giovanni Arpino's novel '' Un de ...
''; ''Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow''; ''Marriage Italian Style''; ''The 10th Victim''; ''A Special Day''; ''City of Women''; ''Henry IV (film), Henry IV'', and ''Everybody's Fine (1990 film), Everybody's Fine''. His honours included 2 British Academy of Film and Television Arts, BAFTAs, 2 Best Actor awards at the Venice Film Festival, Venice and Cannes Film Festival, Cannes film festivals, 2 Golden Globe Award, Golden Globes, and 3 Academy Awards, Oscar nominations. * Monica Bellucci played a Brides of Dracula, Bride of Dracula in Francis Ford Coppola's gothic horror romance film ''Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992 film), Bram Stoker's Dracula'' (1992) and she was in the controversial Gaspar Noé Art film, arthouse horror film ''Irréversible'' (2002), and portrayed Mary Magdalene in
Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apoca ...
's biblical drama ''The Passion of the Christ'' (2004). *
Monica Vitti Monica Vitti (born Maria Luisa Ceciarelli; 3 November 1931 – 2 February 2022) was an Italian actress who starred in several award-winning films directed by Michelangelo Antonioni during the 1960s. After working with Antonioni, Vitti changed fo ...
was an Italian actress best known for her starring roles in films directed by Michelangelo Antonioni during the early-to-mid 1960s. After working with Antonioni, Vitti changed focus and began making comedies, working with director Mario Monicelli on many films. She has appeared with Marcello Mastroianni, Alain Delon, Richard Harris, Terence Stamp, Michael Caine, and Dirk Bogarde. Vitti won five David di Donatello Awards for Best Actress, seven Globo d'oro, Italian Golden Globes for Best Actress, the Career Golden Globe, and the
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
Career Golden Lion Award. *
Nino Manfredi Saturnino "Nino" Manfredi (22 March 1921 – 4 June 2004) was an Italian actor, voice actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, comedian, singer, author, radio personality and television presenter. He was one of the most prominent Italian a ...
was an Italian actor, voice actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, comedian, singer, author, radio personality and television presenter. He was one of the most prominent Italian actors in the ''commedia all'italiana'' genre. During his career he won several awards, including six David di Donatello awards, six Nastro d'Argento awards and the Prix de la première oeuvre (Best First Work Award) at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival for his performance in ''Between Miracles''. Typically playing losers, marginalised, working-class characters yet "in possession of their dignity, morality, and underlying optimism", he was referred to as "one of the few truly complete actors in Italian cinema". * Ornella Muti made her English-speaking film debut as Princess Aura in ''Flash Gordon (film), Flash Gordon'' in 1980. American movie she appeared in include ''Oscar (1991 film), Oscar'' (1991) directed by John Landis. * Pierfrancesco Favino has appeared in more than fifty European and American movies and television series since the early 1990s. In 2020, he won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, Volpi Cup at
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
for his performance in ''Padrenostro''. * Raoul Bova European film breakthrough was in the 1993 film ''Piccolo grande amore'', and he's played romantic male leads the following years. His American film credits include ''Under the Tuscan Sun (film), Under the Tuscan Sun'' (2003), ''Alien vs. Predator (film), Alien vs. Predator'' (2004) and ''The Tourist (2010 film), The Tourist'' (2010). He won the Globo d'oro, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in 2007 for his performance in ''I, the Other'' and 2011 for his performance in ''Escort in Love''. *
Roberto Benigni Roberto Remigio Benigni (; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film ''Life Is Beautiful'' (1997), f ...
is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film ''Life Is Beautiful'' (1997), for which he received the
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for Academy Award for Best Actor, Best Actor (the first for a non-English speaking male performance) and Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, Best International Feature Film. * Sophia Loren was named by the American Film Institute as one of the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood cinema. As of 2022, Loren is one of the last surviving major stars from the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood cinema and the only living person on AFI's list. She also became the second Italian actor (either male or female) to win an acting Academy Award, for her performance in
Two Women ''Two Women'' ( it, La ciociara , rough literal translation "The Woman from Ciociaria") is a 1960 war drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica from a screenplay by Cesare Zavattini and De Sica, based on the novel of the same name by Alberto ...
. * Stefano Accorsi in 1998 won three prizes for his role in ''Radiofreccia'', directed by rock star Luciano Ligabue, including David di Donatello for Best Actor. In 2017 he won the David di Donatello for Best Actor for his performance in ''Italian Race'', while in 2002 he won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
for his performance in ''A Journey Called Love''. *
Totò Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi de Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April 1967), best known by his stage name Totò (), or simply as Antonio de Curtis, and nicknamed ''il Principe della risata ...
was commonly referred to as one of the most popular Italian performers of all time. He is best known for his funny and sometimes cynical character as a comedian in theatre and then in many successful films shot from the 1940s to the 1960s, all regularly still on TV, but he also worked with many iconic Italian film directors in dramatic/poetic roles. *
Ugo Tognazzi Ugo Tognazzi (23 March 1922 – 27 October 1990) was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter. Early life Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a travelling clerk fo ...
after the successful role in ''The Fascist (film), The Fascist'' (''Il Federale'') (1961), directed by Luciano Salce, he became one of the most renowned characters of the so-called Commedia all'Italiana (Italian comedy style). He worked with all the main directors of Italian cinema, including Mario Monicelli (''Amici miei''), Marco Ferreri (''La Grande Bouffe, La grande abbuffata''), Carlo Lizzani (''La vita agra (film), La vita agra''),
Dino Risi Dino Risi (23 December 1916 – 7 June 2008) was an Italian film director. With Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Nanni Loy and Ettore Scola, he was one of the masters of ''commedia all'italiana''. Biography Risi was born in Milan. He had an o ...
,
Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...
(''Pigsty (film), Pigsty''), Ettore Scola, Alberto Lattuada, Nanni Loy, Pupi Avati and others. * Valeria Golino is best known to English-language audiences for her roles in ''Rain Man'', ''Big Top Pee-wee'' and the two ''Hot Shots!'' films, particularly the olive-in-the-belly-button scene. In addition to David di Donatello, Silver Ribbon, Golden Ciak and Globo d'oro, Italian Golden Globe awards, she is one of three actresses to have twice won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress, Best Actress award at the
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
. *
Virna Lisi Verna or Virna may refer to: People * Verna Aardema (1911–2000), American author of children's books * Verna Bloom (1939–2019), American actress * Virna De Angeli (born 1976), Italian former sprinter * Virna Dias (born 1971), Brazilian reti ...
's international film appearances included ''How to Murder Your Wife'' (1965), ''Not with My Wife, You Don't!'' (1966), ''The Secret of Santa Vittoria'' (1969), ''Beyond Good and Evil (film), Beyond Good and Evil'' (1977), and ''Follow Your Heart (1996 film), Follow Your Heart'' (1996). For the 1994 film ''La Reine Margot (1994 film), La Reine Margot'', she won Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, Best Actress at Cannes and the César Award for Best Supporting Actress. * Vittorio Gassman is considered one of the greatest Italian actors, whose career includes both important productions as well as dozens of ''divertissements''. With
Alberto Sordi Alberto Sordi (15 June 1920 – 24 February 2003) was an Italian actor, voice actor, singer, comedian, director and screenwriter. Early life Born in Rome to a schoolteacher and a musician and the last of five children, Sordi was named in hon ...
,
Ugo Tognazzi Ugo Tognazzi (23 March 1922 – 27 October 1990) was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter. Early life Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a travelling clerk fo ...
and
Nino Manfredi Saturnino "Nino" Manfredi (22 March 1921 – 4 June 2004) was an Italian actor, voice actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, comedian, singer, author, radio personality and television presenter. He was one of the most prominent Italian a ...
, Gassman is considered one of the greatest interpreters of the ''
Commedia all'italiana Commedia all'italiana (, pl. Commedie all'italiana, "Comedy in the Italian way") or Italian-style comedy is an Italian film genre born in Italy in the 1950s and developed in the 1960s and 1970s. It is widely considered to have started with Mar ...
'', a quartet which Marcello Mastroianni and
Monica Vitti Monica Vitti (born Maria Luisa Ceciarelli; 3 November 1931 – 2 February 2022) was an Italian actress who starred in several award-winning films directed by Michelangelo Antonioni during the 1960s. After working with Antonioni, Vitti changed fo ...
are generally associated with.


See also

* Media of Italy *Cinema of the world *History of cinema *List of actors from Italy *List of actresses from Italy *List of film directors from Italy *List of Italian movies *List of highest-grossing films in Italy


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* * * * {{Europe in topic, Cinema of Cinema of Italy,