Italian Cinema
The history of Italian cinema began with a few seconds footage of Pope Leo XIII blessing the camera. Historical dramas were most popular in these early years before sound. During and after WWI, funds were short and nothing much of interest was made until the 1920s. With the rise of fascism the film industry was encouraged and in 1937 Cinecitta was built on the outskirts of Rome. Literally a 'cinema city', it contained everything a film maker could need or want, including theatres, and even a cinematography school. The slogan on posters at the time read "Cinema is The Most Powerful Weapon". Newsreels and propagandistic documentaries were filmed here but by 1939, feature film productions were underway. Visconti ('Ossessione'), Rossellini (Rome, Open City') and De Sica ('Bicycle Thief') all began their careers here. Post-war, two distinct trends emerged in Italian cinema: on the one hand, the neo-realist films of Rossellini and De Sica, made chiefly on location in the streets of Rome and surrounding towns; and on the other, the American megaproductions, filmed almost entirely on sets constructed in the Cinecitta studios. In 1948, 'Quo Vadis?', 'Roman Holiday (1952), 'Three Coins in a Fountain' (1954), 'Farewell to Arms' (1957), 'Ben Hur' (1958) and 'Cleopatra' (1961), to cite only the most famous. Federico Fellini shot most of his films, at least in part at Cinecitta and to this day the studios are used for television and film productions.
Mention must also be made of Pasolini, Bertolucci, Zeffirelli, Antonioni, Sergio Leone - Italy has given cinema some of its greatest individuals and auteurs.
Pictured: The lost kisses from 'Cinema Paradiso'
Lo Scopone Scientifico ( The Scientific Cardplayer ) (1972)
Director: Luigi Comencini
Starring: Alberto Sordi, Bette Davis, Joseph Cotten, Silvana Mangano
Every year, a Countess (Bette Davis) invites a poor Italian family to play in a card game with the Countess' money at stake. She always wins. But one... Read more
Ludwig (1973)
7.7/10
Director: Luchino Visconti
Starring: Helmut Berger, Trevor Howard, Romy Schneider, Silvana Mangano, Helmut Griem
Luchino Visconti directs this opulent costume drama. From his glittering coronation in 1864 as King of Bavaria to his mysterious death in 1886, Ludwig... Read more
Malena (2000)
7.5/10
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
Starring: Monica Bellucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro
From Giuseppe Tornatore ("Cinema Paradiso") comes this sexy and sensitive coming-of-age saga set in 1940s Sicily, where 13 year old Renalto (Giuseppe... Read more
Mamma Roma (1962)
7.9/10
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Starring: Anna Magnani, Franco Citti, Ettoro Garofolo
Pier Paolo Pasolini's neo-realist masterpiece stars the great Anna Magnani ('Open City') as a middle-aged prostitute who saves money to buy an apartme... Read more
Manual of Love ( Manuale d'amour) (2005)
Director: Giovanni Veronesi
Starring: Carlo Verdone, Luciana Littizzetto, Silvio Muccino
A box-office smash in Italy, this charming, bittersweet comedy is study of the mysterious nature of love. The ups and downs of relationships are chron... Read more
Marriage Italian Style (1964)
7.5/10
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Starring: Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Aldo Puglisi
A prostitute has to use all her wits to get a client of long standing to take the plunge and marry her when he announces his forthcoming marriage to a... Read more
Marriages (Per tutta la vita) (2021)
5.9/10
Starring: Carolina Crescentini, Claudia Gerini, Filippo Nigro, Fabio Volo
Four married couples find out that their marriage is not valid because celebrated by a man that was not a real priest. The four stories intertwine and... Read more
Martin Eden (2019)
6.9/10
Director: Pietro Marcello
Starring: Luca Marinelli, Marco Leonardi, Pietro Ragusa
Martin Eden struggles to rise above his destitute, proletarian circumstances through an intense and passionate pursuit of self-education, hoping to ac... Read more
Masters of Terror: Mario Bava ( Black Sunday / Black Sabbath / Hatchet for the Honeymoon / Shock ) (1960)
Director: Mario Bava
Starring: Boris Karloff, Michele Mercier, Mark Damon, Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Ivo...
4 classic terror tales from the Godfather of Italian Horror Cinema! Mario Bava dazzled audiences with his vivid visual style, setting the standard for... Read more
Medea (1970)
7.1/10
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Starring: Maria Callas, Guiseppe Gentile, Laurent Terzieff
Soprano Maria Callas stars in this dramatic, non-musical interpretation of Euripides' tragedy. 'Under Pasolini's direction, Callas becomes a fascinati... Read more