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Cinema  of  Italy

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            still from "The Bicycle Thief" [1948] by Vittorio De Sica            on this page:

Filmmakers of Italy

Actors of Italy

Books on Italian Cinema

Selected Movies of Italy

Links

The 'neo-realism' cinema of post-World War II Italy brought operatic plots to the lives
of the lower-class survivors of Fascism. The 'spaghetti Western' genre combined European
concerns with the (fake) wide-open spaces of the historic American West.


browse cinema book catalog / Italy at Amazon.com
Italy's films on DVD at Amazon.com
Italy's films on VHS at Amazon.com

Italian Movies poster catalog at AllPosters [dot] com
Italian-Language Movie Posters catalog at AllPosters [dot] com

Neo-realism entry at Wikipedia
neo-realist films list (55 titles) at Internet Movie Database
Italian Neorealism Section at Criterion



Books  on  Italian  Cinema

Spaghetti Westerns by Frayling  "Spaghetti Westerns: Cowboys & Europeans From Karl May To Sergio Leone" [orig 1981; rev 2006]
by Christopher Frayling

I.B. Tauris 9¼x7¼ pb [4/2006] for $17.21
Art of Italian Film Posters   "The Art of Italian Film Posters" [2006]
by Mel Bagshaw

Black Dog 12x9 pb [2/2006] for $30.36
Once Upon A Time In The Italian West   "Once Upon A Time In The Italian West: The Filmgoers' Guide To Spaghetti Westerns" [2004]
by Howard Hughes

I.B. Tauris 9½x6¾ pb [5/2006] for $15.56
I.B. Tauris 9¾x6¾ hardcover [12/2004] out of print/used
Cinema of Italy   "The Cinema of Italy: 24 Films, 1932 - 1994" [2004]
Edited by Giorgio Bertellini

Wallflower Press 9x7½ pb [9/2004] for $29.50
Wallflower Press 9½x7½ hardcover [9/2004] for $80.00
Italian Film Posters   "Italian Film Posters" [2003]
by Dave Kehr

Museum of Modern Art 11¼x9½ pb [10/2003] for $27.96
Italian Cinema   "Italian Cinema: From Neorealism To The Present"
[orig 1990; rev 2001] by Peter Bondanella

Continuum International Publng 8x5½ 3rd edition 8x5½ pb [4/2001] for $29.95
Italian Film   "Italian Film" [2000]
by Marcia Landy

Cambridge Univ Press 9¼x6¼ pb [4/2000] for $49.00
Cambridge Univ Press 9½x6½ hardcover [4/2000] for $95.00
Italian National Cinema   "Italian National Cinema, 1886-1986" [1996]
by Pierre Sorlin

Routledge 9¼x6¼ pb [9/96] for $31.95
Routledge 9¼x6¼ hardcover [9/96] for $125.00

http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Italian-Cinema-American-Studies/dp/1403975655/

Books on Asian Cinema   •   Books on Canadian Cinema   •   Books on French Cinema
Books on German Cinema   •   Books on Cinema of India   •   Books on Japanese Cinema
Books on Mexican Cinema



Filmmakers  of  Italy

NOTE: Oscar Awards for Best Foreign Language Film are not attributed
by A.M.P.A.S. or IMDb to the director or producer, but to the country of origin.

Filmmakers of Asia   •   Filmmakers of Canada   •   Filmmakers of France   •   Filmmakers of Germany
Filmmakers of India   •   Filmmakers of Japan   •   Filmmakers of Mexico

list of Italian film directors at Wikipedia

·            ·

won Honorary Oscar in 1995    Michelangelo  Antonioni  [1912-2007]
browse bookspostersIMDb listingWikipedia

Antonioni's Passenger video  "The  Passenger" aka "Professione: Reporter" [M.G.M. April 1975]
A bored television reporter on location in Africa switches identity with a dead man. He moves on with the man's passport, luggage, and appointment schedule, expecting a life more exciting than his own. Things seem to improve when he meets a sexy young woman, but this new life soon delivers more than he can handle. Co-written & directed by Michelangelo Antonioni; starring Jack Nicholson, Maria Schneider, Jenny Runacre & Ian Hendry
Sony color DVD [4/2006] for $17.49
Warner color VHS [8/90] out of prodn/used
full credits from IMDb


won Oscar for Best Director for "The Last Emperor" [1987]  won Oscar for Best Script Adaptation for "The Last Emperor" [1987]     Bernardo  Bertolucci
browse bookspostersIMDb listingWikipedia

The Conformist movie   "The  Conformist" [Italy Oct 1970]
A minor bureaucrat takes a job with the Mussolini government and marries a politically-connected young beauty; he is asked to visit an expatriate professor while on his honeymoon in Paris, and is given a gun and silencer at the border. Written & directed by Bernardo Bertolucci; based on based on the 1947 novel by Alberto Moravia [1907-90]; cinematography by Vittorio Storaro; starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Stefania Sandrelli, Gastone Moschin, Enzo Tarascio, Fosco Giachetti, José Quaglio, Dominique Sanda, Pierre Clémenti & Yvonne Sanson; Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay Adaptation
Paramount widescreen color DVD [12/2006] for $12.99
Paramount color VHS [undated] out of prodn/used
full credits from IMDb

"The Last Emperor" [Columbia Nov 1987]
full credits from IMDb


Dino  De Laurentiis
IMDb listingWikipedia

Dino De Laurentiis Company [est. 1983] {requires Flash}

Dino De Laurentiis bio  
"Dino: The Life & The Films of Dino De Laurentiis" [2004]
by Tullio Kezich, Alessandra Levantesi & James Marcus

Miramax Books 9½x6½ hardcover [3/2004] for $25.95


won Special Oscar Award for "Shoeshine" [1946]  won Special Foreign Language Film Oscar for "The Bicycle Thief" [1948]  won Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow" [1963]  won Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis" [1980]     Vittorio  de Sica  [1902-74]
IMDb listingWikipedia


won the first official Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for "La Strada" [1954]  won Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for "The Nights of Cabiria" [1957]  won Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for "8½" [1963]  won Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for "Amarcord" [1973]  won Honorary Oscar in 1993     Federico  Fellini  [1920-93] Page
won an Honorary Oscar in 1993, after 12 personal Oscar nominations [1947-1977]
(four of his films won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film)

Cinema of Federico Fellini  
"The Cinema of Federico Fellini" [1992]
by Peter Bondanella

Princeton Univ Press 9¼x6 pb [4/95] for $29.95
Princeton Univ Press 9¾x6½ hardcover [4/92] out of print/used


won Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for "Divorce Italian Style" [1961]  writer-director  Pietro  Germi  [1914-74]
IMDb listingWikipedia


screenwriter  Tonino  Guerra
IMDb listingWikipedia


Sergio  Leone  [1929-89]
postersIMDb listingWikipedia

'Man With No Name' videos & DVDs
DB's Sergio Leone fansite


actor-writer-director  Daniele  Luchetti
IMDb listingWikipedia


Ermanno  Olmi
IMDb listingWikipedia


Pier Paolo Pasolini  [1922-75]
IMDb listingWikipedia

AM's Pasolini fansite
English-language Pasolini fansite at Cinemateca di Bologna


Giuseppe Piccioni
IMDb listingno entry at Wikipedia


Gillo  Pontecorvo  [1919-2006]
IMDb listingWikipedia


producer  Carlo  Ponti  [1912-2007]
IMDb listingWikipedia


director  Dino  Risi  [1916-2008]
IMDb listingWikipedia

"Profumo di donna" [Italy 1974]
full credits from IMDb

"Scent of A Woman" [1992 remake]
full credits from IMDb


Roberto  Rossellini  [1906-77]
IMDb listingWikipedia


Ettore  Scola
IMDb listingWikipedia
2 nominations for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar


Taviani  Brothers:  Paolo  &  Vittorio
Vittorio's IMDb listingPaolo's IMDb listing • not on Wikipedia


Giuseppe  Tornatore
IMDb listingWikipedia


Luchino  Visconti  [1906-76]
bookspostersIMDb listingWikipedia

Ossessione film   "Ossessione" [Italy May 1943, USA Oct 1976]
Co-written & directed by Luchino Visconti; uncredited adaptation of 1934 novel "The Postman Always Rings Twice" by James M. Cain [1892-1977]; starring Clara Calamai, Massimo Girotti, Dhia Cristiani, Elio Marcuzzo, Michele Riccardini & Juan de Landa
Image Ent. b&w DVD [7/2002] for $22.99
Xenon b&w VHS [2/2002] out of prodn/used
full credits from IMDb


Lina  Wertmüller
IMDb listingWikipedia

Lina Wertmüller / Man in Disorder  
"Man In Disorder: The Cinema of Lina Wertmüller In The 1970s"
[2007] by Grace Russo Bullaro

Troubador Publng Ltd. 9x6 pb [1/2007] for $25.95


Cesare  Zavattini  [1902-89]
IMDb listingWikipedia
wrote 80+ films, for directors such as Antonioni, De Sica, Fellini, Germi & Visconti; 3 Oscar nominations


Franco  Zeffirelli
videos/DVDsIMDb listingWikipedia




Actors  &  Others  of  Italy

Actors of Asia   •   Actors of Canada   •   Actors of France   •   Actors of Germany
Actors of India   •   Actors of Japan   •   Actors of Mexico

®   ®

Laura Antonelli
Rossano Brazzi
Claudia Cardinale
Adolfo Celi
Vittorio Gassman
Giancarlo Giannini
Sylva Koscina
Gina Lollobrigida
Sophia Loren
Anna Magnani
Silvana Mangano

®   ®

Giulietta  Masina  [1921-94]
IMDb listingWikipedia

®   ®

Marcello  Mastroianni  [1924-96]
IMDb listingWikipedia

®   ®

Franco Nero
Isabella Rossellini

¯   ¯

co-won Oscar for Best Music Score for "The Godfather: Part II" [1974]    film composer  Nino Rota  [1911-79]
browse film music ¯ IMDb listing ¯ Wikipedia

Music From The Classic Films of Federico Fellini  "The Symphonic Fellini Rota: Music From The Classic Films of Federico Fellini" [2005] Composed by Nino Rota
Performed by City of Prague Philharmonic, conducted by Derek Wadsworth
Silva America soundtrack CD [6/2005] 15 tracks for $12.98
Essential Nino Rota Film Music Collection soundtrack album  
"The Essential Nino Rota Film Music Collection" [2003]
Composed by Nino Rota

Performed by City of Prague Philharmonic, conducted by Derek Wadsworth & others
Silva America soundtrack CD [8/2003] 28 tracks on 2 disks for $22.98
Film Music of Nino Rota soundtrack album   "The Film Music of Nino Rota" [2000]
Composed by Nino Rota
, with Massimo Palumbo on piano
Chandos soundtrack CD [1/2000] for $18.98
La Dolce Vita & Italian Style Comedies soundtrack album   "La Dolce Vita e La Commedia all'Italiana" soundtrack album [1999]
Composed by Nino Rota

Cam soundtrack CD [2/99] 18 tracks for $21.97
Nino Rota Music For Film soundtrack album   "Nino Rota: Music For Film" [1998]
Composed by Nino Rota

Performed by Filarmonica della Scala, conducted by Riccardo Muti
soundtrack CD [1/98] 30 tracks for $11.98
®   ®

Stefania Sandrelli
Alberto Sordi
Ugo Tognazzi
Alida Valli
Monica Vitti



Selected  Movies  of  Italy
Italy's films have received 3 early Honorary Oscar Awards, 10 Best Foreign Language Oscar® wins
{Fellini won four!}, among 27 Best Foreign Film nominations.
list of Italy's submissions for Oscar consideration

Bellissimo: Immagini del cinema italiano documentary directed by Gianfranco Mingozzi  "Bellissimo: Images of The Italian Cinema" [Istituto Luce, Italy 1985]
110-minute Italian-language documentary on the cinema of Italy Directed by Gianfranco Mingozzi; featuring Dario Argento, Cinecittà Studios, Federico Fellini, Sergio Leone, Giuseppe Rotunno, the Venice Film Festival, Luchino Visconti & Lina Wertmüller
Water Bearer Films color DVD [4/91] out of prodn/used
credits at IMDb

Selected films of:  Asia   •   Canada   •   France   •   Germany   •   India   •   Japan   •   Mexico

"Cabiria" [Italy April 1914; restored 1985]
Cabiria / D'Annunzio poster   "One of the most influential films ever made ... visually stunning." Set against the Punic Wars, a little princess, believed killed in a volcanic eruption, is then kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery in Carthage. A Roman noble and his slave save the girl from sacrifice to the local god Moloch, and she then becomes the slave of the queen. Ten years later, Carthage falls to the Roman army, and Princess Cabiria is able to return home. Produced, co-written & directed by Giovanni Pastrone; co-written by Gabriele D'Annunzio, based on a book by Titus Livus; starring Carolina Catena, Letizia Quarante, Umberto Mozzato, Bartolomeo Pagano, Italia Almirante-Manzini & Gina Marangoni
Kino Video tinted b&w DVD [11/2000] for $26.99
Kino Video tinted b&w VHS [11/98] out of prodn/used
full credits from IMDb

  "Shoeshine" aka "Sciuscià" [Italy 1947]
Directed by Vittorio de Sica

"The  Bicycle  Thief"
aka "Ladri di biciclette" [Italy Nov 1948, USA Dec 1949]
won Honorary Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film   The Bicycle Thief poster   Considered a masterpiece; the correct title is "The Bicycle Thieves". An unemployed father finally finds work in hard-scrabble post-WWII Rome, and his precious bicycle is stolen on the first day. Co-produced, co-written & directed by Vittorio de Sica; starring Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell, Gino Saltamerenda & Vittorio Antonucci; nominated for Best Screenplay Oscar, won Honorary Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film
Criterion restored b&w DVD [2/2007] 2 disks for $34.99
Image Ent. b&w subtitled DVD [11/98] for $18.99
Allied Artists b&w VHS [4/98] out of prodn/used
full credits from IMDb
dark 11"x17" poster {above} from Amazon for $9.99
11"x17" Italian color poster from Amazon for $9.99

"La  Strada" [Italy Sept 1954]
won the first Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1954   Fellini's La Strada poster   During the hardscrabble times of post-WWII Italy, a gypsy strongman entertainer buys a young girl to act as his assistant. This is a love story – a tragic one. Co-written & directed by Federico Fellini; music by Nino Rota; starring Anthony Quinn, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart & Aldo Silvani; won the first official Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, Oscar nominated for Best Original Screenplay
Criterion b&w DVD [8/00] 2 disks for $38.99
Homevision b&w VHS [6/2000] out of prodn/used
full credits from IMDb; movie entry at Wikipedia
12"x16" Italian-language poster available at AllPosters.com
La Strada script & critical text  
"La Strada" [1987]
critical text edited by Peter Bondanella & Manuela Gieri

Rutgers Univ Press 8¾x6 pb [12/87] out of print/used

   "Nights of Cabiria" aka "Le Notti di Cabiria" [Italy 1957]
Produced by Dino De Laurentiis, directed by Federico Fellini

"Mafiosos"  [Italy 1962, Rialto re-release 2007]

   "Fellini's 8 ½" aka "Otto e mezzo" [Italy 1963]
Directed by Federico Fellini

"Investigation of A Citizen Above Suspicion"  [Italy 1970]
by Elio Petri; won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film

   "The Garden of The Finzi-Continis" [Italy 1971]

   "Amarcord" [Italy 1974]
Directed by Federico Fellini

"Nuovo  Cinema  Paradiso"
[Italy 1988; 155 min. release]
won Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1990   Cinema Paradiso video   Written & directed by Giuseppe Tornatore; starring Philippe Noiret, Marco Leonardi, Salvatore Cascio, Jacques Perrin, Antonella Attili, Pupella Maggio & Brigitte Fossey (director's cut only); won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film, 5 BAFTAs, Jury Grand Prize at Cannes & other awards
HBO VHS w/English subtitles [3/2001] out of stock/used
HBO widescreen DVD [3/2001] out of stock/used
Ennio Morricone soundtrack CD [6/91] for $14.99
DRG 'Extra Tracks' CD [6/2001] for $19.98
full credits from IMDb
June 2002 Director's Cut [3 hour release]
info on different versions from IMDb

  "Il Postino"  [Italy 1995]
full credits from IMDb

"My  Voyage  To  Italy" aka "Il Mio Viaggio"
[Miramax; Italy Sept 1999, USA Oct 2001]
Scorsese's My Voyage To Italy movie poster  
Co-written, directed & hosted by Martin Scorsese; filmmakers covered include Rossellini, De Sica, Visconti, Fellini & Antonioni
Miramax widescreen b&w/color DVD [7/2004] 2 disks for $17.99
full credits from IMDb



Italian  Cinema  Links

Italian Language movies poster catalog at AllPosters [dot] com
Foreign Films [dot] com - Best Italian Films on DVD
Complete Index To World Film
Cinecittà HoldingCinecittà Studios in RomeFilmitalia Distribution
David di Donatello Prizes [est. 1955]
Venezia [Italy] Intl. Film Festival [Aug-Sept 2003 = #60]
Yahoo! Italy Cinema
Italy-America Chamber of Commerce in the U.S.A. [est. 1887]
Instituto Italiano di Cultura - New York City
Instituto Italiano di Cultura - Los Angeles

Italian-language MyMovies.IT site: 'il cinema dalla parte del pubblico'

Cineteca di Bologna in Italy [mostly-Italian langauge site]          Cinemateca del Friuli of Gemona, Italy          Pordenone [Italy] Silent Film Festival [Oct 2003 = #22]

New Mexico Italian Film Festival [Feb 2009 = #3] in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA



Online sales in association with
Italy's films on DVD at Amazon.com   and   Italian Movies poster catalog at AllPosters.com

Current Filmmakers  •   XXth Century Directors  •   Early Filmmakers
Favorite Films (and Why)  •   Film Genres  •   History of Cinema
Actors: Stars & Unknowns  •   Movies: Great & Unsung
Film Festivals & Orgns  •   Reference & Technical  •   Film Businesses Page


Cinema of Asia Page   •   Cinema of Canada Page   •   back to Foreign Cinema Page

Cinema of France Page   •   Cinema of Germany Page   •   Cinema of India Page

Cinema of Japan Page + Magic Lantern's Samurai Films Page   •   Cinema of Mexico Page

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