The cinema of Italy comprises the films made within Italy or by Italian directors. Italy is one of the birthplaces of art cinema and the stylistic aspect of film has been one of the most important factors in the history of Italian film. As of 2018, Italian films have won 14 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film as well as 12 Palmes d'Or, one Academy Award for Best Picture and many Golden Lions and Golden Bears.
Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such as Rome, Open City (1945), Paisan (1946), and Germany, Year Zero (1948). He is also known for his films starring Ingrid Bergman, Stromboli (1950), Europe '51 (1952), Journey to Italy (1954), Fear (1954) and Joan of Arc at the Stake (1954).
Massimo Girotti was an Italian film actor whose career spanned seven decades.
Paisan is a 1946 Italian neorealist war drama film directed by Roberto Rossellini. In six independent episodes, it tells of the Liberation of Italy by the Allied forces during the late stage of World War II. The film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and received numerous national and international prizes.
General Della Rovere is a 1959 Italian–French drama film directed by Roberto Rossellini. The film is based on a story by Indro Montanelli which was in turn based on a true story.
Escape by Night, also titled Blackout in Rome, is a 1960 Italian–French war drama film directed by Roberto Rossellini.
The Iron Crown is a 1941 Italian adventure film written and directed by Alessandro Blasetti, starring Massimo Girotti and Gino Cervi. The narrative revolves a sacred iron crown and a king who is prophesied to lose his kingdom to his nephew. It blends motifs from several European myths, legends and modern works of popular fiction. The film won a Coppa Mussolini award, which is the ancestor to the Golden Lion.
Tragic Hunt is a 1947 Italian drama film directed by Giuseppe De Santis and starring Vivi Gioi, Andrea Checchi and Carla Del Poggio. It was part of the wave of postwar neorealist films. It was one of two produced by the ANPI movement along with The Sun Still Rises from the previous year.
The Three Pilots is a 1942 Italian war drama film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Michela Belmonte, Leonardo Cortese and Alberto Sordi. It was shot at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome and at the Accademia Aeronautica in Caserta. The film's sets were designed by the art director.
The Machine to Kill Bad People is a 1952 Italian fantasy comedy film directed by Roberto Rossellini and featuring Marilyn Buferd, William Tubbs and Clara Bindi. It is part of the tradition of neorealism of the post-war years. Having helped neorealism gain international recognition with his 1945 work Rome, Open City, Rossellini was trying to branch out into different styles.
The Shortest Day is a 1963 Italian comedy film. It is a parody of the war movie The Longest Day and stars the popular duo Franco and Ciccio in the leading roles. Dozens of other well-known actors, from both European and American cinema, agreed to appear in the movie in cameo roles for free to avert the bankruptcy of the production company, Titanus.
Luciano Serra, Pilot is a 1938 Italian war drama film directed by Goffredo Alessandrini and starring Amedeo Nazzari, Germana Paolieri and Roberto Villa.
The White Ship is a 1941 Italian war film directed by Roberto Rossellini. Its cast was made up entirely of amateur actors, many of them the real crew of a hospital ship of the Italian navy. The production was a work of propaganda intended to support the war aims of the Fascist Italian regime during the Second World War. It was made with the close co-operation of the Italian Navy, particularly Francesco De Robertis. Vittorio Mussolini, the son of the Italian dictator, was also a supporter of the project.
The Man with a Cross 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 The White Ship (1941) and A Pilot Returns (1942). It is loosely inspired by Reginaldo Giuliani, an Italian military chaplain who had been killed on active service.
Harlem is a 1943 Italian sports crime film directed by Carmine Gallone and starring Massimo Girotti, Amedeo Nazzari and Vivi Gioi. It was shot at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome. The film's sets were designed by the art director Guido Fiorini. The former world heavyweight champion Primo Carnera appears in a small role. It is also known by the alternative title of Knock Out.
Michela Schiff Giorgini Paleologo Diana née Beomonte was an Italian actress and egyptologist, who is remembered for her extensive work in today's Sudan at Soleb on the River Nile where from 1957 she conducted excavations of the Temple of Amenhotep III. During the 20 years she spent in the area, she went on to investigate the temple of Queen Tiye at Sedeinga, and the tomb of Taharqa at Nuri. The Michela Schiff Giorgini Foundation was established in 1984 to preserve her memory and promote Egyptology. Her research is well documented in her many books and publications, beginning with Soleb: Volume 1 in 1965.
A Ray of Sun (1997) is a biographical film by German filmmaker Georg Brintrup on the life of Roman film music composer Renzo Rossellini and his brother Roberto Rossellini, one of the prominent film directors of the Italian neorealist cinema.
Rodolfo Lombardi (1908–1985) was an Italian cinematographer.
Desire is a 1946 Italian melodrama film directed by Marcello Pagliero and Roberto Rossellini and starring Massimo Girotti, Elli Parvo and Carlo Ninchi.
Apparition is a 1943 Italian comedy film directed by Jean de Limur and starring Alida Valli, Massimo Girotti and Amedeo Nazzari. It was shot at Cinecittà Studios in Rome. The film's sets were designed by the art director Piero Filippone.
