Michelangelo Antonioni was an Italian director and filmmaker. He is best known for his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—L'Avventura (1960), La Notte (1961), and L'Eclisse (1962)—as well as the English-language film Blowup (1966). His films have been described as "enigmatic and intricate mood pieces" that feature elusive plots, striking visual composition, and a preoccupation with modern landscapes. His work substantially influenced subsequent art cinema. Antonioni received numerous awards and nominations throughout his career, being the only director to have won the Palme d'Or, the Golden Lion, the Golden Bear and the Golden Leopard.
Silvana Mangano 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 1950s and '60s. She won the David di Donatello for Best Actress three times – for The Verona Trial (1963), The Witches (1967), and The Scientific Cardplayer (1973) – and the Nastro d'Argento for Best Actress twice.
Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis was an Italian film producer and businessman who held both Italian and American citizenship. Following a brief acting career in the late 1930s and early 1940s, he moved into film production; alongside Carlo Ponti, he brought Italian cinema to the international scene in the post-World War II period. He produced or co-produced over 500 films, with 38 of his Hollywood films receiving Academy Award nominations. He was also the creator and operator of DDL Foodshow, a chain of Italian specialty foods stores.
Bicycle Thieves, also known 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 War II Rome for his stolen bicycle, without which he will lose the job which was to be the salvation of his young family.
Valentina Cortese, sometimes credited as Valentina Cortesa, was an Italian film and theatre actress. In her 50 years spanning career, she appeared in films of Italian and international directors like Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini, Franco Zeffirelli, François Truffaut, Joseph L. Mankiewicz and others.
Mario Alberto Ettore Monicelli was an Italian film director and screenwriter, one of the masters of the commedia all'italiana. He was nominated six times for an Oscar, and received the Golden Lion for his career.
In 1999, the British Film Institute surveyed 1,000 people from the world of British film and television to produce a list of the greatest British films of the 20th century. Voters were asked to choose up to 100 films that were "culturally British".
The Golden Lion is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguished prizes. In 1970, a second Golden Lion was introduced; this is an honorary award for people who have made an important contribution to cinema.
Alida Maria Laura, Freiin Altenburger von Marckenstein-Frauenberg, better known by her stage name 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 era, once being called "the most beautiful woman in the world" by Benito Mussolini, but managed to find continued international success post-World War II. According to Frédéric Mitterrand, Valli was the only actress in Europe to equal Marlene Dietrich or Greta Garbo.
Carlo Lizzani was an Italian film director, screenwriter and critic.
A list of some notable films produced in the Cinema of Italy ordered by year and decade of release For an alphabetical list of articles on Italian films see Category:Italian films.
The Walls of Malapaga (Italian: Le mura di Malapaga, French: Au-delà des grilles, is a 1949 French-Italian drama film directed by René Clément and starring Jean Gabin, Isa Miranda and Andrea Checchi. It was a co-production made by Francinex and Italia Produzione, produced by Alfredo Guarini from a screenplay by Cesare Zavattini, Suso Cecchi d'Amico and Alfredo Guarini adapted by Jean Aurenche and Pierre Bost. The music score was by Roman Vlad and the cinematography by Louis Page. It was made at the Farnesina Studios of Titanus in Rome with sets designed by the art director Piero Filippone and Luigi Gervasi.
Pierre Bruno Hugo Fontana, otherwise known as Hugo del Carril, was an Argentine film actor, film director and tango singer of the classic era.
Luigi Zampa was an Italian film director.
Steno, the artistic name of Stefano Vanzina, was an Italian film director, screenwriter and cinematographer. Two of his films, Un giorno in pretura (1954) and Febbre da cavallo (1976), were shown in a retrospective section on Italian comedy at the 67th Venice International Film Festival.
Mario Mattoli was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 86 films between 1934 and 1966.
State Secret is a 1950 British drama thriller film directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Jack Hawkins, Glynis Johns, Olga Lowe and Herbert Lom. It was made at Isleworth Studios with Italian location shooting in Trento and the Dolomites. It was released in the United States under the title The Great Manhunt.
Deported is a 1950 American crime film noir directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Märta Torén, Jeff Chandler and Claude Dauphin. It was made and distributed by Universal Pictures.
Francinex was a French film production and distribution company active from the 1930s to the 1960s. It had its roots in Italian production interests before the Second World War, who were able to continue during the conflict due to film agreements between Mussolini's Italy and Vichy France. The company was part of the Filmsonor-Cinedis group, but then passed under the direct control of the Italian producer Angelo Rizzoli in 1951. It was involved in many post-war co-productions with Italy including the popular Don Camillo series as well as the Fellini films Boccaccio '70 (1962) and 8½ (1963).
