Italian neorealism, also known as the Golden Age, was 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 primarily address the difficult economic and moral conditions of post-World War II Italy, representing changes in the Italian psyche and conditions of everyday life, including poverty, oppression, injustice and desperation.
Quo Vadis is a 1951 American religious epic film set in ancient Rome during the final years of Emperor Nero's reign, based on the 1896 novel of the same title by Polish Nobel Laureate author Henryk Sienkiewicz. Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and filmed in Technicolor, it was directed by Mervyn LeRoy from a screenplay by S. N. Behrman, Sonya Levien, and John Lee Mahin. It is the fourth screen adaptation of Sienkiewicz's novel. The film stars Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Leo Genn, and Peter Ustinov, and features Patricia Laffan, Finlay Currie, Abraham Sofaer, Marina Berti, Buddy Baer, and Felix Aylmer. Future Italian stars Sophia Loren and Bud Spencer appeared as uncredited extras. The score is by Miklós Rózsa and the cinematography by Robert Surtees and William V. Skall. The film was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on November 2, 1951.
Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni was an Italian film actor, regarded as one of his country's most iconic male performers of the 20th century. He played leading roles for many of Italy's top directors in a career spanning 147 films between 1939 and 1997, and garnered many international honours including 2 BAFTA Awards, 2 Best Actor awards at the Venice and Cannes film festivals, 2 Golden Globes, and 3 Academy Award nominations.
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.
Carlo Fortunato Pietro Ponti Sr.OMRI was an Italian film producer with more than 140 productions to his credit. Along with Dino De Laurentiis, he is credited with reinvigorating and popularizing Italian cinema post-World War II, producing some of the country's most acclaimed and financially-successful films of the 1950s and 1960s.
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.
Rossano Brazzi was an Italian actor. He moved to Hollywood in 1948 and was propelled to international fame with his role in the English-language film Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), followed by the leading male role in David Lean's Summertime (1955), opposite Katharine Hepburn. In 1958, he played the lead as Frenchman Emile De Becque in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific. His other notable English-language films include The Barefoot Contessa (1954), The Story of Esther Costello (1957), opposite Joan Crawford, Count Your Blessings (1959), Light in the Piazza (1962), and The Italian Job (1969).
Miracle in Milan is a 1951 Italian fantasy film directed by Vittorio De Sica. The screenplay was co-written by Cesare Zavattini, based on his novel Totò il Buono. The picture stars Francesco Golisano, Emma Gramatica, Paolo Stoppa, and Guglielmo Barnabò.
Titanus is an Italian film production company, founded in 1904 by Gustavo Lombardo (1885–1951). The company's headquarters are located at 28 Via Sommacampagna, Rome and its studios on the Via Tiburtina, 13 km from the centre of Rome.
Pietro Germi was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor, noted for his development of the neorealist and commedia all'italiana genres.
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.
Mario Soldati 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, such as Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida.
Mario Cecchi Gori was an Italian film producer and owner of companies. He produced over 200 films, notably with Damiano Damiani, Dino Risi and Ettore Scola.
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.
Marcello Marchesi was an Italian author, screenwriter and film director. He wrote more than 60 films between 1939 and 1977. He also directed six films between 1951 and 1952. He was born in Milan and died in San Giovanni di Sinis, Cabras, Italy.
Renato Ranucci, known by the stage name Renato Rascel, was an Italian film actor and singer. He appeared in 50 films between 1942 and 1972. He represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 with the song "Romantica", which tied for eighth place out of thirteen entries.
The 12th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 20 August to 10 September 1951.
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 contrast to the native Italian film industry, these movies were made in English for global release. Although the primary markets for such films were American and British audiences, they enjoyed widespread popularity in other countries, including Italy.
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).
