The cinema of Italy comprises the films made within Italy or by Italian directors. Since its beginning, Italian cinema has influenced film movements worldwide. Italy is one of the birthplaces of art cinema and the stylistic aspect of film has been the most important factor 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.
Barbara Steele is an English film actress known for starring in Italian gothic horror films of the 1960s. She has been referred to as the "Queen of All Scream Queens" and "Britain's first lady of horror". She played the dual role of Asa and Katia Vajda in Mario Bava's landmark film Black Sunday (1960), and starred in The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962), The Long Hair of Death (1964), and Castle of Blood (1964).
Blood and Black Lace is a 1964 giallo film directed by Mario Bava and starring Eva Bartok and Cameron Mitchell. The story concerns the brutal murders of a Roman fashion house's models, committed by a masked killer in a desperate attempt to obtain a scandal-revealing diary.
Vampire in Venice, also known as Prince of the Night and Nosferatu In Venice is a 1988 Italian supernatural horror film directed by Augusto Caminito and an uncredited Klaus Kinski, and starring Kinski, Christopher Plummer, Donald Pleasence, and Barbara De Rossi. The story follows Professor Paris Catalano (Plummer), who travels to Venice following the trail of the last known appearance of Nosferatu (Kinski), who was seen at Carnival in 1786. Catalano learns through a séance that the vampire is seeking eternal death, and tries to put an end to its existence once and for all.
I Vampiri is a 1957 Italian horror film. The film was directed by Riccardo Freda and completed by the film's cinematographer, Mario Bava. It stars Gianna Maria Canale, Carlo D'Angelo and Dario Michaelis. The film is about a series of murders on young women who are found with their blood drained. The newspapers report on a killer known as the Vampire, which prompts young journalist Pierre Lantin to research the crimes. Lantin investigates the mysterious Du Grand family who lives in a castle occupied by Gisele Du Grand who is in love with Lantin. She lives with her aunt, who hides her face in a veil, as well as the scientist Julian Du Grand, who is trying to find the secret to eternal youth.
City of the Living Dead is a 1980 Italian supernatural horror film co-written and directed by Lucio Fulci. It stars Christopher George, Catriona MacColl, Carlo de Mejo, Antonella Interlenghi, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, and Janet Agren. The film follows a priest whose hanging opens a gateway to hell that releases the undead, where a psychic and a reporter team up to close it before All Saints' Day.
Nightmare Castle is a 1965 Italian horror film directed by Mario Caiano. The film stars Paul Muller, Helga Liné and Barbara Steele in a dual role.
The Adventures of Pinocchio is an Italian animated film directed by Raoul Verdini and Umberto Spano. Created and produced by Cartoni Animati Italiani Roma (CAIR) and distributed by De Vecchi, this cartoon was based on the famous 1883 children's book The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi.
Poliziotteschi constitute a subgenre of crime and action films that emerged in Italy in the late 1960s and reached the height of their popularity in the 1970s. They are also known as polizieschi all'italiana, Euro-crime, Italo-crime, spaghetti crime films, or simply Italian crime films. Influenced by both 1970s French crime films and gritty 1960s and 1970s American cop films and vigilante films, poliziotteschi films were made amidst an atmosphere of socio-political turmoil in Italy and increasing Italian crime rates. The films generally featured graphic and brutal violence, organized crime, car chases, vigilantism, heists, gunfights, and corruption up to the highest levels. The protagonists were generally tough working class loners, willing to act outside a corrupt or overly bureaucratic system.
The Years of Lead is a term used for a period of social and political turmoil in Italy that lasted from the late 1960s until the late 1980s, marked by a wave of both far-left and far-right incidents of political terrorism.
Manhattan Baby is a 1982 Italian horror film directed by Lucio Fulci, and starring Christopher Connelly and Carlo De Mejo. The film begins in Egypt, where Susie, the daughter of archaeologist George Hacker, is given a mysterious talisman by an old woman. Meanwhile, her father investigates a tomb, and is blinded by a blue light. George and Susie return to New York, where George gradually recovers his vision. Strange deaths begin to occur around the Hackers, seemingly caused by the amulet.
Gomorrah is a 2008 Italian crime film directed by Matteo Garrone, based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Roberto Saviano, who also collaborated in the screenplay. It deals with the Casalesi clan, a crime syndicate within the Camorra — a traditional criminal organization based in Naples and Caserta, in the southern Italian region of Campania.
Shadows on the Grand Canal is a 1951 Italian crime film directed by Glauco Pellegrini and starring Isa Pola, Antonio Centa and Carlo Hintermann. It was entered into the competition at the 12th Venice International Film Festival.
Touch of Death is a direct-to-video Italian horror film directed by Lucio Fulci. The film was developed as part of a series for direct-to video and television films titled I maestri del thriller which had eight other films in the series. Fulci was invited to join the project originally as a supervisor, but brought in his own story for Touch of Death which began filming on 22 June 1988. The films were later released to home video under the heading of "Lucio Fulci presenta" by Formula Home Video, but were sued by the producer Carlo Alberto Alfieri who owned the home video rights. The films in the series were later released by Avo Film on VHS and DVD.
Violence in a Women's Prison is a 1982 women in prison film directed by Bruno Mattei. The film stars Laura Gemser and Gabriele Tinti. It tells the story of Emanuelle, who is sent to Santa Catarina Women's Penitentiary for drugs and prostitution, where she meets the warden and the other inmates. Her actual reason is undercover reporting for Amnesty International. It is the seventh film in the Emanuelle nera film series and the first one directed by Mattei.
Nick the Sting is a 1976 Italian film directed by Fernando Di Leo. It stars actor Gabriele Ferzetti.
The Istituto Luce was an Italian film corporation, created in 1924 during the Fascist era. The Institute, based in Rome, was involved in the production and distribution of films and documentaries intended for being screened in cinemas. Famous for having been a powerful propaganda tool of the fascist regime, it is considered as the oldest public institution devoted to production and distribution of cinematographic materials for didactic and informative purposes in the world.
Love Is Not Perfect is a 2012 Italian romance film written and directed by Francesca Muci in her directorial debut, and starring Anna Foglietta and Giulio Berruti. The screenplay is based on the 2012 Italian novel of the same name, written by Francesca Muci.
Ombre (transl. Shadows) is a 1980 Italian horror film directed and written by Giorgio Cavedon.
Karina Flores, also known as Karina Grigoryan, is a Russian opera singer who has sung leading soprano roles with companies in her native Russia as well as in other European countries. For eight seasons she was a soloist with Helikon Opera in Moscow and has gone on to sing at the Teatro Regio in Turin, the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona, the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, and the Tyrolean State Theatre in Innsbruck, amongst others. She made her American debut in 2018 as the soprano soloist in a performance of the War Requiem at the Kennedy Center conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. On disc Flores appears as Lisa in Israeli Opera's 2012 recording of Pique Dame conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.
