| The Roof | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Vittorio De Sica |
| Written by | Cesare Zavattini |
| Produced by | Vittorio De Sica |
| Starring | Gabriella Pallotta Giorgio Listuzzi |
| Cinematography | Carlo Montuori |
| Edited by | Eraldo Da Roma |
| Music by | Alessandro Cicognini |
Release dates | October 6, 1956 (Italy) May 12, 1959 (US) |
Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
The Roof (Italian : Il tetto) is a 1956 Italian drama film directed and produced by Vittorio De Sica.
Natale, an apprentice bricklayer, and Luisa, who has no marketable skill, marry and try to live with Natale's parents and other relatives in one apartment, what might happen in the poorest classes in Rome about 1950. After a quarrel Natale and Luisa precipitately leave without a place to live. The remainder of the film is devoted to their finding housing. The solution is building a one-room brick dwelling as a squat on unused railway land on the outskirts of Rome. As it was illegal, Natale arranges his workmates to assist him during the night. According to the rules, if a dwelling has a door and a roof the householder cannot be evicted. At dawn when the police arrive to remove them the dwelling is complete except for part of the roof, but a humane policeman looks the other way. The happy ending is not without realism. In financial straits, and facing imprisonment later, Natale and Luisa, now pregnant, will encounter difficulties ahead.
"[The Roof] is a confirmation of the power of neorealist principles ... De Sica has seen to it that every incident, every detail in every shot contributes to a sense of unstrained, unforced actuality" (Arthur Knight, Saturday Review). We have secured a recent restoration of the film that marked De Sica's final return to the classic neorealism of Bicycle Thieves after forays into romantic melodrama (Terminal Station) and Neapolitan comedy (The Gold of Naples). Two non-professional actors (one a soccer star) give winning performances as a newly married couple who, after a family quarrel, are left homeless in Rome. A bricklayer by trade, the husband conscripts his co-workers to help build an abode overnight, hoping that the police won't find the couple's new "roof" illegal and have it destroyed. "A lovely little seriocomic film ... deeply touching" (Bosley Crowther, The New York Times).
The film was presented in the official selection in competition at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival [1] where it received the Prix de l'Office Catholique (OCIC).
He also received the 1957 Silver Ribbon of Italian Cinema for the screenplay.
The film was restored in 1999 thanks to the Vittorio De Sica Friends Association and edited by Manuel De Sica. The restored film was then screened on April 4, 2004 at the Morlacchi Theater in Perugia. [2]
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.
Vittorio De Sica was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement.
Italian neorealism, also known as the Golden Age, is 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.
My Voyage to Italy is a personal documentary by acclaimed Italian-American director Martin Scorsese. The film is a voyage through Italian cinema history, marking influential films for Scorsese and particularly covering the Italian neorealism period.
Carla Del Poggio was an Italian cinema, theatre, and television actress.
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.
Terminal Station is a 1953 romantic drama film directed and produced by Vittorio De Sica and starring Jennifer Jones, Montgomery Clift, and Richard Beymer in his debut role. It tells the story of the love affair between a married American woman and an Italian intellectual. The title refers to the Roma Termini railway station in Rome, where the film takes place. The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.
Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani, collectively referred to as the Taviani brothers, were Italian film directors and screenwriters who collaborated on film productions.
The Railroad Man is a 1956 Italian drama film directed by Pietro Germi.
Anna of Brooklyn is a 1958 French-Italian comedy film directed by Vittorio De Sica and Carlo Lastricati and starring Gina Lollobrigida, De Sica and Amedeo Nazzari.
The 8th Cannes Film Festival was held from 26 April to 10 May 1955. The Golden Palm went to the US film Marty by Delbert Mann. The festival opened with Du rififi chez les hommes by Jules Dassin and closed with Carmen Jones by Otto Preminger.
The 9th Cannes Film Festival was held from 23 April to 10 May 1956. The Palme d'Or went to The Silent World by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Louis Malle. The festival opened with Marie-Antoinette reine de France, directed by Jean Delannoy and closed with Il tetto by Vittorio De Sica.
Christian De Sica is an Italian actor and film director.
In Olden Days is a 1952 Italian anthology film.
Red Roses is a 1940 Italian comedy film directed by Vittorio De Sica and Giuseppe Amato and starring De Sica, Renée Saint-Cyr, and Vivi Gioi. It was De Sica's first film as a director. De Sica had previously appeared in a 1936 production of the stage play by Aldo De Benedetti on which it was based. It was shot at the Cinecitta Studios in Rome. The film's sets were designed by the art director Gastone Medin.
The Gates of Heaven is a 1945 Italian drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica.
Manuel De Sica was an Italian composer.
The Nastro d'Argento is a film award assigned each year, since 1948, by Sindacato Nazionale dei Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani, the association of Italian film critics.
Vacanze di Natale '90 is a 1990 Italian comedy film directed by Enrico Oldoini.
Three Floors is a 2021 Italian drama film co-produced, co-written and directed by Nanni Moretti. It is based on the 2017 novel Shalosh Qomot by Israeli writer Eshkol Nevo, moving the setting from Tel Aviv to Rome, and also marking Moretti's first adaptation of the work of another artist.
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