Il Tetto – The Roof (Vittorio De Sica – 1956)

Five years after his masterpiece, Miracolo a Milano – Miracle in Milan (1951), director Vittorio De Sica with screenwriter Cesare Zavattini, return to a familiar neorealist theme – social troubles of a young couple, played by unprofessional actors, facing a housing problem during Italy’s economic boom. Newlywed couple, Gabriella Pallotta – Luisa (as Gabriella Pallotti)… Continue reading Il Tetto – The Roof (Vittorio De Sica – 1956)

Italian Cinema Audiences – Real Stories by Real People

In this post, I am not going to discuss a particular film but share with you a very special project I came across the other day. I’d like to give the discovery credit to my favorite Twitter hashtags – we all have our own lists – that keep me abreast about the greatest and latest… Continue reading Italian Cinema Audiences – Real Stories by Real People

Il cammino della speranza – The Path of Hope (Pietro Germi – 1950)

Right from the opening scene where you see the village women all veiled in black waiting patiently outside the mine for their husbands who refuse to come up to avoid the mine closing – you see direct similarities with another Nerorealism harbinger – Visconti’s 1948 La terra trema (The Earth Trembles). In the latter, the black… Continue reading Il cammino della speranza – The Path of Hope (Pietro Germi – 1950)

Terraferma (Emanuele Crialese – 2011)

These days I have roughly an hour commute time between 8AM-9AM, so I find myself spending the time listening to Italian live radio broadcast (thank you TuneIn Radio app). This is one of the blessings of broadband streaming; your views and surroundings are rooted in the US, but your real-time soundtrack is coming from elsewhere… Continue reading Terraferma (Emanuele Crialese – 2011)

Il magnifico cornuto – The Magnificent Cuckold (Antonio Pietrangeli – 1964)

In this classic Italian comedy director Antonio Pietrangeli juxtaposes extra indulgence with absurdity as key ingredients that drive rich couple from northern city Brescia to completely lose it.  Claudia Cardinale and Ugo Tognazzi The husband, Andrea Artusi, played by Ugo Tognazzi is the owner of a hat factory. He has a beautiful young wife, Maria… Continue reading Il magnifico cornuto – The Magnificent Cuckold (Antonio Pietrangeli – 1964)