Ever wondered what started the Oscar for Best Foregin Language Film category? It was Shoeshine, Vittorio De Sica‘s fifth film that initially received a Special Academy Award in 1948 and two years later for his masterpiece The Bicycle Thief. Shoeshine is a special film for many reasons. First, it marks the start of one of [...]

This cinematic masterpiece was filmed in Rome during the summer of 1942 before the Nazis arrival in October that started the occupation and devastation in the city. That’s why Rome in this film looks very clean, normal and tranquil – the serenity before the war storms broke out. Stylistically, the film belongs to the Transitional [...]

Stories about the common man emphasizing social issues, scenes shot in actual locations, and the use of non-professional actors – are the key ingredients of the Neorealist film movement in postwar Italy, which this film is one of its prominent expressions. Directed by Vittorio De Sica and adapted for the screen by Cesare Zavattini based [...]

In one of the greatest accomplishments of the Neorealist film movement, Vittorio De Sica dedicates this film to his father and effectively captures the grim life of the elderly in post-war Italy. The film paints a vividly emotional picture of Umberto D. (Carlo Battisti non-proessional actor – a university professor from Florence), an older man [...]

Take a close look at the this picture. What do you think is happening? A lot has been written about this neorealist modern fairy tale from Vittorio de Sica – the director of ‘The Bicycle Thief’. If you haven’t seen this masterpiece yet, pick one of your gloomy days (we all have a few) and [...]