Cinema

INTRODUCTION TO ITALIAN CINEMA The Five Generations  Silent  Cinema under fascism  Neorealism  Commedia all’italiana and La Dolce Vita  The New Italian Cinema NEOREALISM Begins immediately after the war (and during, Ossessione -1943, Rome Open City, filmed in 1944) and will last only a few years, until the beginning of the 50’s. It will change the history of cinema. Characteristics of Neorealism  Product of the Resistance  Research of reality:  Camera explores reality  Outside the studio (Cinecittà mostly destroyed)  Screen=mirror, the audience is both the receiver and the protagonist of the movie  The first step in the rebuilding of a country after both a War and a Civil War.  Emarginated are at the centre of the screen (humble heroes)  (sometimes) non-professional actors  A reaction to fascism that wanted just one man, neorealism searches for 1000 men  The men of the streets rather than the man of the square. Dialects.  Its most important feature is the emotional impact. We still exist… Neorealism is the cinema of a country in ruins, where there is no bread or butter, is the research of dignity of a defeated nation, a way of saying we still exist (Zavattini). Neorealism is a cinema on the present, that looks at the future and wants to forget the past (Brunetta). The most important Directors:  Rossellini (Rome Open City 1945, Paisà 1947, Germany Year Zero 1948)  Visconti (Ossessione 1943, La Terra Trema 1948)  De Sica ( Bicycle Thieves 1949), Sciuscià 1946, Miracle in Milan 1952, Umberto D 1952) THE COMMEDIA ALL’ITALIANA  30’s – escape reality  After WWII: rural economy capitalism, consumerism, urbanization A changing society: economic miracle brought to mass consumption society A new national dimension (TV unifies the language) Class differences faded After the difficulties of the immediate post-war, people found again a desire of fun: The comic actor represents the contradictions of the new Italian during the economic miracle The Society is changing so rapidly…but the VICES and the DEFECTS of the Italians remain the same: - thieves - cheaters - superstitious - bigoted - they are too many... Commedia all’italiana is a definition created by the critics… The Commedia all’italiana or Comedy Italian Style was born in the 30’s, developed in the 50’s, and became Commedia all’italiana, a definition created by the critics, starting from 58’s-59’s The Commedia all’italiana’s most important aspects:  Satiric critic to the Italian customs (self-irony)  A team of famous actors (Mastroianni, Sordi, Manfredi, Tognazzi, Salvadori, Gasmann, De Sica, Sophia Loren, ecc.) from the popular and working classes  A team of famous directors and screen players (Monicelli, Comencini, Germi, Steno – Risi, Age Scarpelli) Themes:  Society of the economic miracle and the changing customs of Italians  Sexual conflict  History (La Grande Guerra, La Marcia su Roma, Il Generale della Rovere, ecc)  The approach is satiric, light, moralistic  60’s: boom of the commedia  From 68’ on – politicized - Pasolini  End of 70’s/80’s - New Commedia all’Italiana (Benigni, Troisi, Moretti, Verdone, Celentano).