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1940s – 1960s

Italian Neorealism and After

Real streets and non-professional actors in the ruins of war, followed by a more personal, modernist Italian art cinema.

In the ruins of 1945 Italy, Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica and Luchino Visconti took cameras into the streets and filmed ordinary people in real places, often with non-professional actors. Rome, Open City, Bicycle Thieves and La terra trema looked at poverty, war and unemployment without gloss or happy endings, and their method opened a path for filmmakers everywhere who lacked big budgets. By the late 1950s Italian cinema had moved to more personal and modern work: Fellini's dreams and memories, Antonioni's studies of emptiness and alienation, Pasolini's poetry and politics, and Visconti's historical epics.

Where
Italy, above all Rome
When
1943 to the 1960s
Key figures
Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Luchino Visconti, Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Pier Paolo Pasolini
Landmark films
Rome, Open City (1945), Bicycle Thieves (1948), La Dolce Vita (1960), L'Avventura (1960)
Legacy
Showed that cinema could be made on location with simple means, and inspired the French New Wave, Indian and Latin American cinema

What to look for

  • Real locations and non-professional actors
  • Stories of poverty, war and daily life, often without a neat ending
  • A simple, direct style that avoids glamour

Famous Directors

Roberto RosselliniItalyVittorio De SicaItalyLuchino ViscontiItalyGiuseppe De SantisItalyAlberto LattuadaItalyPietro GermiItalyEttore ScolaItalyFederico FelliniItalyMichelangelo AntonioniItalyPier Paolo PasoliniItalyBernardo BertolucciItalyFrancesco RosiItalyMarco BellocchioItalyErmanno OlmiItalyGillo PontecorvoItalyElio PetriItalyThe Taviani BrothersItalyGianni AmelioItalyMarco FerreriItalyValerio ZurliniItaly

Top 100 rated films

  1. Kidnapped 2023 · Marco Bellocchio · IMDb 8.3
  2. Bicycle Thieves 1948 · Vittorio De Sica · IMDb 8.2
  3. Rocco and His Brothers 1960 · Luchino Visconti · IMDb 8.2
  4. Nights of Cabiria 1957 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 8.1
  5. Umberto D. 1952 · Vittorio De Sica · IMDb 8.1
  6. A Special Day 1977 · Ettore Scola · IMDb 8.1
  7. The Battle of Algiers 1966 · Gillo Pontecorvo · IMDb 8.1
  8. La Strada 1954 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 8.0
  9. La Dolce Vita 1960 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 8.0
  10. 8½ 1963 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 8.0
  11. Rome, Open City 1945 · Roberto Rossellini · IMDb 8.0
  12. Shoeshine 1946 · Vittorio De Sica · IMDb 8.0
  13. We All Loved Each Other So Much 1974 · Ettore Scola · IMDb 8.0
  14. Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion 1970 · Elio Petri · IMDb 8.0
  15. The Leopard 1963 · Luchino Visconti · IMDb 7.9
  16. Divorce Italian Style 1961 · Pietro Germi · IMDb 7.9
  17. Seduced and Abandoned 1964 · Pietro Germi · IMDb 7.9
  18. La Notte 1961 · Michelangelo Antonioni · IMDb 7.9
  19. The Conformist 1970 · Bernardo Bertolucci · IMDb 7.9
  20. Il posto 1961 · Ermanno Olmi · IMDb 7.9
  21. I Vitelloni 1953 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 7.8
  22. Amarcord 1973 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 7.8
  23. Germany Year Zero 1948 · Roberto Rossellini · IMDb 7.8
  24. La Terra Trema 1948 · Luchino Visconti · IMDb 7.8
  25. The Tree of Wooden Clogs 1978 · Ermanno Olmi · IMDb 7.8
  26. Kaos 1984 · The Taviani Brothers · IMDb 7.8
  27. General Della Rovere 1959 · Roberto Rossellini · IMDb 7.7
  28. Two Women 1960 · Vittorio De Sica · IMDb 7.7
  29. Bellissima 1951 · Luchino Visconti · IMDb 7.7
  30. White Nights 1957 · Luchino Visconti · IMDb 7.7
  31. The Railroad Man 1956 · Pietro Germi · IMDb 7.7
  32. L'Avventura 1960 · Michelangelo Antonioni · IMDb 7.7
  33. Mamma Roma 1962 · Pier Paolo Pasolini · IMDb 7.7
  34. Ugly, Dirty and Bad 1976 · Ettore Scola · IMDb 7.7
  35. The Last Emperor 1987 · Bernardo Bertolucci · IMDb 7.7
  36. Christ Stopped at Eboli 1979 · Francesco Rosi · IMDb 7.7
  37. Paisan 1946 · Roberto Rossellini · IMDb 7.6
  38. The Children Are Watching Us 1944 · Vittorio De Sica · IMDb 7.6
  39. Miracle in Milan 1951 · Vittorio De Sica · IMDb 7.6
  40. Bitter Rice 1949 · Giuseppe De Santis · IMDb 7.6
  41. Mafioso 1962 · Alberto Lattuada · IMDb 7.6
  42. In the Name of the Law 1949 · Pietro Germi · IMDb 7.6
  43. Il Grido 1957 · Michelangelo Antonioni · IMDb 7.6
  44. L'Eclisse 1962 · Michelangelo Antonioni · IMDb 7.6
  45. The Gospel According to St. Matthew 1964 · Pier Paolo Pasolini · IMDb 7.6
  46. Accattone 1961 · Pier Paolo Pasolini · IMDb 7.6
  47. Le Bal 1983 · Ettore Scola · IMDb 7.6
  48. 1900 1976 · Bernardo Bertolucci · IMDb 7.6
  49. Hands Over the City 1963 · Francesco Rosi · IMDb 7.6
  50. The Mattei Affair 1972 · Francesco Rosi · IMDb 7.6
  51. Kapò 1960 · Gillo Pontecorvo · IMDb 7.6
  52. The Working Class Goes to Heaven 1971 · Elio Petri · IMDb 7.6
  53. Stolen Children 1992 · Gianni Amelio · IMDb 7.6
  54. Il Bidone 1955 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 7.5
  55. Ossessione 1943 · Luchino Visconti · IMDb 7.5
  56. Ludwig 1973 · Luchino Visconti · IMDb 7.5
  57. The Overcoat 1952 · Alberto Lattuada · IMDb 7.5
  58. The Path of Hope 1950 · Pietro Germi · IMDb 7.5
  59. The Birds, the Bees and the Italians 1966 · Pietro Germi · IMDb 7.5
  60. The Desert of the Tartars 1976 · Valerio Zurlini · IMDb 7.5
  61. Fists in the Pocket 1965 · Marco Bellocchio · IMDb 7.5
  62. Time Stood Still 1959 · Ermanno Olmi · IMDb 7.5
  63. The Fiances 1963 · Ermanno Olmi · IMDb 7.5
  64. Todo modo 1976 · Elio Petri · IMDb 7.5
  65. Juliet of the Spirits 1965 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 7.4
  66. Europe '51 1952 · Roberto Rossellini · IMDb 7.4
  67. Marriage Italian Style 1964 · Vittorio De Sica · IMDb 7.4
  68. Senso 1954 · Luchino Visconti · IMDb 7.4
  69. The Damned (1969) 1969 · Luchino Visconti · IMDb 7.4
  70. The Innocent 1976 · Luchino Visconti · IMDb 7.4
  71. Girl with a Suitcase 1961 · Valerio Zurlini · IMDb 7.4
  72. Red Desert 1964 · Michelangelo Antonioni · IMDb 7.4
  73. Blow-Up 1966 · Michelangelo Antonioni · IMDb 7.4
  74. The Passenger 1975 · Michelangelo Antonioni · IMDb 7.4
  75. La ricotta 1963 · Pier Paolo Pasolini · IMDb 7.4
  76. The Family 1987 · Ettore Scola · IMDb 7.4
  77. Carmen (1984) 1984 · Francesco Rosi · IMDb 7.4
  78. Lamerica 1994 · Gianni Amelio · IMDb 7.4
  79. Roma (1972) 1972 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 7.3
  80. Sunflower 1970 · Vittorio De Sica · IMDb 7.3
  81. Death in Venice 1971 · Luchino Visconti · IMDb 7.3
  82. Conversation Piece 1974 · Luchino Visconti · IMDb 7.3
  83. Violent Summer 1959 · Valerio Zurlini · IMDb 7.3
  84. Salvatore Giuliano 1962 · Francesco Rosi · IMDb 7.3
  85. El Cochecito 1960 · Marco Ferreri · IMDb 7.3
  86. The White Sheik 1952 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 7.2
  87. Ginger and Fred 1986 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 7.2
  88. Stromboli 1950 · Roberto Rossellini · IMDb 7.2
  89. Journey to Italy 1954 · Roberto Rossellini · IMDb 7.2
  90. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 1963 · Vittorio De Sica · IMDb 7.2
  91. The Garden of the Finzi-Continis 1970 · Vittorio De Sica · IMDb 7.2
  92. Family Diary 1962 · Valerio Zurlini · IMDb 7.2
  93. Oedipus Rex 1967 · Pier Paolo Pasolini · IMDb 7.2
  94. That Night in Varennes 1982 · Ettore Scola · IMDb 7.2
  95. The Moment of Truth 1965 · Francesco Rosi · IMDb 7.2
  96. Illustrious Corpses 1976 · Francesco Rosi · IMDb 7.2
  97. Padre Padrone 1977 · The Taviani Brothers · IMDb 7.2
  98. The Night of the Shooting Stars 1982 · The Taviani Brothers · IMDb 7.2
  99. Caesar Must Die 2012 · The Taviani Brothers · IMDb 7.2
  100. Orchestra Rehearsal 1978 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 7.1