When it comes to Italian cinema, different subgenres will come to mind for all of us, but whatever the genre is, it is certain that the films of this country, especially a period, have their own characteristics. Let’s take a closer look at some classic Italian films, some of which are now cult productions in the world, and briefly see the stories they present to the audience.
After the Second World War, the whole of Europe has changed in a way that will never be the same again, and Italy is among the countries participating in this change. Cinema was the area where we saw this change in Italy most clearly because Filmmakers who were bored with the propaganda films made during the fascist Mussolini era They wanted to show everyone that the doors of a new world were opened with Italian films.
Here’s what happened after that day, and Italian films gained a new identity with the neorealism movement. The effects of this period on cinema were so great that it is possible to see some of them later and even in films made today. Of course, it is not easy to master the whole corpus, but come on. Let’s take a closer look at some classic Italian movies Let’s better understand the structure of the country’s cinema through the stories they present to the audience.
Some of the classic Italian movies you can enjoy:
- Il tempo si fermato
- La ragazza con la valigia
- mafioso
- risso amaro
- Sacco e Vanzetti
- roman ore 11
- Sedotta e abbandonata
- Indagine water un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto
- Ladri di biciclette
- La meglio gioventù
- Nuovo Cinema Paradiso
Two men on the mountain: Il tempo si è fermato
- Year: 1959
- Genre: Drama
- Director: Ermanno Olmi
- Cast: Roberto Seveso, Natale Rossi, Paolo Quadrubbi
- IMDb: 7.5
Il tempo si è fermato is about a young university student’s wife giving birth to the man he was staying with. It begins with his acceptance of his duty as watchdog. The young man starts to work as a guard at a dam at the top of the mountain. In this quiet and desolate environment, there is an old man who is just a guard like him. As time passes and the ice melts, a friendship begins to form between the two men.
Head to the girl with her suitcase: La ragazza con la valigia
- Year: 1961
- Genre: Drama, Romance
- Director: Valerio Zurlini
- Cast: Claudia Cardinale, Corrado Pani, Jacques Perrin
- IMDb: 7.5
We are watching the story of a young woman in the movie La ragazza con la valigia, which was released in the world as Girl with a Suitcase. The young girl who left her lover for a rich man with a suitcase in her hand, then it stays in the middle again. When our character, who is trying to survive and has a crazy nightlife, goes to a seaside town, things get complicated and it will be his brother who will save him.
Not all Sicilians are mafia: Mafioso
- Year: 1962
- Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
- Director: Alberto Lattuada
- Cast: Alberto Sordi, Carmelo Oliviero, Gabriella Conti
- IMDb: 7.6
Having a successful dark comedy narrative, Mafioso begins with a Sicilian working in Milan for many years going to his village to see his family. Even if he is used to it, his wife, who is from the north, remains quite unfamiliar with this environment. While our character is longing with his old friends The young girl who left her lover for a rich man with a suitcase in her hand, The novice assassin, who leaves the house on the hunt, finds himself in New York.
Theft of rice in the country: Riso amaro
- Year: 1949
- Genre: Crime, Drama
- Director: Giuseppe De Santis
- Cast: Giuseppe De Santis, Carlo Lizzani, Gianni Puccini
- IMDb: 7.6
Riso amaro, which was released in the world as Bitter Rice, is among the most remarkable films of the Italian neorealism movement. two thieves, On the run from the police in northern Italy He finds himself among the female workers and sets off with them. One of the female workers somehow gets the duo, who doesn’t have a work permit, to work in the rice fields. What happened next reveals the reflection of a big theft in the countryside.
The story of real criminals: Sacco e Vanzetti
- Year: 1971
- Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
- Director: Giuliano Montaldo
- Cast: Gian Maria Volonte, Riccardo Cucciolla, Cyril Cusack
- IMDb: 7.8
In the movie Sacco e Vanzetti two real anarchists of Italian descent We follow the story of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. The two try to commit a robbery in 1920 in Massachusetts, USA. During the robbery, things go wrong and they have to kill two people. Thereupon, both are sentenced to death in court. The film received many awards in the international arena.
Unemployment to death: Rome ore 11
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8QTV7y2F9w
- Year: 1952
- Genre: Drama
- Director: Giuseppe De Santis
- Cast: Carla Del Poggio, Lucia Bosé, Raf Vallone
- IMDb: 7.8
Based on a true event that took place in Italy at the height of unemployment, the movie Roma ore 11 is awarded for a secretarial job. The job posting starts with 200 women applying. Among the women waiting for a job interview on a staircase are people from all walks of life. The story turns into a deep class questioning after the ladder collapsed, dozens of people were killed and dozens were injured.
It’s just like our series: Sedotta e abbandonata
- Year: 1964
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Director: Pietro Germi
- Cast: Stefania Sandrelli, Saro Urzì, Lando Buzzanca
- IMDb: 7.9
We watch a crowded family story in the movie Sedotta e abbandonata, a production that humorously criticizes the Sicilian rural life and traditional life. It all starts with the big sister’s fiancee deceiving her younger sister into having sex with her. When the 16-year-old girl becomes pregnant, her father asks her to leave the elder and marry the younger, but the man disappears. The father then embarks on the struggle to protect the honor of the family.
A strange black comedy: Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto
- Year: 1970
- Genre: Crime, Drama
- Director: Elio Petri
- Cast: Gian Maria Volonte, Florinda Bolkan, Gianni Santuccio
- IMDb: 8.0
In the movie Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto, which was released in our country as an Investigation into a Citizen Beyond All Kinds of Suspicion. We are watching an interesting dark humor narrative. The story of the film, which won numerous awards, begins with a police inspector killing his mistress. A young cop helps the inspector, posing as suspects.
Italian neorealism itself: Ladri di biciclette
- Year: 1948
- Genre: Drama
- Director: Vittorio De Sica
- Cast: Lamberto Maggioran, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell
- IMDb: 8.3
The Ladri di biciclette movie, which was released in our country as Bicycle Thieves, means Italian neo-realism itself. In the story set in the post-war city of Rome We follow the life of an ordinary worker struggling to survive. Our character, who finds a job after a long time, but has his bike stolen for the job, starts to wander around the city with his son and search for the stolen bike.
The middle-class family epic: La meglio gioventù
- Year: 2003
- Genre: Drama, Romance
- Director: Marco Tullio Giordana
- Cast: Luigi Lo Cascio, Alessio Boni, Jasmine Trinca
- IMDb: 8.5
In the movie La meglio gioventù, which was released in the world as The Best of Youth, we witness a kind of intergenerational conflict told through a family. The story that started in 1966 year by year it gets a little more layered and lasts until 2003. During this lifetime, according to some, the conflicts of a middle-class family within themselves and with the outside world are reflected on the screen.
Death of an old friend: Nuovo Cinema Paradiso
- Year: 1988
- Genre: Drama, Romance
- Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
- Cast: Philippe Noiret, Salvatore Cascio, Marco Leonardi
- IMDb: 8.5
Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, which was released in our country as Paradise Cinema, considered one of the most important world classics and music by Ennio Morricone. The story begins when a director’s lover tells him that his mother called and that Alfredo is dead. Alfredo is actually a projectionist who showed him what cinema was for the first time in the director’s childhood.
Notable for their distinctive style we have listed some of the classic italian movies and we briefly talked about the stories they presented to the audience. Of course, this list could have been much longer. You can share the Italian movies you want to be on our list in the comments.