Category Archives: Italy

“Beware the movie based on literature, or, in that showbiz term of art, a ‘literary property.’ Not because adaptations are an inferior form of cinema—I don’t believe that for a moment—but because they create an added layer of copyright issues … Continue reading →

“First the glimmering white and black images of Ermanno Olmi’s I Fidanzati light up the screen and warm your heart. Then they abruptly flicker out—like imagined fleeting glances of a love affair you can’t forget but couldn’t hold onto. In … Continue reading →

“La Dolce Vita (Italian pronunciation: [la ˈdoltʃe ˈviːta]; Italian for ‘the sweet life’ or ‘the good life’) is a 1960 Italian drama film directed and co-written by Federico Fellini. The film follows Marcello Rubini (Marcello Mastroianni), a journalist writing for gossip … Continue reading →

“Luis Buñuel’s Belle de Jour is 50 years old and back in UK cinemas with all its creamy elegance and scabrous humour intact. With co-writer Jean-Claude Carrière, Buñuel creates a secret theatre of erotic shame. The only thing that really … Continue reading →

“In the 1960s, serious Italian cinema led by Fellini, Antonioni and Visconti moved decisively from neorealism into a new phase of more formal and personal movies with a wider social focus. Alongside them was Francesco Rosi, a former lawyer and … Continue reading →