Category Archives: Italy

“Ermanno Olmi’s first feature, Il Posto (1961), is often misrepresented as being a continuation of the tradition of neorealism. This highly influential postwar film movement, which produced such masterpieces as Roberto Rossellini’s Rome, Open City (1945) and Vittorio De Sica’s … Continue reading →

“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 →