Sanctuary Essentials: Italy.

I decided to take some time out to to focus briefly on an important part of my film fanaticism that I’ve been neglecting in the blog thus far. That is namely my passion for the great films of the masters of Italian Cinema. We’re talking Fellini, Antonioni, Visconti, De Sica and more. This may or may not turn into a series of essential films from around the world depending on how I feel, but for now let’s see what films from Italy no self respecting cinephile should be without.

ALL TITLES ARE EASILY AVAILABLE ON DVD IN AUSTRALIA UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED IN BOLD.

Federico Fellini (1920-1993).

The undisputed master of the Italian film industry. Many of his films rank among the best of all time - from anywhere. Beginning in the neo-realist movement of the 40s and 50s, Fellini came into his own with his magical realist explorations of contemporary Italian society. Later films became increasingly indulgent, but the earlier masterpieces assure Fellini’s place in the pantheon.

ESSENTIAL PURCHASES:

  • La Strada (1954) - Available through Madman’s Director’s Suite.
  • Nights of Cabiria (1957) - Available through Universal.
  • La Dolce Vita (1961) - Available through Umbrella Entertainment.
  • 8 1/2 (1963) - Available through Umbrella Entertainment.
  • Juliet of the Spirits (1965) - Available through Umbrella Entertainment.
  • Amarcord (1973) - Available from Amazon.com through Criterion.

Michelangelo Antonioni (1912-2007).

Antonioni may be best known for his English language debut Blow-Up in 1966, but his place on the list of all time greats was already assured by the release of the Alienation Trilogy and the masterful The Red Desert. These films are sparce on dialogue but deeply emotional films that specialise in a probing examination of the human condition. Visually poetic and ambiguous to a fault they are classics.

ESSENTIAL PURCHASES:

  • L’avventura (1960) - Available through Umbrella Entertainment.
  • La Notte (1961) - Available through Umbrella Entertainment.
  • L’elisse (1962) - Available from Amazon.com through Criterion.
  • The Red Desert (1964) - Available through Madman’s Director’s Suite.

LUCHINO VISCONTI (1906-1976).

Another product of neo-realism, Vischonti made his mark with deeply passionate tales of forbidden love and later luxuriously appointed (yet thematically contemporary) period dramas. His place on the list would be a certainty even if he had only ever made one film. That is namely, his lavish and epic adaptation of Giuseppe Tomasi De Lampedusa’s The Leopard.

ESSENTIAL PURCHASES:

  • Ossessione (1943) - Available through Umbrella Entertainment.
  • Senso (1954) - Available from Amazon.com through Criterion.
  • Rocco and His Brothers (1959) - Available through Umbrella Entertainment.
  • The Leopard (1963) - Available through Madman’s Director’s Suite.
  • Death in Venice (1971) - Available through Warner Home Video.
  • Conversation Piece (1974) - Available through Madman’s Director’s Suite.

VITTORIO DE SICA (1902-1974)

The neo-realist king. De Sica (also a prolific actor) brought the trials of working class post-war Italy into stark focus in a series of gritty and intimate dramas that pull at the heart strings without ever descending into sentimentality. Often employing non professionals for leading roles, De Sica’s films are as real as cinema gets and wonderful films all.

ESSENTIAL PURCHASES:

  • The Bicycle Thief (1948) - Available through Umbrella Entertainment.
  • Miracle in Milan (1951) - Available through Umbrella Entertainment.
  • Umberto D (1952) - Available through Madman’s Director’s Suite.
  • Two Women (1960) - Two Women is the public domain and is readily available from dvd bargain bins.
  • The Garden of the Finzi Contini (1971) - Available from Amazon.co.uk through Arrow Academy.

ALSO WORTH SEEKING OUT:

  • Rome, Open City (1945) dir: Roberto Rossellini - Available from Amazon.co.uk through Arrow Academy.
  • Journey To Italy (1954) dir: Robert Rossellini - Available through Madman’s Director’s Suite.
  • The Conformist (1970) dir: Bernardo Bertolucci - Available from Amazon.co.uk through Arrow Academy.
  • Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970) dir: Elio Petri - Currently unavailable in regions 1,2 and 4.
  • Salo (1975) dir: Pier Paolo Pasolini - Available through Shock’s Distinction Series.

LASTLY:

  • From the recent Italian output, Luca Guadagnino’s I Am Love (2009) is a superb example of a modern film that captures the classic excess and melodrama of the great Italian dramas of the 1960s and 70s. Readily available through Madman Entertainment.

IMPORTANT NOTE: IF I HAD TO NARROW IT DOWN TO A 5 FILM TASTE TEST OF IMPERITIVE VIEWING THEN THESE TITLES WOULD MAKE THE CUT:

ESSENTIAL OF ESSENTIALS:

  • The Bicycle Thief
  • L’Avventura
  • La Dolce Vita
  • 8 1/2
  • The Leopard

And there you have it. So if you haven’t seen many or any of these films, why not broaden your cinematic horizons with a few of these choice efforts. You won’t regret it.