Italian Neorealism: Between a Movement and a Style

1
Italian Neorealism Between a Movement and a
Style

• FMS 122 EC
• January 7 2009
• Professor Emily Carman

2
Italian Neorealism (1942-1952)

• Clip from Roberto Rossellinis Rome Open City
  (1945)

3
Major Figures

• Vittorio De Sica
• Roberto Rosselllini
• Luchino Visconti
• Alberto Lattuada
• Pietro Germi
• Giuseppe de Santis
• Francesco Rosi
• Federico Fellini
• Pier Paolo Pasolini
• Michelangelo Antonioni

4
Major Films

• Ossessione (Obsession, Visconti, 1942)
• I Bambini Ci Guardano (The Children Are Watching
  Us, De Sica, 1944)
• Roma Cittá Aperta (Rome Open City, Rossellini,
  1945)
• Paisá (Paisan, Rossellini, 1946)
• Sciusciá (Shoeshine, De Sica, 1946)
• Germania Anno Zero (Germany Year Zero,
  Rossellini, 1948)
• Ladri di Biciclette (The Bicycle Thief, De Sica,
  1948)
• La Terra Trema (The Earth Trembles, Visconti,
  1948)
• Riso Amaro (Bitter Rice, de Santis, 1949)
• Miracolo a Milano (Miracle in Milan, De Sica,
  1951)
• Umberto D. (De Sica, 1952)

5
Narrative Themes

• The Resistance (against the Fascists/Nazis)
• Devastation caused by World War II
• The Working Class
• Poverty
• Humanism
• Urban Space and its Periphery
• Inspired by actual events
• Ambiguous Endings
• Representation of Reality--Life As It Is

6
Technical Elements

• Shooting on location
• Use of natural light
• Post-synchronization of sound (dubbing)
• Use of lower grade film stocks (such as 16mm)
• Grainy documentary-like mise-en-scene
• Use of non-professional actors
• Use of the long take
• Little use of editing/montage
• Use of wide depth of field

7
Paradoxes of Neorealism
8
Theorists and Critics

• Cesare Zavattini (1902-1989) Screenwriter and
  Theorist.
• Key essay Some Ideas on the Cinema.
• André Bazin (1918-1958) French Critic, Editor of
  the Cahiers du Cinema
• Author of What is Cinema? Vol. I and II

9
Legacy of Neorealism

• The French New Wave (late 1950s-60s), Jean-Luc
  Goddard, François Truffault
• Brazilian Cinema Novo (late 1950s-60s), Nelson
  Peirera dos Santos and Glauber Rocha
• Indian Cinema, specifically Satyajit Ray,
  director of the Apu Trilogy (1950s-60s)
• Cinema Verite and Direct Cinema Documentary
  movements in 1960s

10
Bitter Rice A Betrayal of Neorealist Values OR
an Hollywood-Neorealism Hybrid?

• Director De Santis sought to criticize the
  Americanization of Italian life (embodied by the
  main protagonist Silvana)
• Bitter Rice exemplifies a national cinema that
  appealed to many audiences by using American
  cinematic forms (stars, genre conventions,
  sophisticated editing)

11
Bitter Rice Neorealism incorporates Hollywood
Genres and Stars