{"id":3533,"date":"2014-09-01T17:01:43","date_gmt":"2014-09-01T15:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=3533"},"modified":"2021-09-25T15:00:52","modified_gmt":"2021-09-25T13:00:52","slug":"classics-of-italian-cinema","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/classics-of-italian-cinema\/","title":{"rendered":"Hollywood on the Tiber"},"content":{"rendered":"
I’ve written a few articles about the classics of Italian cinema on my blog because I feel like certain films<\/a> do a great job of teaching some of the nuances of Italian culture to us foreigners. Taken in their proper context, they can help bridge the gap between fantasy and reality<\/strong>. That is, if we\u2019re willing to challenge our fantasies about Italy.<\/p>\n Many of these movies aren\u2019t so easy to appreciate because there are culture references that don\u2019t translate well. Indeed, the translations found in the subtitles aren\u2019t always linguistically accurate\u2014or if they are, the meaning\/context is lost. We can\u2019t always substitute one thing for another, whether it\u2019s a word or a gesture or a custom.<\/p>\n Consider the film with the English title, The Bicycle Thief<\/em>.\u00a0 In Italian, it\u2019s called, I Ladri di Biciclette<\/em>.\u00a0 Notice that the subject is plural in Italian, The Bicycle Thieves<\/em>, and not Thief, like in the English title.\u00a0 It may seem like a subtle point, but when presenting the film to the Hollwood-ized (read: American) audience, the focus on the individual seems like a wise marketing decision. Hollywood movies are all about the individual hero<\/strong> struggling against odds to overcome his obstacles and enemies.\u00a0 Social commentary\u2014and especially socialism\u2014were not big on the minds of American producers in the 40s and 50s.\u00a0 (Nor are they today, for that matter.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For precisely this reason, I\u2019d like to suggest that watching Italians movies is a wonderful way to improve your understanding of both the language and the culture at large<\/strong>.\u00a0 By observing these nuances, you begin to \u201cunderstand\u201d more than you can actually learn by reading or studying. \u00a0Let\u2019s take a quick survey of some classics of Italian cinema and see what they can teach us.<\/p>\n (And if you read Italian, check out what Jessica has to say about the stereotypes of Italians in film<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Roma, Citt\u00e1 Aperta<\/a> \u2013 This is not the first big movie from Italy (that would have been Cabiria <\/em>in 1914), but it\u2019s the one that put neo-realism on the map.\u00a0 There are no movie sets, only the real day-to-day scenes of Rome.\u00a0 The camera doesn\u2019t move much, so it feels a lot like a documentary.\u00a0 Pay particular attention to the role of children in this film.\u00a0 They seem mature beyond their years, almost adults, perhaps representing a generation of new hope for post-war Italy.<\/p>\n <\/a>Ladri di Biciclette<\/a> \u2013 If the aforementioned \u201cRome, Open City\u201d started neo-realism, then this film defined it.\u00a0 Again, shot in the streets of Rome, using non-professional actors.\u00a0 Director Vittorio De Sica uses the real-life environment of contemporary life to frame his emotional drama of a desperate father whose new job is threatened when a street thief steals his bicycle.<\/p>\n De Sica\u2019s camera doesn\u2019t move much, either, but it does rotate on its axis, giving us the sensation that we are looking through the eyes of the main character.\u00a0 This film received an honorary award from The Academy in 1950.\u00a0 Again, notice the child co-star, who at certain points in the film seems more mature than his father.<\/p>\n <\/a>La Dolce Vita<\/a> \u2013 Fellini\u2019s classic follows the “sweet life” of a tabloid journalist who covers the glitzy celebrity world in Rome.\u00a0 In constant search for the next big scandal to write about, he is seduced by the decadent life led by Rome\u2019s pampered rich, distracting him from anything resembling a real human connection. \u00a0There are still some hints of neo-realism, but already we see strong elements of Fellini\u2019s journey towards a more dream-like representation, which reaches its full expression a few years later in 8 1\/2. One common interpretation is that the film can be divided into a prologue, seven major episodes interrupted by an intermezzo, and an epilogue.\u00a0 If the evenings of each episode are joined with the morning of the preceding episode, together they would make one given day.\u00a0 Therefore the entire film would consist of seven consecutive days, creating seven vignettes of Marcello\u2019s life.\u00a0 The epilogue takes place sometime in the future, as we see that Marcello has changed, both physically and behaviorally.<\/p>\n But the \u201csweet\u201d life?\u00a0 Hardly. Fellini was being ironic.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a>Cinema Paradiso<\/a> \u2013 This movie is told almost entirely as a series of flashbacks\u2014a young boy’s lifelong love affair with the movies as recalled by his adult self. \u00a0Set in a small Sicilian village, Salvatore finds himself captivated by the flickering images at the Cinema Paradiso, yearning for the secret of the cinema’s magic.\u00a0 He eventually becomes a famous director living in Rome, detached physically and emotionally from his humble beginnings until he learns of the death of his mentor.\u00a0 Very effective for creating a sense of nostalgia for the lost innocence of youth and a simpler life.\u00a0 The soundtrack by Ennio Morricone is evocative and indeed was nominated for several awards.<\/p>\nClassics of Italian Cinema<\/h2>\n
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