Italian Neorealism Free Essay Example

The Italian Neo-Realism Movement (1943-1952) I. Origins a. Response to Fascism b. Anti-Hollywood Artifice c. Cesare Zavattini – Neo-realist screenwriter (incl. Bicycle Thieves) who wrote a manifesto to guide filmmaking d. Film journals Cinema and Bianco e Nero i. Called for a cinema that resembled the realism of literature e. Influenced by Jean Renoir’s Toni (1935) and Alessandro Blassetti’s 1860 (1934) f. Influenced by American noir books and films

Narrative

Humanistic and moralistic philosophy with emphasis on contemporary social issues
Focus on ordinary people (especially the working class) and everyday life
Bazin – Neo-realism gives the viewer “a sense of the ambiguity of the real” rather than the appearance of the real.

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Style

Shot on location mostly in rural areas/working class neighborhoods and with natural light
Gritty, documentary-like cinematography
Post-synchronized sound (dubbing)
Scenes in real time e. Used non-professional actors & conversational speech
Plot evolves organically
Lack of artifice in camerawork and editing

Leading Directors & Films

Roberto Rossellini (Open City, 1946; Paisan, 1946)
Luchino Visconti (The Earth Trembles, 1948)
Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves, 1948; Umberto D, 1951)

Influence & Legacy

L. A. School of Black Independent Filmmakers (get dates) Italian Neorealism (1943-1952):

Social reality of normal Italians Location shooting and post-synchronized sound (dubbing of dialogue)
Use of non-professional actors
Documentary visual style
No contrived plots or “happy endings”
Bicycle Thieves (1948): In Italian: Ladri di biciclette
Directed by Vittorio De Sica
Adapted from novel
Received honorary Academy Award in 1949
Set in poverty-stricken Rome
Antonio Ricci unemployed for 2 years; gets a job hanging posters, but needs a bicycle
Antonio’s wife Maria pawns wedding linen to get bicycle out of hock
Bruno: their son PCA denied film its seal of approval because of two scenes

Italian Neorealism Sources:

Realism- attempt to represent people, objects or places in a naturalistic manner as opposed to an idealized way
Cesare Zavattini: theoretical founder o 1943: critic Umberto Barbaro first uses term neorealism
Poetic realism (France, 1930’s)
Hard-boiled writers and film noir (USA)

Visconti’s Ossessione (1942): based on John M.
Cain’s novel The Postman Always Rings Twice; considered first neorealist film
Italian Neorealism Style: Location shooting- out of the studio and into the streets
Postsynchronized sound (dubbing) Use of non-professional actors
Plot evolves organically
Everyday and/or conversational speech o Lack of artifice in camerawork and editing; a “styleless” style

Italian Neorealism Ideology:

Social Humanism- belief in the dignity and worth of all human beings
Value of ordinary people and everyday life
Concerns of working class, particularly children
Focus on the aftermath of World War II
Hope for future recovery (later, pessimism) Rome, Open City (1945):
Italian title: Roma citta aperta
Open city: form of surrender that protects city from attack
Historically-based story of resistance against German occupation of Rome

Giorgio, a resistance fighter, is pursued by the Nazis; he begs Pina, a widow engaged to his friend Francesco, for help; Pina is carrying Francesco’s child

Pina contacts Don Pietro, a Catholic priest who secretly aids the resistance
Giorgio is betrayed by his girlfriend; both he and Don Pietro are arrested by the Nazis o Raid scene Interrogation scene
Italian Neorealism Demise: o 1950’s: changing social conditions and improving economy

Government opposition to content: Andreotti Law (1949)

Government censorship of scripts
Offered production loans and subsidies only to filmmakers who made films “suitable … to the best interests of Italy”
Export licenses withheld from controversial films
Italian Neorealism Effects: Described as single most influential film movement in history
Revitalized Italian Cinema o 1950’s: India (Satyajit Ray), China, and Brazil
1960’s: French New Wave o 1970’s: Los Angeles School of Black Independent Filmmakers
1990’s: Dogme 95 (“vow of chastity)

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