Italian Neorealism

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

• Fellini and Antonioni i.
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  Worked on neo-realist films early in their careers

• Documented social realities as directors
• French New Wave (Late 1950s & 1960s)
• Dogme 95 (Denmark – 1995-2005)

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)

1. Visconti’s Ossessione (1942): based on John M.
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   Cain’s novel The Postman Always Rings Twice; considered first neorealist film

2. Italian Neorealism Style: Location shooting- out of the studio and into the streets
3. Postsynchronized sound (dubbing) Use of non-professional actors
4. Plot evolves organically
5. 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)

1. Government censorship of scripts
2. Offered production loans and subsidies only to filmmakers who made films “suitable … to the best interests of Italy”
3. Export licenses withheld from controversial films
4. Italian Neorealism Effects: Described as single most influential film movement in history
5. Revitalized Italian Cinema o 1950’s: India (Satyajit Ray), China, and Brazil
6. 1960’s: French New Wave o 1970’s: Los Angeles School of Black Independent Filmmakers
7. 1990’s: Dogme 95 (“vow of chastity)