Italian Cinema Today

"Around 1918, (Francesca) Bertini was probably the most powerful woman in Italian cinema. She was certainly the highest paid, and her authoritative temperament and exorbitant privileges were so well known that they could even become an object of irony on screen."                                                                                                 -Women Film Pioneers Project

The historical archives of Istituto Luce Cinecittà offers an extensive online collection of more than 70,000 archival videos dating back to the early 20th century and more than 430,000 photographs. The organization provides free access to the vast digital records of Italy's history and culture, which includes thousands of hours of footage.  Topics include cinema, arts, history, politics, sports and current affairs. Three hundred silent films spanning the years of 1927 – 1932 have just been added, some never seen before, with a section dedicated to world travel, entitled “Cinemobile.”  Go to  https://cinecitta.com  and click on “Esplora” on the menu bar and then choose “Archivio Cinematografico”  for film or "Archivio Fotografico" for still photos... and then explore! Click here to view one of my favorite film menus on the site... a treasure trove of documentaries made between the 1930s and 1960s. Click here to see gorgeous, rare photos of silent film...

Assia Noris in a 1938 Telefoni Bianchi film My recent discovery of a 1915 silent film by Francesca Bertini   piqued my curiosity about other lesser-known genres of Italian cinema. That curiosity led me on an adventure in which I discovered  genres such as Italian Futurism, Telefoni Bianchi, and Propaganda films. Bertini's "Assunta Spina" boasts a melodic score and stunning cinematography that capture the Bay of Naples during an era when most of our America-bound ancestors were passing through. Filmmakers Bertini and Gustavo Serena created a timeless story of love, passion, and envy. The restored version shows images of Naples that are surprisingly clear for being shot 100 years ago. "Assunta Spina" was indeed ahead of its time, and Bertini was not shy in acknowledging it. In 1982, at the age of 90, she said in an interview, "It had been my idea to wander around Naples taking ordinary people from the streets. Now everyone’s invented Neorealism!" How...