Italian Cinema Today

A scene from "C'eravamo tanti amati" Mixing both tragedy and humor, Ettore Scola ’s 1974 film “C’eravamo tanto amati” (“We All Loved Each Other So Much”) follows 30 years in the lives of three men and the woman they each adore. By examining how his generation changed after the war, Scola makes a film that reflects its era. Scola explores the moral, political and emotional evolution of Italy’s postwar generation and, in doing so, creates a film that is a chronicle of its time and a love letter to cinema. The story begins in the aftermath of World War II. Three friends — Antonio ( Nino Manfredi ), Gianni (Vittorio Gassman) and Nicola (Stefano Satta Flores) — emerge from the Italian Resistance with a shared dream of justice, equality and social renewal. They are united by their hope that the sacrifices of war will lead to a better world. But the decades that follow prove to be challenging as Italy undergoes massive social changes, from the postwar economic boom to the politi...

In “Astolfo” (“Never Too Late for Love”), director Gianni Di Gregorio delivers a coming-of-age film for the golden years of life about a retired professor who leaves Rome to return to a tiny mountain village in Abruzzo. The film opens with the title character, played by Di Gregorio, walking through the streets of his Roman neighborhood, groceries in hand, only to find his landlord waiting for him when he arrives home. She is there to announce that he will have to vacate his humble residence to make way for her daughter, who is getting married soon.  After some contemplation, he calls his ex-wife to ask her about an old family castle he split with her in their divorce. When she confirms that a portion of the castle is his for the taking, he gleefully returns to his spacious new home only to discover it has been occupied by a squatter, who turns out to be an acquaintance from his childhood who is also down on his luck. Without hesitation, Astolfo adopts the man as his roommate. ...

He gained renown during the commedia all’italiana years but his captivating performances kept him working through five decades until his untimely death in 1990. Born in 1922 in Cremona, Ugo Tognazzi’s first acting experiences go back to his childhood when he participated in local theater productions. In 1945, he won a competition for amateurs and was then officially hired by a theater company which led to a nationwide tour.  A few years later, he landed his first film roles and in the next decade, made a whopping 28 films. However, for all the films he made in the ‘50s, it was the ‘60s and ‘70s when his films were hits also outside Italy, giving him much-deserved international recognition for his lead roles.    Tognazzi had a uniquely self-effacing and multidimensional style. There’s no such thing as a typical Tognazzi character because they were all so completely different. Losing himself in each role, he gifted them with their own identities. Perhaps there’s a cons...

One of the masters of commedia all’Italiana, he had a talent for deconstructing complex behaviors while maintaining his sharp sense of humor. Born in 1914 in northern Italy but with an affinity for the South, director Pietro Germi emerged as a leading filmmaker toward the end of the neorealist period and was instrumental in creating the commedia all’Italiana genre. What made his films unique was his ability to grapple with the social issues that were dominating Italy at the time, posing questions that needed to be asked, but in a way that was entertaining, clever, funny and visually beautiful. The 1954 film Mid-Century Loves is a 52-minute gem that contains five short tales of love directed by Pietro Germi, Mario Chiari, Roberto Rossellini, Antonio Pietrangelo and Glauco Pellegrini. Each vignette is a decadent piece of cinematic perfection with richly detailed sets, regional music and spectacular cinematography.  Germi’s segment, War 1915-18 follows the struggles of a ...

On screen since the age of 14, Stefania Sandrelli has captivated audiences for more than 50 years with a compelling combination of strength and vulnerability. She achieved stardom at just 14, playing the angelic cousin of a love-stricken Marcello Mastroianni in Pietro Germi’s “Divorce Italian Style.” More than half a century later, she is still going strong and remains one of Italy’s most esteemed actors. Sandrelli was born on June 5, 1946, in Viareggio, in the province of Lucca, in northern Italy. As a child, she studied music and dance. Then in 1960, she won a beauty pageant and was featured on the cover of Le Ore magazine. Her purity captivated the country, and shortly thereafter, movie offers began pouring in. Just one year later, she made her cinema debut in three feature films: Mario Sequi’s “Gioventù di notte,” Luciano Salce’s “The Fascist ,”  and Pietro Germi’s “Divorce Italian Style.” She instantly became a star and, before long, was a key figure in Italy’s legendary com...

Born in 1931 in the southern region of Campania, Ettore Scola followed in the footsteps of his mentor, friend and colleague, Federico Fellini, getting his start writing for the Rome-based satire newspaper, Marc'Aurelio. He grew up reading the paper to his blind grandfather, with many of those sketches and jokes written by a very young Fellini. Scola joined the paper's staff after Fellini moved on, but the two met through mutual colleagues and became close friends. During his career as a writer and director, Scola won six David di Donatello’s (the Italian equivalent of the Oscar) and was nominated four times for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. He has dozens upon dozens of titles to his credit, but a few of the most popular are the 1974 ensemble masterpiece, "C'eravamo tanto amati" (We all loved each other so much), the 1965 "Lo conoscevo bene" (I Knew Her Well), directed by Antonio Pietrangeli, starring Stefania Sandrelli and the 1977 Academy Award...