Much like French cinema, Italian cinema has played a huge role in shaping films all over the world. While the French are known for the French New Wave movement, the Italians are famous for the Italian neorealism movement and the Spaghetti Western.
But there is more to Italian cinema than just the old classics. There are many top Italian directors who have recently created award-winning films - like Paolo Sorrentino's The Great Beauty or Bernardo Bertolucci's Italian cinema so great, it's worth looking at its most prominent representatives.
Pier Paolo Pasolini
A controversial figure even to this day, Pier Paolo Pasolini made an impact in both European cinema and literature. Throughout his work, he would often approach taboo topics in a blunt manner, which resulted in both praise and denouncement from the audience. Moreover, Pasolini was openly gay from the start of his career, as well as quite politically active.
His career as a director began in 1961, with the release of Accattone, which Pasolini also wrote. One of his most well-known works is 1968's Teorema, which is so ambiguous that scholars and critics are still trying to understand its true meaning. His most famous film, however, is 1975's Salo, which was released three weeks after Pasolini's murder. Salo is still banned in some countries due to its graphic and controversial content.
Elio Petri
Speaking of political directors, Elio Petri is the one who comes to mind when discussing movies with strong political messages. But this aspect of Petri's work is exactly what made him famous and led him to success.
His most acclaimed films are the 1970's Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and 1971's The Working Class Goes to Heaven, which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The former explores the theme of corruption in the high office, while the latter focuses on the working class and its place in the system.
Pietro Germi
Often considered an underrated filmmaker, Pietro Germi was popular in his home country at the time of the release of his movies but gained significantly less international success than his contemporaries and predecessors. Yet, some of his works did win awards beyond simply being commercially successful.
Though Germi shifted to comedy midway in his career, almost all of his movies examined Italian society in different ways. His most famous work is 1961's Divorce Italian Style, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and got nominated in the Best Actor category. His other well-known film is 1964's Seduced and Abandoned, which was entered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Best Actor award.
Paolo Sorrentino
When it comes to modern Italian directors, Paolo Sorrentino is the first name that comes to mind. He has been honored both in his country and internationally, praised by critics, and won awards.
Sorrentino's directorial debut was 2001's One Man Up, but his most well-known work to date is 2013's The Great Beauty, which won the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards, Youth, was nominated for major awards, including Oscars.
Roberto Rossellini
Considered one of the most important directors of the Italian neorealist movement, Roberto Rossellini was even regarded by Francois Truffaut as a major influence on French cinema, particularly for inspiring the French New Wave movement. Throughout his career, Rossellini became more and more experimental and unconventional.
In the 1940s, he directed a number of Italian neorealist films that are particularly ed today, including Rome, Open City, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Paisan, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the BAFTA Award for Best Film, and , Year Zero. The three are sometimes considered to be Rossellini's unofficial war film trilogy.
Bernardo Bertolucci
Unfortunately, the great Bernardo Bertolucci ed away just two years ago, but his career spanned five decades and was filled with numerous successful movies. In fact, Bertolucci was presented the Honorary Palme d'Or at the 2011's Cannes Film Festival to recognize his work.
Bertolucci made his directorial debut with 1962's La Commare Secca, which was based on a short story by none other than Pier Paolo Pasolini. Bertolucci's big break, however, happened with 1970's The Conformist, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He followed that success with 1972's Last Tango in Paris, which got him nominations for Best Director Academy Award and Golden Globe Award. His most well-known film is 1987's The Last Emperor, which won multiple Oscars, Golden Globes, the BAFTA Award for Best Film, and others. Bertolucci's more recent film, The Dreamers, is now considered a cult classic.
Luchino Visconti
While Rossellini was a prominent figure in the Italian neorealist movement, Luchino Visconti was its father. His films consistently got nominated for and won such awards as the Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival), the Silver and Golden Lions (Venice International Film Festival), Academy Awards, and BAFTAs.
Visconti made his directorial debut with 1943's Obsession, which is often considered to be the first-ever Italian neorealist film. Some of his most well-known works include 1960's Rocco and His Brothers, 1963's The Leopard (which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes), and 1971's Death in Venice.
Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio De Sica's films are often cited as some of the most influential movies ever made - not just for Italian, but for world cinema. Indeed, the success of his earlier works even incentivized the Academy to create a separate category for foreign films.
De Sica made his debut by co-directing 1940's Red Roses with Giuseppe Amato, but his first truly recognized work was 1946's Shoeshine, which received an honorary Academy Award. His 1948 drama Bicycle Thieves also received this award and is consistently named one of the greatest films ever made. De Sica's later works would go on to be nominated for and win multiple awards, including Academy Awards. His other well-known films are Umberto D., Two Women, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, Marriage Italian Style, and The Garden of the Finzi-Continis.
Federico Fellini
When it comes to having a distinctive artistic style, Federico Fellini is one of the most well-known directors who is rightfully considered an auteur. Even to this day, Fellini is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time.
Fellini started out as a screenwriter and even co-wrote some of Roberto Rossellini's films. His debut was 1950's Variety Lights, which Fellini co-directed with Alberto Lattuada. The first big international success came to Fellini with 1954's La Strada, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His 1957 drama Nights of Cabiria also won this award, as did 1963's 8 1/2 which is now considered one of the greatest films ever made. Fellini's La Dolce Vita won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, while his other famous works include Juliet of the Spirits, Fellini Satyricon, 1972's Roma, Amarcord, and Fellini's Casanova.
Sergio Leone
Arguably the most well-known and successful Italian director outside of his own country is none other than Sergio Leone, who is credited for inventing an entire genre - the Spaghetti Western. Like Fellini, Leone is often cited as one of the most influential directors of all time.
Before transitioning to directing, Leone took on various filmmaking jobs, from screenwriter to assistant director. Apart from 1961's The Colossus of Rhodes, which was his directorial debut, Leone is known for his two unofficial trilogies: the Dollars Trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and Once Upon a Time in America).
