Italian Cinema Final

Fascism

"...the language, myths, and iconography of the fascist regime" "The ideal "haunting" protagonist of the film is then the fascist virile body itself: the condensation of discourses, attitudes and ideals concerned with the celebration of the cult of virility during the fascist period" - on a Special Day

Celli & Cottino-Jones

"A New Guide to Italian Cinema" (2007) Provide the complete history of Italian cinema and history from unification to 1970s, covering literally all the trends Silent to fascist white telephone to neorealist to auteur to genre

Wood

"Auteur Cinema" (2005) Definitive summary of auteur cinema "Childishness, fantastic imagination, fascination with the feminine, and a spectacular mise-en-scene, which gave a more resonant representation of contemporary society than realist cinema"

McDonagh

"Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento" (1987-8) Related to Deep Red "The giallo, often criticized for its flaws as a who-done-it, is in fact more closely related to the film noir and Argento takes the form to its outer limit in his films. Their complex internal logic is connotative rather than denotative, metaphoric rather than metonymic; images proceed from one to another not in the service of a linear narrative that must be advanced but rather by way of 'poetic' connections, a kind of alchemical reasoning" Aggressive colors, music, mise-en-scene, camera movement in Argento's films Camera enthralled and repelled by ripe flesh and blood Assault on linear logic has prevented critical admiration (for now) Never made a film that conforms to conventional rules of plotting, characterization, narrative closure Supremely self-aware and theatrical Defamiliarizing effects of filmmaking Gialli films mostly, but rejects classic mystery for something more chaotic and less reassuring Story of crime vs. story of investigation Argento takes film noir to its outer limits Connotative rather than denotative, metaphoric rather than metonymic - poetic stream of images Lack of restraint in filmmaking Narratives don't provide closure with resolutions, but even more questions Carlo as doppelganger for Marc, both rendered helpless and sexually tormented Marc constantly dominated by Gianna Marc as reactive character, not active First four scenes are more mood than exposition

De Lauretis

"Cavani's Night Porter: A Woman's Film?" (1976-7) Film was panned in US, revealing lack of historical, social, and artistic awareness Night Porter as a woman's film: deals with female experience from within, investigates the deeper strata of female experience, seeks answers, causes, and dialectic nature of that experience rather than presenting only a surface Not presenting female experience as a myth or metaphor for the human condition It's a love story! Film uses Nazi relations in concentration camps to explore male/female relationships Memory of fascism swept under the rug, not confronted Victims feel as guilty as their torturers Liana's victimization is a metaphor for the female condition

Bordwell & Thompson

"Film Criticism: Sample Analyses" (1979) How to write a film analysis using formal elements

Marcus

"Filmmaking by the Book: Italian Cinema and Literary Adaptation" (1992) "Introduction: Literature and Film" In relation to "The Conformist" Italian film and literature: two fretful passengers embarking on the same cultural journey, arguing Adaptive practice cannot be considered apart from larger context of literature-film relations, whose most explosive theoretical battles have been fought on the grounds of adaptation Profound mutual ambivalence that characterizes the protagonists of film and literary culture Film's relationship to literature is complicated by the changing definition of literature and its form, making it difficult to determine the literariness of a film Literature used to be the measure for high art Now that literature is changing in form and style, it can no longer be considered a fixed term of comparison against which the value of film can be measured Intimate relationship between film and literature in Italian culture Film mining literature for artistic legitimacy Neorealism strives for no plot, but does not achieve this Need for a literary model to capture reality on film Better to adapt a dead person's text, take more liberties Adaptation is impossible - "resymbolization" - attempt to recreate in another medium the aesthetic experience of the textual source Adaptation based on pre-literary idea Separation of story and discourse "Faithful to what?" Film's immediate synthesis preempts the reader's imagination Film as intertextual - each film has unique visual language, must be considered individually Screenplay as a never-never land between literature and technical writing

Bachman & Rosi

"Francesco Rosi: An Interview" (1965) "He is not a documentary filmmaker and he is not a teller or stories" "Engaged realism" "Formula of finding his story in reality, of creating a dramatic form of documentary film, which he believes 'eliminates the boredom of truth'" "I think that I make these films simply out of a sense of participation in the daily development of the society in which I live" Danger of believably, people accept whatever's on screen as true Objective reality, subjective truths

Economic Boom

"Il Boom Economico" (1956) 1946: trade begins to recover, industry prospers (oil, natural gas, design, textiles) 1949-1953: Italy receives Marshall Plan (ERP) Aid 1956: economic miracle begins Private industry prospers Southerners move north, country dwellers move to urban centers for factory jobs) Families gain new wealth, stability New trends in entertainment and consumption (around television)

Bondanella

"Italian Cinema" (1983) Offers summaries of Comedy Italian Style, Spaghetti Westerns, investigative cinema, etc. On Investigate Cinema: "rejects both a noncommittal, documentary presentation of 'facts' and a completely fictionalized narrative"

Bachmann & Wertmuller

"Look, Gideon --: Gideon Bachmann Talks with Lina Wertmuller" (1977) Related to Seven Beauties Wertmuller more respected by critics in US than Italy, but still box office success (they oppose her commercial touch) Furbo: an Italian who manages by wit alone Doesn't want success to be because she's a woman - but because she's making popular cinema Post war films about individual versus type of society Cinema as social service, makes directors artisans, not artists Playing into a desire for utopic anarchy People losing individuality, becoming the society - film fighting that Trying to make films that reach the most people possible Film must please Lina first Making films about contemporary society, not fascism Reserved relationship to feminism - many social needs must precede the sexual ones Firmly believe that the family must go, reduced tribe to smallest possible size and robbed it of its essential meaning Man is humiliated at work, must make wife his personal slave Temptation for director to become despot Vitality to survive at all costs is a sign of death and not of life Not particularly Italian cinema - her films concern common problems - common cinema

Nowell-Smith

"Making Waves: Italy" (2013) Another summary of auteur cinema, covering Fellini, Bertolucci, Pasonilini, and Antonioni

Forgacs & Gundle

"Mass Culture and Italian Society and Fascism to the Cold War" (2007) Chapter 4: Film Production In relation to "Investigation..." Fascist desire to create alternatives to Hollywood, reduce international consumption Lack of serious capital inputs, reliance on state aid and assistance, and a lack of strategy Italian film production spread out among vast number of smaller companies pre-WWI Fascist regime institutionalized production branch of film industry Lack of coherent commercially driven practice of film production in 1950s Growth of middlebrow productions as a result of market based on imports Americans got involved in Italian film production as a result of liberation of Italy WWII Post-war blossoming of American filmmaking in Rome American presence pushed up production costs, hours on set, etc. International dimensions of Italian filmmaking from 40s into 60s Italian films trying to meet Production Code standards "Italian films became, for a short period, a regular part of the programming of mainstream cinemas in the English-speaking world and a more stable part of the film diet of audiences in Western Europe and other countries"

Chatman

"Michelangelo Antonioni: The Investigation 1912 - 2007" Summary of Antonioni, explores history, style, and themes of modernity and alienation (through cinematography)

Crofts

"Reconceptualizing National Cinemas" (2006) Hollywood is never spoken as national cinema because of its transnational reach Types of national cinemas 1. cinemas which differ from Hollywood, but do not compete directly, by targeting a distinct specialist market sector 2. those which differ, do not compete directly but do directly critique Hollywood 3. European and third world entertainment cinemas which struggle against Hollywood with limited or no success 4. cinemas which ignore Hollywood, an accomplishment managed by few 5. anglophone cinemas which try to beat Hollywood at its own game 6. cinemas which work within a wholly state-controlled and often substantially state subsidized industry 7. regional or national cinemas whose culture and/or language take their distance from the nation-states which enclose them European-model art cinemas: differentiate itself textually from Hollywood, different product Third cinema: 60s/70s opposed to USA and Europe in its anti-imperialist insistence on national liberation Ignoring Hollywood, i.e. Bollywood Imitating Hollywood, i.e. England, Canada, Australia Totalitarian cinema

Rhodes

"Scandalous Desecration: Accattone against the Neorealist City" (2007) Refusal of point of view editing in Accattone represents Roman society's eschewal of responsibility for the borgate and their inhabitants, inability to provide for needs of Roman citizens Accattone as a stylistic and cultural rebuttal to neorealism Documents experience while forcing awareness of the formal elements of filmmaking that went into this documentation - in calling attention to the film itself, Passolini makes a more "realistic" film "There is nothing more technically sacred than a slow panning shot"

Brunetta

"The History of Italian Cinema" (2009) Chapter 4: From the Boom Years to the Years of Terror (Years of Growth, Years of Crisis) Read in relation to Corbucci/Filone "The farther they aimed their sights and the greater the challenges they faced, Italian fimmakers delved deeper into a new recessive cycle and structural mutation" (referring to the 1960s) Italian films challenging American cinema on its turf, reinventing the western Initial recession due to unfavorable economy and competition from music and tv Government subsidized films Drop in tickets sales by the end of the 60s resulted in theaters closing by the hundreds Television crushing film, more options from private channels By 70s, Italy was consuming media more than producing Early 70s cinema no longer glorifying struggle of workers, instead show alienation Films addressing theme of polis Spirit of 1968 rubbing off on directors Basically, years of lead visualized on screen Italian comedy becoming depository of country's fears and hopes, lent themselves to variety of interpretations, secular spirit Divide between newly rich and lower class Consumption increased in importance Comedies lost luster in 70s, too cynical Discussion of movie stars and starlets Unlike English-speaking countries, Italy never had a tradition of bona fide horror films By the end of 60s, horror films, like westerns, were colored by ideological leanings drawn from youth culture's challenge to the establishment Another summary article - will this even be on the exam?

Filone

"a strand of similar films, rather than a genre" - Mary Wood, p. 11

Michelangelo Antonioni

1912-2007 Director, writer, editor Auteur New notions of narrative in cinema Seeing and perception privileged over storyline Emphasis on female subjectivity Interest in philosophy, psychology "Trilogy of Alienation" (l'Avventura (1960), La Notte (1961), L'Eclisse (1962)) Zabriskie Point (1970)

Mario Bava

1914 - 1980 Began career as well-known camera/lighting/special effects technicians 1956, completed I Vampiri, set standard for visual style that would be the foundation for most Italian gothic films Worked in a wide variety of genres, including peplum, gialli, horror, science fiction, spy movies Low budgets Interplay of light and shadows, heavy use of glass mattes and color filters, lush primary colors Director of Black Sunday (1960), Bay of Blood (1971)

Pietro Germi

1914-1975 Comedy, Italian Style Neorealist beginnings > biting comedy Divorce, Italian Style (1961) Sicilian films, influence, and critique

Federico Fellini

1920-1993 Auteur Neo-realist origins to psychoanalytic darling La Strada, La Dolce Vita (1960), Amarcord Commericals Realism > autobiography > politics "Trilogy of Grace or Salvation" No other Italian dominated the industry so completely "Childishness, fantastic imagination, fascination with the feminine, and a spectacular mise-en-scene, which gave a more resonant representation of contemporary society than realist cinema" (Mary Wood)

Pier Paolo Pasolini

1922-1975 Realist, critic, rough hewn and simple Famous films: Salo, Mama Rosa Started as poet/novelist/critic Philosopher, responding to culture "Marxist, mythic, Catholic, atheist" Controversial and contradictory Initial mixed reactions to films replaced by universal acclaim Interested in/fetishized working class life/third world Critical of capitalism/consumer culture, used violence and sexuality

Francesco Rosi

1922-2015 Investigate cinema Naples, law, illustration, 1946: La terra trema (Visconti) Early 1950s: screenwriting 1958: La sfida (realist, mafia) Salvatore Giuliano (1962)

Sergio Corbucci

1927 - 1990 Spaghetti Western Director of Django (1966), The Great Silence (1968), Navajo Joe (1966) Started as a film critic, then made directorial debut in 1951 Known for working on small budget

Lina Wertmuller

1928 - Director of Seven Beauties (1975), Love and Anarchy (1973) First woman to be nominated for Best Director Oscar (1977) Known for 70s collaborations with actor Giancarlo Giannini Emphasis on politics, socio-economics, social commitment and struggle Critical use of humor and irony

Elio Petri

1929 - 1982 Film critic for L'Unita, screenwriter, documentary...political drama Politics and ideology (Marxist) meet entertainment Director of "Investigation..." (1970), The Working Class Goes to Heaven (1971), Todo Modo (1976)

Sergio Leone

1929-1989 Spaghetti western director, instigator of genre Dollars Trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good...Ugly) Included: greater violence increased cynicism elements of the surreal dark humor emotional impact lengthy, extreme close-ups of faces emphasis on sound (Ennio Morricone, 1928 -)

Ettore Scola

1931 - 2016 Prolific career, from commedia all'italiana to nuanced social and meatcinematic inquiry with a political undercurrent Director of A Special Day (1977), We All Loved Each Other So Much (1974) Used Brechtian alienation and the unity of time, place, and action

Liliana Cavani

1933 - Director of The Night Porter (1974), The Cannibals (1970)

Dario Argento

1940 - Giallo! Director of Deep Red (1975), Susupiria (1977) Animal Trilogy (1970-71) Three Mothers Trilogy (1977-2007) The Italian Hitchcock

Bernardo Bertolucci

1941 - 2018 Director of The Conformist (1970), Last Tango in Paris (1972)

Comedy, Italian Style

1958-on, starting with Big Deal on Madonna Street Directors: Mario Monicelli; Luigi Comencini; Dino Risi; Alberto Lattuada; Pietro Germi Actors: Vittorio Gassman, Sophia Loren, ALberto Sordi, Claudia Cardinale, Ugo Tognazzi, Stefania Sandrelli Cynicism, contrasts and contradictions Most popular form of Italian cinema today Roots in commedia dell'arte Laughter + desparation Cynical humor: survival in face of overwhelming obstacle; social malaise and the contradictions of a culture in rapid transition Contrast with optimistic humanitarianism of neorealist comedy

Sarris

1962, components of auteur cinema 1. technical competence of director as criterion of value 2. distinguishable personality of director as criterion of value 3. "interior meaning, the ultimate glory of the cinema as an art...the tension between a director's personality and his material"

Spaghetti Western

1963-1973 Originally made to fill demand for American westerns International co-productions More violent, cynical, verge on surreal, dark humor, grotesque gags, prominent music, moral ambiguity of hero, historical scope Dollars trilogy, Sergio Leone, Corbucci, Django Response to drop in Hollywood production, period of international cooperation, strength of Rome industry

Motivations for Workers Protests

Alienated labor market, not enough jobs to sustain immigration from south, greater literacy and awareness among younger class of workers, increased mechanization

Consumption

American influence via Hollywood films, comic strips and music 1945-1955 period of major transition Television in 1954

Sound

Audio aspect of a film, used to enhance emotions through music, cue regional dialects to create social critique (northern cop in Seduced and Abandoned), or to guide the narrative (through song, dialogue, etc.)

The Conformist (book) (1951)

Author: Alberto Moravia Style: realist Influence: Freud (psychoanalysis, childhood, personality, memory, sexuality) Influence: Marx (social progress through class struggle) Interest: alienation

Ennio Morricone

Born 1928 Composer of such films as TGTBTU, Investigation... Sicilian influence

Neorealism

Both ideological and formal movement Based on WWII experience Obsession (1943) - proto-neo Tenets of neo-realism include location shooting, lengthy takes, natural lighting, medium/long shots to emphasize crowd, continuity of time and space, unobtrusive editing, contemporary true-to-life sujects, open-ended plot, working class protagonists, non-professional cast, authentic spoken language, implied social criticism Audiences shifted away, wanted entertainment from film Famous films include "The Children are Watching" (1944) and "Bicycle Thieves" (1948), Vittorio De Sica; "Rome Open City" (1945) and "Paisan" (1946), Roberto Rossellini Not just stylistic, but based on ideology and principles Andre Bazin - French film critic and theorist, declares that abstraction and artifice must be brought to a minimum Cesare Savattini - script writer and theorist, camera has a hunger for reality

The Conformist (1970)

Dir. Bernardo Bertolucci Fascism, alienation, notions of normalcy (social/sexual) Setting: 1938/1943 Rome/Paris At stake: psychology of fascism Questioned: conformity and normalcy (social (sexual) & political) Adapted from book by Alberto Moravia Style: expressionist, self-conscious, late-modern NB: precise geometric framing, balanced mise-en-scene, use of color, smooth camera angles and movement

Deep Red (1975)

Dir. Dario Argento Giallo/horror as social analysis/social release Music, color! Marc as Carlo, both rendered helpless, ineffectual at every turn Read in relation to women's movement, general years of lead

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970)

Dir. Elio Petri Political cinema Won Grand Jury prize at Cannes, Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film Commercial and international success Frontal attack on Italy's ruling classes, still entertainment, not political theory (Bondanella)

A Special Day (1977)

Dir. Ettore Scola Fascism, sexuality, social identity and expectations 1938 Italy, Hitler visits Rome "a classically simple indictment of the Fascist regime more devastating then most of the overblown ideological films made during the last decade" A love story? "A Special Day makes use of the 'dual-focus' narrative that is typical of romantic comedies. When Gabriele and Antonietta do not appear in the same scene - in most of the scenes they do - alternation of point of view and patterns of similarity, parallelism and contrast establish the mutually dependent narrative positions of the two protagonists"

8 1/2 (1962)

Dir. Federico Fellini DP. Gianni Di Venanzo SW. Tullio Pinelli & Ennio Flaiano, with Fellini Cast: Marcello Mastroianai, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimee Exploration of filmmaking, psychoanalysis, religion, etc. Production of a film Surreal elements 40 major episodes, 53 major characters Example of auteur cinema Title refers to number of films written at that point

Hands Over the City (1963)

Dir. Francesco Rosi Investigative cinema Era of minimal political oversight, building regulations Corruption Rod Steiger

The Night Porter (1974)

Dir. Liliana Cavani Continued histories, repetion of social relationships, power and sex Set in 1957 Vienna

Seven Beauties (1975)

Dir. Lina Wertmuller Survival, gender, power, honor Juxtaposition of moods could move viewers to react fully to the horror of the state to which Pasqualino would eventually be reduced

Red Desert (1964)

Dir. Michelangelo Antonioni Script: Antonioni & Tonino Guerra DP: Carlo di Palma Cast: Monica Vitti, Richard Harris, Carlo Chionetti Italy/France co-production Some of the first use of color in Italian cinema, muted and deliberate Alienation, modernity

Accattone (1961)

Dir. Pier Paolo Pasolini 1961 Example of post-neorealist film-making that verged on realism Explores figure of the borgate In exaggerating and deploying neorealist formal tendencies in an intentionally misunderstood manner, Pasolini mounts a counterargument to neorealism that both criticizes the genre's shortcomings but also offers a striking visualization of an altered urban landscape that is itself the victim of the product of a "lack of reorganization of the culture (Rhodes) Characters don't leave or enter frames

Seduced and Abandoned (1964)

Dir. Pietro Germi Critique of the Sicilian "honor code" Screenplay: Germi, Age and Co. Scarpelli and Co. Music: Carlo Rustichelli Cinematography: Aiace Parolin Cast: Stefania Sandrelli, Saro Urzi, Aldo Puglisi Idea of panopticon and constant surveillance/discipline Comedy as social critique

Django (1966)

Dir. Sergio Corbucci Inspired filone Ultra-violence, controversial Servant of two masters plot like Fistful of Dollars (1964) or Kurosawa's Yojimbo (1961) Italian-Spanish co-production Starred Franco Nero Gray wash over every scene Critique of capitalism and North American racism

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

Dir. Sergio Leone

Padre Padrone (1977)

Dir. Vittorio and Paolo Taviani Set in Sardinia

Roberto Rossellini

Directed Rome, Open City; Paisan; Germany Year Zero Neorealist

Vittorio and Paolo Taviani

Directors of Padre Padrone (1977), Kaos (1984) Vittorio: 1929 - 2018 Paolo: 1931 -

Mise-en-scene

Everything within the frame, including costumes, sets, and acting. Inform the plot and mood (think colors in Red Desert)

Post-Neorealism

Following the 1940s, Italians wanted more entertainment from their films, didn't want a reflection of their lives Moved on to auteur cinema, although some films like Accattone continued to riff on neorealist themes In exaggerating and deploying neorealist formal tendencies in an intentionally misunderstood manner, Pasolini mounts a counterargument to neorealism that both criticizes the genre's shortcomings but also offers a striking visualization of an altered urban landscape that is itself the victim of the product of a "lack of reorganization of the culture (Rhodes) Accattone as film example, took setting and pushed it to the extreme

Andre Bazin

French film critic and theorist, abstraction must be brought to a minimum

Poliziesco

Genre of Italian film surrounding police

Auteur cinema

In which a film represents the creative vision of a director's unique artistic perspective 1950s, French new wave origins From Andrew Sarris: technical competence of director, distinguishable personality, and interior meaning/tension between personality and material A progression, rather than a rupture Desire for sharper creative control, exploration of psychology, interiority, artistic representation Response to 1960s cultural shifts, like sexuality, religion, consumption, etc. Examples: 8 1/2, Red Desert

Commedia dell'arte

Italian drama: mid-16th - early 18th century Improvisation Stock character/types Scenario-based performances

Giallo

Italian genre of murder-mystery horror which peaked in popularity in the 1970s Typically includes slasher violence/body horror, gendered elements, missing authority figures "The giallo, often criticized for its flaws as a who-done-it, is in fact more closely related to the film noir and Argento takes the form to its outer limit in his films. Their complex internal logic is connotative rather than denotative, metaphoric rather than metonymic; images proceed from one to another not in the service of a linear narrative that must be advanced but rather by way of 'poetic' connections, a kind of alchemical reasoning" (McDonagh, 5).

Investigative cinema

Italian political cinema Related to engaged cinema "rejects both a noncommittal, documentary presentation of 'facts' and a completely fictionalized narrative" (Bondanella) Example: Hands over the City

Sophia Loren

Last true diva of Italian cinema Won an Oscar at 26 for La ciociara (Two Women)

Italian film in the 1960s

Major box office percentage was domestic, with growing production levels Revived left-wing cinema Increased state financial support Continued emphasis of scriptwriting and cinematography

Narrative tone and genre

Narrative tone is the feel of a film, the mood created by all the formal elements - for example, Red Desert uses color and sound to create feeling of alienation Genre is a broad classification of conventions that create audience expectations for the content - can be defied or mixed, like Comedy Italian Style A category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content

Vittorio De Sica

Neorealist director of Bicycle Thieves, Umberto D

Motivations for Student Protests

Overcrowding, absentee professors, subjective exams, lack of financial support Ideological support from Marxism and Catholicism

Sexy-comedies

Popular film genre that was meant to draw theatre goers away from TVs

Italian film in the 70s

Responding to era of political turmoil, competing with television

Political Cinema

Responding to political discourse of era (1970s)

Realism

Rhodes defines as wanting to document experience Pasolini attempted to portray this in Accattone with a deliberately rough approach to filmmaking that did not involve flashy camerawork or edits Instead, simple shots, minimal dolly, real locations, and slum setting create a new reality that is more "real" than neorealism Related to naturalism Accattone: Documents experience while forcing awareness of the formal elements of filmmaking that went into this documentation - in calling attention to the film itself, Passolini makes a more "realistic" film

Rigoletto

Undoing Genre, Undoing Masculinity (2014) Related to "Investigation..." and "A Special Day" State as a macro-structure of the patriarchal family, leader acts as ideal father figure and masses are encouraged to submit to his authority like his children Police headquarters as male space Mismatch between public performance of masculine omnipotence and infantile private identity Exertion of power keeps detective forever stuck in child-like condition Special day promoted as romantic film, originally meant to be set in 70s Complicates romantic resolution of heterosexual sex Fascist virile body, embodied by husband, as a public performance (Gabriele is excluded from public sphere for not matching this body) Homosexuality as not conforming to virile ideal of fascist society Parallelism in how characters are shot when not together, performing same actions in same spaces, romantic comedy-esque By acknowledging homosexuality and social stigmatization, Antonietta begins to face up to terms of her own oppression Man: father, husband, and soldier Male-female relationship is emptied of its conventionally romantic implications and redefined within a liberating sexual imagery "A Special Day makes use of the 'dual-focus' narrative that is typical of romantic comedies. When Gabriele and Antonietta do not appear in the same scene - in most of the scenes they do - alternation of point of view and patterns of similarity, parallelism and contrast establish the mutually dependent narrative positions of the two protagonists"

Lighting

Used to guide viewer attention, create mood and tone, and generally keep the film lit. Can include hard and soft lighting, high and low key, etc. Think of noir-ish lighting in "Hands over the City"

Years of Lead

a period of social and political turmoil in Italy that lasted from the late 1960s until the early 1980s, marked by a wave of both left-wing and right-wing incidents of political terrorism. 1970 - 78 1975: Divorce law referendum 1978: abortion law, pop John Paul II elected, Aldo Moro kidnapped and murdered

Marx and Alienation

powerlessness in the workplace resulting in the experience of isolation and misery Alienation of man from man because of alienation of man from product of his work

Cesare Zavattini

scriptwriter and theorist, camera has a hunger for reality