Italian Cinema

Catalog description

From the big-budget silent epics of the 1910s to the stylish art films of the 1960s, Italian cinema has long been a major player in world cinema. While Italian cinema, particularly the neorealist films of the 1940s, has had an enormous influence internationally, it has also consistently adhered to specifically “national” themes, directly engaging with Italian political and social issues. This course will examine the relationship between these two seemingly contradictory facets, inquiring as to how Italian cinema has managed to balance worldwide popularity with decidedly local subject matter. We will watch films from throughout the history of Italian cinema, with an emphasis on its years of greatest achievement and popularity. Given the course’s concern with Italian cinema’s close relationship to Italian politics and society, course readings will include a substantial amount of historical background material, as well as analyses of Italy’s self-representation as a nation. Directors to be studied will include Giovanni Pastrone, Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Bernardo Bertolucci, Lina Wertmüller, Marco Bellocchio, and Alice Rohrwacher. The Working Girl Around the World in Film