Recommended Italian films

1. Anne Woolmer, Director chooses her
top selection of Italian films...
How do you chose ‘the best’?
Here are some of my classic favourites:

2. “Ladri di Bicicletti” – Bicycle Thieves
(1948 – Vittorio de Sica)
A story about a father whose bicycle is stolen.
Without it he can’t get to the work which he
needs to do to support his young family.
Italian neorealism ranked 6th best-ever film in
2005 by Sight and Sound.
Click here for more info: IMDB - Bicycle Thieves

3. “La Strada” – The Road
(1956 – Federico Fellini)
The story of Gelsomina, a poor girl from the
Italian coast who is taken away by the cruel
strongman Zampano to become a circus
performer is so well told, acted, and shot, that
it’s almost impossible to resist.
Click here for more info: IMDB - La Strada

4. “La Dolce Vita” – The Good Life
(1960 – Federico Fellini)
A week in the life of a journalist seeking
happiness and love. Generally considered a
masterpiece of cinema, it won the Palme d’Or
in Cannes and an Oscar. Well ahead of its
time.
Click here for more info: IMDB - La Dolce Vita

5. “Il Gattopardo” – The Leopard
(1963 – Luchino Visconti)
The film recreates, with nostalgia, drama, and
opulence, the tumultuous years when the
aristocracy lost its grip and the middle classes
rose and formed a unified, democratic Italy.
Winner of the Palme d’Or.
Click here for more info: IMDB - The Leopard

6. “Cinema Paradiso”
(1988 – Giuseppe Tornatore)
A young boy – Salvatore – falls in love with the
movies at his village cinema in Sicily where he
becomes the projectionist when the holder of
that job – Alfredo – is blinded. He comes to
terms with his past when, at Alfredo’s funeral,
he receives from Alfredo’s widow all the cut
pieces of film which the former priest had
censored! Oscar winner. Tender and moving.
Click here for more info: IMDB - Cinema Paradiso

7. “Il Postino” - The Postman
(1994 – Michael Radford)
Set on an island off Naples, a simple postman
learns to love poetry when he is befriended by
the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. The postman
– Massimo Troisi – postponed heart surgery to
complete the film. He died the day after it was
completed.
Click here for more info: IMDB - Il Postino

8. “Pranzo di ferragosto”–
Mid-August lunch
(2010 Gianni di Gregorio)
A man unexpectedly finds himself taking care
of four women, three of whom he barely
knows, in this sunny comedy from Italy.
Click here for more info: IMDB - Pranzo di ferragosto