Best Of...
Italian cinema: 1950s
The Barefoot Contessa (1954)
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
At the funeral of Maria Vargas, the men who fashioned her into a myth remember their part in her tragic life. Burned out film director Harry Dawes recalls how he went to Spain with his rich but artistically ignorant film producer Kirk Edwards to persuade the unknown Maria, a cabaret dancer, to take up a career in the movie business...
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Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Beat the Devil (1953)
John Huston
Billy Dannreuther and his wife Maria are on their way to make their fortune in Africa, but are held up in an Italian port whilst their steamboat undergoes some repair work...
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John Huston
Bellissima (1951)
Luchino Visconti
Maddalena Cecconi is a nurse who lives in a slum district of Rome. Her husband Spartaco barely earns enough to pay the rent and the couple face eviction from their cramped lodgings...
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Luchino Visconti
Le Carrosse d'or (1953)
Jean Renoir
In the 18th Century, a travelling band of actors arrive in a Spanish colony in South America. When they are invited to perform before the royal court, the Viceroy, Ferdinand, instantly falls in love with the leading performer, Camilla...
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Jean Renoir
Le Château de verre (1950)
René Clément
Evelyne Bertal could not be happier, living the kind of life most people would envy in Berne with her devoted husband Laurent, a lawyer...
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René Clément
I Vitelloni (1953)
Federico Fellini
In the seaside town of Rimini, five young men spend their days amusing themselves, living off their parents, and doing everything possible to avoid adult responsibility... [More...]
Federico Fellini
In the seaside town of Rimini, five young men spend their days amusing themselves, living off their parents, and doing everything possible to avoid adult responsibility... [More...]
Miracolo a Milano (1951)
Vittorio De Sica
One day, an old woman finds a baby boy in her cabbage patch and decides to adopt him, christening him Toto. When the old woman later dies, Toto enters an orphanage, where he stays until he is 18... [More...]
Vittorio De Sica
One day, an old woman finds a baby boy in her cabbage patch and decides to adopt him, christening him Toto. When the old woman later dies, Toto enters an orphanage, where he stays until he is 18... [More...]
La Notte brava (1959)
Mauro Bolognini
Scintillone and Ruggeretto, two young drifters from the poor suburbs of Rome, hope to make a tidy sum by selling the car they have stolen with its valuable cargo of weaponry... [More...]
Mauro Bolognini
Scintillone and Ruggeretto, two young drifters from the poor suburbs of Rome, hope to make a tidy sum by selling the car they have stolen with its valuable cargo of weaponry... [More...]
Le Notti bianche (1957)
Luchino Visconti
One evening, as he wanders the streets of a town he has recently been transferred to, Mario encounters a solitary young woman named Maria... [More...]
Luchino Visconti
One evening, as he wanders the streets of a town he has recently been transferred to, Mario encounters a solitary young woman named Maria... [More...]
Le Notti di Cabiria (1957)
Federico Fellini
In a poor district on the outskirts of Rome, a middle-aged woman, Cabiria, earns a living as a prostitute. She has fared better than most: she has her own house (a modest stone-walled shack) and a good income... [More...]
Federico Fellini
In a poor district on the outskirts of Rome, a middle-aged woman, Cabiria, earns a living as a prostitute. She has fared better than most: she has her own house (a modest stone-walled shack) and a good income... [More...]
Le Petit monde de Don Camillo (1952)
Julien Duvivier
The peace and tranquillity of a rural Italian village is disrupted by the on-going hostility between a Catholic parish priest, Don Camillo, and the newly elected Communist Mayor, Peppone... [More...]
Julien Duvivier
The peace and tranquillity of a rural Italian village is disrupted by the on-going hostility between a Catholic parish priest, Don Camillo, and the newly elected Communist Mayor, Peppone... [More...]
Saint Francis, God's Jester (1950)
Roberto Rossellini
Early in the 13th Century, a group of monks led by Saint Francis roam the Italian countryside, preaching their simple message to those who will hear and lending acts of kindness whenever they encounter those in need... [More...]
Roberto Rossellini
Early in the 13th Century, a group of monks led by Saint Francis roam the Italian countryside, preaching their simple message to those who will hear and lending acts of kindness whenever they encounter those in need... [More...]
Le Salaire de la peur (1953)
Henri-Georges Clouzot
In a dusty, hot South American mining town, European immigrants eke out a meagre existence, struggling to find work in an area of high unemployment... [More...]
Henri-Georges Clouzot
In a dusty, hot South American mining town, European immigrants eke out a meagre existence, struggling to find work in an area of high unemployment... [More...]
La Signora senza camelie (1953)
Michelangelo Antonioni
Stardom comes too quickly for Clara Manni. Leaving her parents' drapers shop in Milan, she becomes a film star overnight, thanks to a small role in a film... [More...]
Michelangelo Antonioni
Stardom comes too quickly for Clara Manni. Leaving her parents' drapers shop in Milan, she becomes a film star overnight, thanks to a small role in a film... [More...]
La Strada (1954)
Federico Fellini
Learning of her sister's death, a young peasant woman Gelsomina allows herself to be sold as her replacement - mistress and assistant to Zampanò, an itinerant strongman... [More...]
Federico Fellini
Learning of her sister's death, a young peasant woman Gelsomina allows herself to be sold as her replacement - mistress and assistant to Zampanò, an itinerant strongman... [More...]
Stromboli (1950)
Roberto Rossellini
In the immediate aftermath of World War II, a young Lithuanian refugee, Karin, meets an Italian fisherman, Antonio, in a camp for displaced persons... [More...]
Roberto Rossellini
In the immediate aftermath of World War II, a young Lithuanian refugee, Karin, meets an Italian fisherman, Antonio, in a camp for displaced persons... [More...]
Umberto D. (1952)
Vittorio De Sica
Umberto Domenico Ferrari is a retired civil servant living in a rented room in Rome. Having no family or friends, his only companion is his small dog, Flike... [More...]
Vittorio De Sica
Umberto Domenico Ferrari is a retired civil servant living in a rented room in Rome. Having no family or friends, his only companion is his small dog, Flike... [More...]
Verdi - The King Of Melody (1953)
Raffaello Matarazzo
In January 1901, the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi lies on his deathbed and looks back on his eventful life and career... [More...]
Raffaello Matarazzo
In January 1901, the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi lies on his deathbed and looks back on his eventful life and career... [More...]
War and Peace (1956)
King Vidor
Moscow, 1805. Pierre Bezukhov, a pacifist wastrel, is in love with Natasha, the daughter of the wealthy Count Rostov, but knows he cannot marry her since he is of illegitimate birth... [More...]
King Vidor
Moscow, 1805. Pierre Bezukhov, a pacifist wastrel, is in love with Natasha, the daughter of the wealthy Count Rostov, but knows he cannot marry her since he is of illegitimate birth... [More...]