Italian Cinema: From the Silent Screen to the Digital Image

Description

In this comprehensive guide, some of the world's leading scholars consider the issues, films, and filmmakers that have given Italian cinema its enduring appeal. Readers will explore the work of such directors as Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Roberto Rossellini as well as a host of subjects including the Italian silent screen, the political influence of Fascism on the movies, lesser known genres such as the giallo (horror film) and Spaghetti Western, and the role of women in the Italian film industry. Italian Cinema from the Silent Screen to the Digital Image explores recent developments in cinema studies such as digital performance, the role of media and the Internet, neuroscience in film criticism, and the increased role that immigrants are playing in the nation's cinema. Title Page Copyright page CONTENTS CHRONOLOGY 1890s: A Silent Beginning 1910–14: The Golden Age of Italian Silent Cinema 1920s: The First World War and the Decline of Italian Silent Cinema 1928–43: Sound Film, Fascist Cinema, and Cinecittà 1945: Italian Neorealism and the Rebirth of Italian Cinema 1950s: Pink Neorealism and Comedy Italian Style 1960s: Auteurist Cinema 1958–68: A Profusion of Genres 1970s: The Cinema of Impegno 1980s: A New Crisis Looms 1990s: Old and New Masters 2000s: Italian Cinema in the Present Tense Introduction Notes Bibliography Part One: Periods and Movements Chapter 1: Italian Silent Film 1 The Invention of Italian Cinema 2 The Production System 3 Birth of the Feature Film and the Epic-historical Genre 4 D’Annunzio and Pirandello 5 Star-system Italian Style 6 Strongmen and Clowns 7 The Crisis of the 1920s and the Rise of Fascism Notes Chapter 2: Futurism and Film Notes Bibliography Filmography Chapter 3: Vincere: The Never-Ending Story of Film and Fascism 1 The Cultural Policy 2 The Revision of Fascism Notes Bibliography Chapter 4: Neorealism 1 Journey in a Primordial Chaos  2 What Is “Neo” in This “Realism”? Early Insights from Cesare Zavattini and André Bazin 3 The Beginnings: Neorealism under Fascism, Ossessione 4 Cinema as National Epic: Roberto Rossellini 5 Neorealism and the Religion of the Everyday: De Sica and Zavattini 6 The Legacies of Neorealism: Finished and Unfinished Notes Bibliography Filmography Filmography Chapter 5: The Orphaned Generation: Cinema of the 1980s and 1990s 1 The “Old” Authors: Fellini, Antonioni, Bertolucci 2 The International Success of Sentimental Stereotypes 3 From the 1980s to the 1990s: Moretti and Amelio 4 Generation Moretti: The 1990s Notes Bibiography Chapter 6: Persistence of Vision: Realism and the Popular in Italian Cinema of the New Millennium Notes Bibliography Part Two: Gender, Genre, Theory Chapter 7: The Five Faces of the Italian Femme Fatale 1 Diva Films of Silent Cinema 2 The Fascist Femme Fatale 3 The Neorealist Femme Fatale 4 The Hollywood Template 5 Dark Ladies Notes Bibliography Chapter 8: Italian Women’s Cinema and the Wounded Filmic Body 1 Francesca Bertini, Elvira Notari, and the Disfigured Body 2 Gendering the Holocaust 3 Mafia Women in the Honored Society 4 Matricide and the Lesbian Road Movie 5 The Atypical Teen Film 6 The Documentary and the Beginning of a New History Notes Bibliography Filmography Chapter 9: The Cinematic Evolution of Commedia all’Italiana 1 The Fascist Era, the Coming of Sound, and Comedy 2 The Second World War and Signs of Things to Come 3 The Postwar Cinema, Colorful Neorealism, and Comedy 4 Stardom, Neorealism, and Commedia all’Italiana 5 Masculinity, Femininity, Sexuality, and Family 6 The Commedia and Omnibus Films 7 The Commedia and the Historical Film Notes Bibliography Chapter 10: Popular Italian Cinema 1 War, Resistance, Aftermath: Beyond Neorealism 2 Comedy and the Politics of the Popular Notes Bibliography Filmography Chapter 11: Italian Film Theory, 1907–2015 1 The Pioneers 2 Italian Idealism and the Advent of Sound Movies 3 The Poetics of Neorealism 4 Semiotics and the Debate on Cinematic Language 5 Academic Theory and the Encounter with History Notes Bibliography Part Three: Relations and Debates Chapter 12: Film Music: Kaos and the Tavianis Notes Bibliography Filmography Chapter 13: Film and Photography Notes Bibliography Filmography Chapter 14: Film and Television in Italy 1 RAI’s Monopoly 2 End of the Monopoly and Rise of Private Channels 3 Era of Duopoly and Multimedia Empires, 1990–Present 4 Small Screen to Big Screen: Representation of TV and Its Viewers in Italian Cinema 4 Television-Funded Cinema Notes Bibliography Chapter 15: Italian Documentary and the Predicaments of the Auteur: Nonfiction Films of Michelangelo Antonioni, Pier Paolo Pasolini, and Roberto Rossellini  Notes Bibliography Chapter 16: The Global Impact of Italian Neorealism Notes Bibliography Filmography Part Four: Films in Focus Chapter 17: Cabiria 1 Cabiria and Its Context 2 The Legacy of Cabiria Notes Bibliography Filmography Chapter 18: Bitter Rice Notes Bibliography Chapter 19: Senso Notes Bibliography Filmography Chapter 20: La strada Bibliography Filmography Chapter 21: L’avventura Notes Bibliography Chapter 22: Once Upon a Time in the West Notes Bibliography Chapter 23: Theorem Notes Chapter 24: The Conformist Chapter 25: Love and Anarchy Notes Bibliography Filmography Chapter 26: The Best of Youth Notes Bibliography Filmography Part Five: Behind the Scenes Chapter 27: Sound and Soundtrack in Italian Cinema Notes Bibliography Filmography Chapter 28: Screenwriting Notes Bibliography Chapter 29: Outdoor Cinema Notes Bibliography Filmography GLOSSARY CONTRIBUTORS INDEX