looking For great italian films to watch?
While many of these films have been presented in past ICI Film Series, members like to rewatch their favorites. There may even be some that you aren’t familiar with, in this (non-exhaustive) list. Films are listed in no particular order. Click on the photos to be redirected to the film’s respective IMDb website.
These films may be watched in a variety of places. Some are available on Apple TV, Netflix, Kanopy, KINO, and your local library.
Miracle in Milan
Directed by Vittorio de Sica (1951), 1h 37m
Staring Emma Gramatica, Francesco Golisano, Paolo Stoppa
Synopsis: An open-hearted, unrelentingly energetic orphan struggles to make the best of his life on the streets of Milan.
L’Avventura
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni (1960), 2h 24m
Staring Gabriele Ferzetti, Monica Vitti, Lea Massari
Synopsis: A woman disappears during a Mediterranean boating trip. During the search, her lover and her best friend become attracted to each other.
La Terra Trema
Directed by Luchino Visconti (1948), 2h 40m
Staring Luchino Visconti, Antonio Pietrangeli, Antonio Arcidiacono
Synopsis: In rural Sicily, the fishermen live at the mercy of the greedy wholesalers. One family risks everything to buy their own boat and operate independently.
A Special Day
Directed by Ettore Scola (1977), 1h 46m
Staring Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, John Vernon
Synopsis: Two neighbors, a persecuted journalist and a resigned housewife, meet during Hitler's visit to Italy in May 1938.
Love and Anarchy
Directed by Lina Wertmüller (1973), 2h
Staring Giancarlo Giannini, Mariangela Melato, Eros Pagni
Synopsis: When a friend is murdered by the Fascists, a melancholy farmer takes up residence in a Roman brothel as he and an anarchist prostitute plot to assassinate Mussolini.
I Vitelloni
Directed by Federico Fellini (1953), 1h 44m
Staring Alberto Sordi, Franco Fabrizi, Franco Interlenghi
A character study of five young men at crucial turning points in their lives in a small town in Italy.
The Clowns
Directed by Federico Fellini (1970), 1h 32m
Staring Riccardo Billi, Gigi Reder, Tino Scotti
Synopsis: A ragout of real memories and mockumentary, as Fellini explores a childhood obsession: circus clowns.
La Strada
Directed by Federico Fellini (1954), 1h 48m
Staring Anthony Quinn, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart
Synopsis: A care-free girl is sold to a traveling entertainer, consequently enduring physical and emotional pain along the way.
Seven Beauties
Directed by Lina Wertmüller (1975), 1h 56m
Staring Giancarlo Giannini, Fernando Rey, Shirley Stoler
Synopsis: The defense of honor, a strong value in Neapolitan society, and its effects on the life of everyman Pasquale Frafuso.
Ciao, Professore!
Directed by Lina Wertmüller (1992), 1h 40m
Staring Paolo Villaggio, Issa Danieli, Gigio Morra
Synopsis: A teacher must deal with the underworld of Naples and his students' family problems.
Barria
Directed by Guiseppe Tornatore (2009), 2h 43m
Staring Francesco Scianna, Margareth Madé, Lina Sastri
Synopsis: Baaria is Sicilian slang for Bagheria where Tornatore was born and this is an autobiographic epic of three generations in the Sicilian village where he was born.
Italy: Love It, or Leave It
Directed by Gustav Hofer and Luca Ragazzi (2011), 1h 15m
Staring Gustav Hofer, Luca Ragazzi
Synopsis: This time they have to decide: should they stay in Italy, or leave it, like so many of their friends have done already. Looking at some defining Italian icons, they go on a emotional trip on a old Fiat 500 through Italy, to look behind the cliches and to discover, what's left of the famous Italian way of life, confronting a glorious past, a shaky present and an uncertain future.
Il Postino
Directed by Michael Radford and Massimo Torisi (1994), 1h 48m
Staring Massimo Troisi, Philippe Noiret, and Maria Grazia Cucinotta
Synopsis: A simple Italian postman learns to love poetry while delivering mail to a famous poet, and then uses this to woo local beauty Beatrice.
Lamerica
Directed by Gianni Amelio (1994), 1h 56m
Staring Enrico Lo Verso, Michele Placido, Prio Mikani
Synopsis: Immediately after the fall of communism in Albania, two Italians go there to embezzle investment money by creating a fake company. As the chairman/fall guy, they pick a former political prisoner who turns out to be more than meets the eye.
Cose Dell’ Altro Mondo
Directed by Francesco Patierno (2011), 1h 35m
Staring Diego Abatantuono, Valerio Mastandrea, Valentina Lodovini
Synopsis: A firm manager from Veneto is always yelling at his employees, all either immigrants or Southern Italians. He regularly appears on the local TV channel where he keeps denouncing the evils of immigration and is very popular with everybody including with kids. His speech hits home better than that of Lucia, their anti-racist schoolmistress. And what will be will be: by dint of invoking the help of God to rid Veneto of its immigrants the miracle finally happens: one morning they have all disappeared. But is that really a blessing?
Il Generale Della Rovere
Directed by Roberto Rossellini (1959), 2h 9m
Staring Vittorio De Sica, Hannes Messemer, Sandra Milo
Synopsis: Bardone, a petty con man, is arrested by the Gestapo and coerced into impersonating a partisan leader in order to expose another resistance organizer.
Golden Door
Directed by Emanuele Ciralese (2006), 1h 58m
Staring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Vicenzo Amato, Vincent Schiavelli
Synopsis: A Sicilian peasant begins the journey to the promised land and meets a beautiful Englishwoman. But neither is prepared for the harsh realities of Ellis Island. Can they make it through the golden door to the America of their dreams?
Terraferma
Directed by Emanuele Ciralese (2011), 1h 28m
Staring Filippo Pucillo, Donatella Finocchiaro, Giuseppe Fiorello
Synopsis: A Sicilian family deals with the arrival of a group of immigrants on their island.