History of italian cinema, from neoralism to 1970 to present Essay

History of italian cinema, from neoralism to 1970 to present - Essay Example With its unrivaled contribution to the growth of the plastic art in Western Europe from the period of Giotto, Italy has made one of the most important additions to the cinema of the early periods. "Much of its claim to artistic hegemony on the European continent for a number of centuries rested upon not only a steady succession of artists of genius but also upon the resolution of certain technical problems, such as the study of perspective, which would eventually raise similar problems and demand equally ingenious artistic and technical solutions in the realm of photography." (Bondanella, 1) The contributions made by Filoteo Alberini, who is known for the Alberini Kinetograph, are especially remarkable and his La presa di Roma, 20 settembre 1870 inaugurated one of the most important and opening Italian filoni or sub-genres, i.e. the historical film. Along with the domination of the genres of the historical film and costume drama, there existed several significant types of films durin g the early periods of the silent cinema in Italy. "There existed a variety of topics - ranging from the celebrated Roman epics to filmed theatrical works, dramas inspired by Italian verismo or regional naturalism, adventure films in episodes or in series, comic works, and several experimental films produced by the Italian artistic avant-garde. All of these genres contributed something to the evolution of Italian film art, although it is ultimately the historical film which must be given special attention." (Bondanella, 1-2) The influence of the dictatorship and fascist rule affected influenced the industry considerable and the most important transition of the film industry in Italy followed the neo-realism in the cinema which happened after the Second World War. The neo-realism in Italian Cinema produced several memorable films including the famous Rossellini's trilogy Rome, Open City (1945), Paisa (1946), and Germany Year Zero (1948). Significantly, the most important masters of N eorealism in Italian cinema were Rossellini, De Sica, and Visconti who made salient contribution to the progress of film industry in Italy. The history of Italian Cinema since the Neorealism has an important story of great progress to tell which in the modern period has gained considerable position among the various film traditions of the world and this paper undertakes an investigation of the history of Italian Cinema from Neorealism through 1970 to the present. The Italian Cinema had an important growth from the influence of Fascism since the beginning of neorealist brand of cinema that followed the Second World War. Neorealism in Italian Cinema can be comprehended as describing the complicated and inconceivable economic and moral conditions of Italy, along with the transition in the public mentality in the way of life in the land during the period. The neorealist brand of cinema soon turned out to be an essential political tool. However, the significant directors of this genre in the film industry were effective in making essential distinction between the art of film and politics. "In fact, the Italian neorealist cinema relied upon directors, scriptwriters, directors of photography, actors, set and costume designers, and producers who were all active in the industry during the period of fascist government in Italy. All too many ideological, political and