Best Movies About Italy

From Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef, Aldo Giuffrè
Rated R

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a classic spaghetti western directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach. It follows the story of three gunslingers - the Good (Blondie) played by Eastwood, the Bad (Angel Eyes) played by Van Cleef, and the Ugly (Tuco) played by Wallach - as they traverse the Wild West in search of hidden Confederate gold. Along the way, they must face off with Mexican bandits, Union soldiers, and each other in a series of thrilling showdowns. The movie is renowned for its score composed by Ennio Morricone and for its iconic visuals. It is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential westerns ever made.

From Roberto Benigni, starring Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini, Giustino Durano
Rated PG-13

Life Is Beautiful is a 1997 Italian comedy-drama film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni. The film follows Jewish-Italian bookshop owner Guido Orefice, whose life takes a turn for the worse when he and his family are sent to a concentration camp during the Holocaust. To protect his son, Giosué, from the horrors of the camp, Guido convinces him that their imprisonment is an elaborate game. Guido's courageous and imaginative attempts to distract Giosué from the horror around him and to keep his spirits up ultimately touch the other prisoners. In the end, Guido is able to save Giosué's life and reunite with him. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and it was nominated for three other Academy Awards.

From Giuseppe Tornatore, starring Philippe Noiret, Enzo Cannavale, Antonella Attili, Isa Danieli
Rated R

Cinema Paradiso is a 1988 Italian film directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. It tells the story of Salvatore Di Vita, a young boy living in a Sicilian town in the 1950s who has a passion for films. He is taken under the wing of Alfredo, the projectionist at the local cinema, who teaches him the craft of film editing. As Salvatore grows older, he is forced to leave his hometown and pursue his dreams of becoming a filmmaker. However, he never forgets the lessons he learned at Cinema Paradiso, which remain with him for the rest of his life. Through flashbacks, Salvatore returns to his hometown to discover how much his life has changed and the impact of his beloved Cinema Paradiso.

From Sergio Leone, starring Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Treat Williams
Rated R

Once Upon a Time in America is a 1984 epic gangster drama directed by Sergio Leone. Set in New York City between the years of 1920 and 1968, the film follows a group of childhood friends as they rise to power in the criminal underworld. Robert De Niro stars as David "Noodles" Aaronson, the leader of the group, whose life is recounted through a series of flashbacks and flash-forwards. As their lives take them in different directions, the friends struggle with loyalty, betrayal, and the consequences of their violence. Spanning nearly five decades, the film paints a vivid picture of crime and power in the Italian-American community.

From Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volontè, Mara Krupp
Rated R

For a Few Dollars More follows two bounty hunters, "Manco" and Colonel Douglas Mortimer, on their quest to capture the notorious criminal El Indio. Along the way, the two men cross paths with various other characters, including a retired bounty hunter, a bandit leader, and a woman seeking revenge on El Indio. In their pursuit, they come to learn that they have more in common than they originally thought. Eventually, the two men come to a head with El Indio and his gang in a spectacular showdown. Ultimately, Manco and Mortimer triumph, but only after a brutal battle with El Indio and his men.

From Vittorio De Sica, starring Carlo Battisti, Maria Pia Casilio, Lina Gennari, Ileana Simova
Rated Not Rated

Umberto D (1952) is a classic Italian neorealist film directed by Vittorio De Sica, who also co-wrote the script. The film follows the story of Umberto D, an elderly pensioner living in Rome who is struggling to make ends meet. He is soon evicted from his apartment and begins a desperate search for a new place to live. With no money or family to rely on, Umberto's search leads him to a life of destitution and desperation. Throughout the course of the film, Umberto is forced to make difficult decisions as he faces a harsh and unsympathetic world. Ultimately, Umberto D is a portrait of human resilience amidst great suffering, and the film remains one of the most revered works of Italian neorealist cinema.

From Luchino Visconti, starring Alain Delon, Renato Salvatori, Annie Girardot, Claudia Cardinale
Rated Not Rated

Rocco and His Brothers is a 1960 Italian drama film directed by Luchino Visconti and starring Alain Delon and Renato Salvatori. The film follows the story of the Parondi family, a struggling working-class family from rural Italy who move to Milan in search of a better life. The film focuses on the four Parondi brothers; Rocco, Simone, Ciro, and Luca, as they all try to cope with their new environment, which brings new challenges and opportunities. While each brother struggles and strives to make a better life, they must also grapple with the conflicts that arise between them due to their differing approaches to the challenges of adapting to their new surroundings. The film follows their individual arcs and the bonds between them, culminating in a powerful climax of violence and tragedy.

From Gillo Pontecorvo, starring Brahim Hadjadj, Jean Martin, Yacef Saadi, Samia Kerbash
Rated Not Rated

The Battle of Algiers is a 1966 classic Italian-Algerian war drama film directed by Gillo Pontecorvo and starring Jean Martin and Yacef Saadi. Set in the 1950s, the film chronicles the events leading up to and during the Algerian war of independence from France. It follows the story of Ali La Pointe, an Algerian revolutionary who is recruited by the National Liberation Front to lead the fight against French forces in the Casbah of Algiers. The film portrays the brutal tactics and tactics used by both sides in the conflict, as Ali and his fellow rebels wage a bitter battle of guerilla warfare against the French military. As the struggle continues, the Algerian people are forced to choose between their aspirations for freedom and their own safety. The Battle of Algiers is a vivid depiction of the power of the human spirit against a powerful occupying force and is now considered one of the greatest films of all time.

From Federico Fellini, starring Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimée, Yvonne Furneaux
Rated Not Rated

La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life) is a 1960 Italian comedy-drama film directed and co-written by Federico Fellini. It follows Marcello Rubini, a journalist, over seven days and nights on his journey through the "sweet life" of Rome in a fruitless search for love and happiness. Along his journey we meet a variety of characters and witness the nightlife of Rome from its high society clubs to its seedy underworld. Through Marcello's various affairs and romantic entanglements, he learns that his ideal of the sweet life is far from the reality, and that his attempts to find love and contentment find him always coming up short. In the end, Marcello is left with an unsatisfying emptiness and longing for something that he can never have.

From Federico Fellini, starring Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimée, Claudia Cardinale, Sandra Milo
Rated Not Rated

8½ is a 1963 Italian surrealist comedy-drama film written and directed by Federico Fellini. It stars Marcello Mastroianni as Guido Anselmi, a film director facing a mid-life crisis while trying to complete his latest film. Guido is pressured by producers and crew to finish the film, but is unable to come up with a good ending, as he is unable to reconcile his own personal and professional lives. The film is a mix of fantasy, reality, and dream sequences, where Guido confronts his inner demons and is ultimately forced to confront his own mortality. The film is considered a cinematic masterpiece and is often cited as one of the greatest films of all time.

From Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale, Paolo Stoppa
Rated PG

The Leopard, directed by Luchino Visconti in 1963, is set in 1860 Sicily during the era of Italian Unification. The film follows the aristocrat Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of Salina, as he struggles to maintain his family’s aristocratic lifestyle in the face of the sweeping social changes of the Risorgimento. The Leopard follows Don Fabrizio and his family as they attempt to adapt to the new social order, while also trying to preserve their old traditions. Don Fabrizio’s nephew Tancredi, a young and idealistic veteran of Garibaldi’s forces, encourages his family to embrace the new regime while also respecting the old ways. As the film progresses, the protagonist comes to accept the necessity of social change, eventually concluding that the only way to survive the changing times is to “change with the times”. The film is a beautiful visual representation of the changing social landscape of Italy during the mid-19th century, as well as a thoughtful study of the clash between tradition and progress.

From Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volontè, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy
Rated R

"A Fistful of Dollars" is a classic western film directed by Sergio Leone. It follows the mysterious "Man with No Name" (Clint Eastwood), a gunfighter who rides into a small Mexican border town, San Miguel. He soon finds himself in the middle of a violent power struggle between two rival families, the Rojos and the Baxters. To help the Baxters, he plays both sides against each other for his own gain. However, things become complicated when he falls in love with the beautiful Marisol, the daughter of one of the Rojo's henchmen. The Man with No Name must use all of his cunning and guile to come out on top in this epic battle of wits. In the end, justice prevails and the Man with No Name rides off into the sunset with a fistful of dollars.

From Bernardo Bertolucci, starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Stefania Sandrelli, Gastone Moschin, Enzo Tarascio
Rated R

The Conformist is a 1970 Italian drama directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. The film follows Marcello Clerici (played by Jean-Louis Trintignant), an Italian man who is recruited by the Fascist Secret Police to assassinate his former professor, Professor Quadri (Enzo Tarascio), a man with leftist views. Marcello is tormented by his own inner demons, as he has unresolved issues from his past and his own latent homosexuality. He is pushed further into submission to the fascist cause when he is forced to marry a woman he does not love, Giulia (Stefania Sandrelli). As Marcello navigates a complex world of corruption and betrayal, he is forced to confront his own identity and choices. The film culminates in a dramatic shootout between Marcello and Professor Quadri, who, despite his opposition to the fascist regime, is ultimately killed by Marcello. The Conformist is a powerful and thought-provoking examination of the individual's choice to conform or rebel in the face of oppressive forces.

From Bernardo Bertolucci, starring John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ruocheng Ying
Rated PG-13

The Last Emperor is a 1987 biopic directed by Bernardo Bertolucci about the life of Pu Yi, the last emperor of China. Born in 1908, Pu Yi is proclaimed the new emperor of China at age three, becoming the youngest emperor in Chinese history. Through the course of the film, the audience sees Pu Yi's dominance over a rapidly changing China, his imprisonment by the warlord Zhang, and his eventual rise to power as the puppet emperor of Manchukuo. As Pu Yi undergoes personal and political struggles, he is eventually betrayed and stripped of his title. His struggles to find his purpose in life take him on a long, emotional journey of self-discovery, ultimately leading him to question his own identity.

From Franco Zeffirelli, starring Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey, John McEnery, Milo O'Shea
Rated PG

Romeo and Juliet (1968) is the classic tale of two star-crossed lovers directed by Franco Zeffirelli. Two powerful families in Verona, Italy, are engaged in an ongoing feud. Romeo Montague (Leonard Whiting) and Juliet Capulet (Olivia Hussey) meet at a masquerade ball and instantly fall in love. Despite their families' disapproval, the couple become secretly married. As the feud between their families escalates, Romeo is banished from Verona after killing Juliet's cousin Tybalt. Juliet is forced to marry another man, Paris. In a desperate attempt to be reunited with her beloved Romeo, Juliet takes a potion to fake her death. Romeo finds out about her supposed death and, in a fit of grief, kills himself. Juliet wakes to find Romeo dead and, in her despair, kills herself. The two families reconcile on their children's graves, finally ending their feud.

From Michelangelo Antonioni, starring David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, John Castle
Rated Not Rated

Blow-Up is a 1966 British-Italian drama film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and starring David Hemmings as a London fashion photographer who unknowingly captures a death on film. After developing the film, he notices what appears to be a murder and becomes obsessed with finding out the truth. As his investigation progresses, the photographer finds himself drawn into a dark and dangerous world of sex, drugs, and mod culture. The film explores themes of perception, reality, and the nature of art. It was one of the first films to incorporate graphic nudity and violence, and its frank depiction of the 1960s' youth culture caused it to receive an X-rating in the United States. The film won the Palme d'Or at the 1967 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director.

From Dario Argento, starring Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bosé
Rated R

From Directors: Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani, starring Cosimo Rega, Salvatore Striano, Giovanni Arcuri, Antonio Frasca
Rated Unrated