Opera Prima is a tribute and a journey through the evolution that cinema has had in Italy. Tayu Vlietstra, a pupil of Bertolucci, carries out an investigation on the first work of six of the most authoritative and beloved Italian directors. The result is an unpublished and precious document that reveals the emotions and expectations of directors grappling with their cinematic debut. Mario Monicelli, Bernardo Bertolucci, Lina Wertmüller, Marco Bellocchio, Liliana Cavani and Francesca Archibugi offer a still current evolution on the needs and difficulties of making cinema in our country.
The artistic evolution of the great composer, whose work left an indelible mark in the history of Italian cinema. In this documentary Nino Rota's extraordinary musical production relives in the words of his friends and colleagues. His collaboration with Visconti and Fellini are truly memorable. His movie score and sequences of his performances in theaters all over the world hand us down a full and evocative outline of this outstanding artist.
A documentary on Fellini’s lost alternate ending for 8½
Documentary about Italian cinema.
Special TG3 by Giorgio Chiecchi of 8 May 1980.
The feature documentary Searching for Mr. Rugoff is the story of Donald Rugoff, who was the crazy genius behind Cinema 5, the mid-century theater chain and film distribution company. Rugoff was a difficult (some would say impossible) person but was also the man who kicked art films into the mainstream with outrageous marketing schemes and pure bluster. Rugoff's impact on cinema culture in the United States is inestimable, and his influence on the art film business-from the studio classics divisions to the independent film movement to the rise of the Weinsteins-is undeniable. Yet, mysteriously, Rugoff has become a virtually forgotten figure. The story is told through the eyes of former employee Ira Deutchman, who sets out to find the truth about the man who had such a major impact on his life, and to understand how such an important figure could have disappeared so completely.
A portrait of Ennio Morricone, the most popular and prolific film composer of the 20th century, the one most loved by the international public, a two-time Oscar winner and the author of over five hundred unforgettable scores.
A look at the life and work of composer Nino Rota.
This documentary tells the story of Rome's contemporary art scene, so far from the stereotypes that have represented it until now.
Registe, talking on a blade is an Italian documentary about the Italian Cinema signed by women and about the pioneer of the Silent Cinema Elvira Notari (1875-1946) plays by Maria De Medeiros. The directors interviewed are the most important Italian women directors: Lina Wertmüller, Cecilia Mangini, Francesca Archibugi, Francesca Comencini, Wilma Labate, Cinzia Th Torrini, Roberta Torre, Antonietta De Lillo, Giada Colagrande, Donatella Maiorca, Ilaria Borrelli and others.
Ferruccio Castronuovo was the only authorized eye, between 1976 and 1986, to film the brilliant Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini (1920-1993) in his personal and creative intimacy, to capture the gears of his great circus, his fantastic lies and his crazy inventions.
It is a musical portrait that shines a spotlight on unknown aspects of the creative, visionary and groundbreaking talent of filmmaker and writer, Lina Wertmüller.
In a small mountain village lives a man with a challenging name, Giuseppe Garibaldi (one of Italy's "fathers of the fatherland"), but everybody call him with the nickname Peppino. Love fishing, the company of friends, the library where he works as a precarious employee. He is an optimistic person even if his child accuse him of being a wannabe. One day, due to a mess of politicians, an amazing thing happens: Peppino is mistakenly elected President of the Italian Republic. Pulled out from his quiet life, is to play a role for which he knows he is obviously inappropriate, but his common sense and his instinctive gestures are incredibly effective, except for the etiquette, for which he is in trouble. The inflexible and fascinating Deputy Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic, Janis Clementi, is anxious to no avail in an attempt to regulate the unpredictable actions of the President...
February 20, 1958: the Italian Parliament approved Law No. 75, the "Merlin Law": the end of an institution of Italian society for ages: the brothel. The Italian writer Dino Buzzati likens the event to the fire in the library of Alexandria in Egypt. The brothel is an institution that has spanned the centuries,thru different aspects, different forms. It is an institution that, in Italy, at least officially no longer exists. But it is also an institution that in other countries, still exists. The doc offers a journey that will start from the ruins of Pompeii brothel to get to the lights of Artemis in Berlin, with its soft drinks and its attention to the well-being and to the erotic papyrus from the Egyptian Museum of Turin and the giant Paradise in Girona, that El Pais has called the biggest brothel in Europe.
In the streets of Moscow, Lina Wertmuller asks its inhabitants if they know who are personalities like Marx, Stalin, Hitler, Stanislavsky, Shakespeare and others. She also inquire about their dreams, about work and freedom. Between one testimony and another, she documents the daily life in Russia during the 1990s: street trading in Moscow, dancing in public spaces, nightlife, casinos, and popular religiosity.
A documentary about Vittorio de Sica with clips of his films and testimonials from friends and family.
Documentary exploring the formidable life and career of Italian film star Sophia Loren. With interviews with the actress herself, as well as thoughts from colleagues and admirers, including Woody Allen.
Tracing the journey of a free thinker, engineer, writer, scriptwriter, actor and director through his life and work, Così Parlo De Crescenzo harnesses the energy of a man determined to transform the lives and culture of those around him. Born in Naples, Luciano De Crescenzo graduated in engineering and worked as a programmer for IBM until 1976, when he escaped the routine of his 'corporate prison' and published his first book.
A documentary about the Italian director Sergio Corbucci.
Documentary with interviews and clips of Fellini's movies.
A behind-the-scenes documentary about the filming of the Federico Fellini film, "Satyricon."
After shooting to fame with Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” (1960), actor Marcello Mastroianni (1924-1996) starred in more than 160 films in his nearly half-a-century career. Directors Mario Canale and Annarosa Morri look into the melancholic charm of one of the most famous Italian actors through interviews with his two daughters, Barbara and Chiara; directors Fellini and Luchino Visconti; actresses Claudia Cardinale and Anouk Aimee; and in archival footage of Mastroianni himself. The subject matter ranges from Mastroianni’s passion for kidney-bean pasta and his addiction to the telephone to his famous laziness, humility and talent. Shown in black-and-white, Mastroianni — elegantly holding a cigarette in between his fingers — is undeniably the dandy.
An account of the life and work of legendary cinematographer and director Carlo Di Palma (1925-2004) and an emotional journey through the great moments of cinema, from Italian neorealism to the masterpieces of Woody Allen.
Filming Lina at her place next to Piazza del Popolo was a great experience to check on her way of movie making: "I'm not looking for a story, the story calls me!"