When Gelsomina, a naïve young woman, is purchased from her impoverished mother by brutish circus strongman Zampanò to be his wife and partner, she loyally endures her husband's coldness and abuse as they travel the Italian countryside performing together. Soon Zampanò must deal with his jealousy and conflicted feelings about Gelsomina when she finds a kindred spirit in Il Matto, the carefree circus fool, and contemplates leaving Zampanò.
Born in Mexico, Anthony Quinn became the family's main provider when his father died in an accident. Thus began the story of a man who had a thousand jobs before acting in a Cecil B. DeMille film…
Six stories unfold in various regions, from Sicily to the northern Po Valley as American military personnel interact with a variety of Italian locals over eighteen months in the push north during the Italian Campaign of WWII as German forces retreat.
Six episodes (adapted from as many short stories: Gozzano, D'Annunzio, Guido Rocca, Marino Moretti, Alba de Céspedes and Oreste Biancoli), six love stories set in different moments in italian recent history.
A wealthy, self-absorbed Rome socialite is racked by guilt over the death of her young son. As a way of dealing with her grief and finding meaning in her life, she decides to devote her time and money to the city’s poor and sick. Her newfound, single-minded activism leads to conflicts with her husband and questions about her sanity.
Aging small-time conman Augusto works with two younger men: Roberto, who desires to become the Italian Johnny Ray, and Carlo, nicknamed Picasso. Through a series of mishaps and personal entanglements, things go badly for Augusto.
A fairy-tale about an old lady who takes care of snow and Jakub who does not fear death. It reflects the idea of people's longing for happiness, love and understanding, their effort to overcome troubles and win over death. It criticizes greed and evil desires.
Amelia and Pippo are reunited after several decades to perform their old music-hall act, imitating Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, on a TV variety show.
In Italy, small-town newlyweds Wanda and Ivan Cavalli embark on their honeymoon in the big city of Rome. Ivan dutifully wants to keep appointments with family and church, but Wanda is only interested in meeting her favorite photo-strip star known as "The White Sheik". While Wanda impetuously sneaks away to locate the object of her affections, disconsolate Ivan tries his hardest to keep up appearances with the couple's relatives.
In Italy, Checco Dal Monte manages a troupe of traveling performers with plenty of heart but minimal talent. At a small town engagement, he encounters the starry-eyed, gorgeous Lily Antonelli, and hires her as a dancer on the show. Vivacious Lily quickly sells out crowds and earns the resentment of Checco's mistress, Melina Amour, but the fledgling performer has far bigger ambitions and soon sets her sights on a higher-profile role.
Rome, 1957. A woman, Cabiria, is robbed and left to drown by her boyfriend, Giorgio. Rescued, she resumes her life and tries her best to find happiness in a cynical world. Even when she thinks her struggles are over and she has found happiness and contentment, things may not be what they seem.
Middle-aged Giulietta grows suspicious of her husband, Giorgio, when his behavior grows increasingly questionable. One night when Giorgio initiates a seance amongst his friends, Giulietta gets in touch with spirits and learns more about herself and her painful past. Slightly skeptical, but intrigued, she visits a mystic who gives her more information -- and nudges her toward the realization that her husband is indeed a philanderer.
Maria is a housmaid and she is being engaged to Berto for fifteen years. Berto has not a lasting job so he is waiting for the death of his uncle Matteo to come into an inheritance. In the meantime Maria goes on with her work, first in the house of an unfaithful wife; then for an actor and his wife on the verge of leaving each other and last for Raffaele who wants to marry her. At last uncle Matteo dies...
A lawyer, married but temporarily alone at home, finds himself in the house a beautiful lady who tries to escape from her jealous husband. Fascinated by the beauty of the unexpected guest, the lawyer is determined to conquer her, in vain. But when the woman leaves, she discovers that she has been stolen some money.
Based on real events, in Rome a lawyer is not sure whether to accept defending a lower-class worker wrongly accused of the murder of his girlfriend.
An eccentric Parisian woman's optimistic perception of life begins to sound more rational than the traditional beliefs of others. The story is set in a 20th-century society endangered by power and greed and imagines the rebellion of the "little people" against corrupt and soulless authority.
Totò is a tailor but not a great tailor. He is married and his son is to be baptized and Totò hopes that his grand-mother will be moved by the baptism, so moved to help him. Unfortunately his wet nurse Maria loses his son in the garden. Totò doesn't lose heart and rents Rita's daughter and leaves looking for his son. Many adventures are awaiting for him.
A struggling woman and a black American soldier fall in love in post-World War II Italy.
Rita, a vivacious co-ed flees her boarding school with her music teacher, who is also engaged to her. She wants to take part in a singing contest but her father who is dead against it has her kidnapped. He finally gives in when his wife threatens to sing in the contest herself.
Adaptation of Hermann Sudermann's novel about the troubled relationship between the strong willed Erdme and her irascible husband Jons in the Lithunian moors.
A young girl comes to prison and experiences the entire prison subculture. The inmates she befriends vary from big tough dangerous dames to smaller submissive ladies who are totally lost in prison life.
A woman goes to Cannes and, lost in its chaos and unable to obtain tickets, ends up watching it on television from her hotel room.
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.
Doris Putzke is fond of dating men in her quest to find the perfect one. In her brief relationships, she goes from one disillusionment to another, constantly deluding herself about the intentions of her lovers.
A behind-the-scenes documentary about the filming of the Federico Fellini film, "Satyricon."
An Italian documentary about Italian cinema.
A bored civil servant accepts an invitation to visit a glamorous young lady. When she doesn't answer the door, then is later found murdered he panics!
When "Tamara" throws herself from the window of their brothel, her colleagues are made to realise that a new law will close down the source of their livelihood. The girls must now find honest work.
A story about the mythical film director
Fellini discusses his views of making motion pictures and his unorthodox procedures. He seeks inspiration in various out of the way places. During this film viewers go with him to the Colisseum at night, on a subway ride past Roman ruins, to the Appian Way, to a slaughterhouse, and on a visit to Marcello Mastroianni's house. Fellini also is seen in his own office interviewing a series of unusual characters seeking work or his help.
Documentary essay about the First Moscow International Film Festival, held in August 1959, about its participants and guests - Soviet and foreign actors, directors who came to the film forum.
Wrongly accused of his wife's death, a marine officer is forced to resign and sees his life fall apart.
A poor girl is convinced she is the daughter of a prince.
Traces the life of Anna Magnani, her creations, her successes, her triumphs, her boycotted career, her nonconformism, her anxieties, her generosity ... Punctuated with photos that tell her career in theater and cinema, Extracts of films, this documentary portrait also gives the floor to his friends and relatives, from Roberto Rossellini to Marcello Mastroianni, through Federico Fellini.
Bertille is an old woman who lives in the countryside. Her relatives reunite there with her as she is about selling the property. They don't take long to out their true intentions which are merely material on her estate. Also, Bertille is afflicted by her youngest son who has been in prison for a decade. Decades of fighting over Einstein's stick of truth has made Bertille very frail and easy to come down on.
A successful fifty-year-old entrepreneur, Tullio Conforti, opposed to divorce for religious reasons, is in fact separated from his wife and leads a frenetic life divided between numerous lovers.
Lukáš, Alžbetka's son, takes off into the world looking for happiness and love. His godmother, the celestial Lady Winter, keeps an eye on him. He arrives late in the fairy-tale land that she leads him to. Fear reigns where once cakes grew on trees. The miraculous ram has disappeared and the royal town is cursed. Lukáš has to decide what is closer to his heart: a fortune or love?
Documentary about the making of Federico Fellini's film JULIET OF THE SPIRITS, with behind the scenes footage and interviews with the director.
A look at Fellini's creative process. In extensive interviews, Fellini talks a bit about his background and then discusses how he works and how he creates. Several actors, a producer, a writer, and a production manager talk about working with Fellini. Archive footage of Fellini and others on the set plus clips from his films provide commentary and illustration for the points interviewees make. Fellini is fully in charge; actors call themselves puppets. He dismisses improvisation and calls for "availability." His sets and his films create images that look like reality but are not; we see the differences and the results.
Sandra searches her missing sister. For this, she enters the morally degraded seaside of Genoa.
Documentary about the actress who was Federico Fellini's wife and frequent collaborator.
Federico Fellini was one of the most individual and thought provoking directors who based most of his films upon his own reflections, dreams, life events and fantasies, who did not convey any special message for humanity but regarded cinema simply as entertainment. Is there an answer to everything? Can it possibly be? If yes, then life can no longer be so curious, so dynamic, so creative...