Favorite Italian movies
I have not watched most of the films from many of the most important Italian masters. Therefore, I still expect to change this list a lot.
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76 titles
- DirectorGiuseppe TornatoreStarsPhilippe NoiretEnzo CannavaleAntonella AttiliA filmmaker recalls his childhood when falling in love with the pictures at the cinema of his home village and forms a deep friendship with the cinema's projectionist.
- DirectorAldo LadoStarsIngrid ThulinJean SorelMario AdorfAn American journalist temporarily stationed in Central Europe searches for his new girlfriend, who has suddenly disappeared.'Short night of glass dolls' is a wonderful crime thriller, very sophisticated in its cinematography, edition, camera moves. There are fantastic ironic dialogs, quite political, and the film clearly inspires Kubrick's 'Eyes Wide Shut' and Phantom Zone criminals' judgement scene from 'Superman II', among others. Spectator does feel the same feelings felt by the characters many times.
- DirectorMarco AmentaStarsVeronica D'AgostinoGérard JugnotMarcello MazzarellaThe true story of 17-year-old Sicilian Rita Atria (Veronica D'Agostino) -- who broke the Sicilian Mafia's code of silence and testified against the "family business" after both her father and then her brother are both murdered -- is brought to vivid life in Marco Amenta's hard-hitting and wonderfully acted drama.
- DirectorRoberto BenigniStarsRoberto BenigniNicoletta BraschiGiorgio CantariniWhen an open-minded Jewish waiter and his son become victims of the Holocaust, he uses a perfect mixture of will, humor and imagination to protect his son from the dangers around their camp.
- DirectorJulie GavrasStarsNina Kervel-BeyJulie DepardieuStefano AccorsiA 9-year-old girl weathers big changes in her household as her parents become radical political activists in 1970-71 Paris.A French-Italian movie.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsClint EastwoodEli WallachLee Van CleefA bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.
- DirectorMichael RadfordMassimo TroisiStarsMassimo TroisiPhilippe NoiretMaria Grazia CucinottaA simple Italian postman learns to love poetry while delivering mail to a famous poet, and then uses this to woo local beauty Beatrice.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsHenry FondaCharles BronsonClaudia CardinaleA mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsRobert De NiroJames WoodsElizabeth McGovernA former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.USA/Italy production, in English.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsRod SteigerJames CoburnRomolo ValliA low-life bandit and an I.R.A. explosives expert rebel against the government and become heroes of the Mexican Revolution.
- DirectorVittorio De SicaStarsLamberto MaggioraniEnzo StaiolaLianella CarellIn post-war Italy, a working-class man's bicycle is stolen, endangering his efforts to find work. He and his son set out to find it.
- DirectorMatteo GarroneStarsSalma HayekVincent CasselToby JonesFrom the bitter quest of the Queen of Longtrellis, to two mysterious sisters who provoke the passion of a king, to the King of Highhills obsessed with a giant Flea, these tales are inspired by the fairytales by Giambattista Basile.Italian-British-French prlduction, spoken in English, filmed in Italy.
- DirectorMatteo GarroneStarsMarcello FonteEdoardo PesceNunzia SchianoA timid dog groomer living in a poor suburb sells cocaine on the side and stays out of trouble, while trying to deal with his unstable, violent acquaintance who is a menace to the whole neighborhood.
- DirectorFernando MeirellesStarsJonathan PryceAnthony HopkinsJuan MinujínBehind Vatican walls, the conservative Pope Benedict XVI and the liberal future Pope Francis must find common ground to forge a new path for the Catholic Church.Very smart dialogs and good acting in a beautifully filmed movie that is more symbolic on the political struggle between realistic progressive reformists and conservatives/reactionaries than an accurate story-telling. Italian-Argentine-British-USA production.
- DirectorSergio CorbucciStarsFranco NeroTomas MilianFernando ReyA Swedish arms dealer and a Mexican peon team up to rescue the intellectual leader of the Revolutionary cause, while taking part in numerous misadventures along the way.
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsLeonard WhitingOlivia HusseyJohn McEneryWhen two young members of feuding families meet, forbidden love ensues.
- DirectorMario MonicelliStarsTommaso BiancoRenato CecchettoMarina ConfaloneDuring the Christmas celebrations, a surprising announcement takes a family by surprise and threatens to break the delicate balance that regulates the familial relationships.
- DirectorMario MonicelliStarsVittorio GassmanCatherine SpaakFolco LulliA group of misfits, headed by an incompetent knight named Brancaleone, set out to reach the small town of Aurocastro so that their leader can take possession of the fief.
- DirectorPifStarsCristiana CapotondiPifAlex BiscontiInspired by real events, this is a black comedy about 20 years of history of Sicily from 1970s to 1990s, mocking Mafia Bosses and restoring the generosity of the heroes of Antimafia. It's focused on Arturo, a young boy who grows up in Palermo and tries to conquer his beloved Flora.
- DirectorVittorio De SicaFederico FelliniMario MonicelliStarsAnita EkbergSophia LorenRomy SchneiderInspired by Boccaccio's novellas, each episode focuses on sex, love and seduction in Italy in the 1960s, an era of economic growth and major cultural changes.
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsGiulietta MasinaFrançois PérierFranca MarziA waifish prostitute wanders the streets of Rome looking for true love but finds only heartbreak.Very good comedy drama. Funny and sad. Awesome acting in the leading role.
- DirectorNanni MorettiStarsNanni MorettiLaura MoranteJasmine TrincaA psychoanalyst and his family go through profound emotional trauma when their son dies in a scuba-diving accident.
- DirectorGabriele MuccinoStarsStefano AccorsiGiovanna MezzogiornoStefania SandrelliCarlo's life is thrown into a tailspin when his longtime girlfriend Giulia announces she's pregnant. As Carlo faces up to his anxieties about adulthood, his buddies Paolo, Adriano and Alberto reluctantly grapple with their own responsibilities.
- DirectorEnzo G. CastellariStarsFranco NeroWilliam BergerOlga KarlatosA half-breed ex-Union gunfighter attempts to protect his plague-ridden hometown from being overridden by his racist half-brothers and a Confederate tyrant.
- DirectorSergio CorbucciStarsFranco NeroTony MusanteFranco GiacobiniA greedy Polish mercenary helps a mine worker and a peasant girl lead a revolution against the Mexican Government, all while being pursued by an American rival.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsClint EastwoodGian Maria VolontèMarianne KochA wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge.
- DirectorLuchino ViscontiStarsAlain DelonRenato SalvatoriAnnie GirardotHaving recently been uprooted to Milan, Rocco and his four brothers each look for a new way in life when a prostitute comes between Rocco and his brother Simone.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsJason SchwartzmanGiada ColagrandeGiorgio ZancollaItaly, September 1955. A Formula One driver crashes his car during a race, leaving him stuck in a small village but good surprises will come his way.https://youtu.be/b87B7zyucgI
- DirectorRenato De MariaStarsRiccardo ScamarcioSara SerraioccoAlessio PraticòA rebellious teenager grows up to become one of Milan's most ambitious criminals during the golden years of the 'ndrangheta' Mafia in the 1980s.
- DirectorAbbas KiarostamiStarsJuliette BinocheWilliam ShimellJean-Claude CarrièreIn Tuscany to promote his latest book, a middle-aged British writer meets a French woman who leads him to the village of Lucignano. While there, a chance question reveals something deeper.
- DirectorPaolo SorrentinoStarsToni ServilloCarlo VerdoneSabrina FerilliJep Gambardella has seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades, but after his 65th birthday and a shock from the past, Jep looks past the nightclubs and parties to find a timeless landscape of absurd, exquisite beauty.
- DirectorGiulio PetroniStarsLee Van CleefJohn Phillip LawMario BregaA young gunfighter forms a tenuous alliance with an aging ex-outlaw to track down and eliminate the bandits who killed his family, till the surprising end.
- DirectorTonino ValeriiStarsTerence HillHenry FondaJean MartinA young, easy-going gunman worships and competes with a famed gunfighter, insisting that he must face down a gang of 150 outlaws before he can retire.
- DirectorPierluigi Di LalloStarsSerena AutieriAdriano GianniniMaurizio MattioliWhile trying to conceive his second child, Giulio finds out he's sterile and suspects that his wife Veronica has been unfaithful, so he sets out on a mission to elucidate her possible betrayal.
- DirectorStefano QuagliaStarsGianluca MigliarottiA precisely placed punch at the tip of the chin puts in place a double traumatic mechanism: cervical trauma and cerebral concussion. In general, this kind of blow causes a sense of loss of temporary knowledge, but the consequences may be different. Even lethal. From the experience of a boxer, the short tells this moment, which in boxing jargon is called Boxing Paradise.https://vimeo.com/68610827
- DirectorEnzo BarboniStarsTerence HillBud SpencerSteffen ZachariasA lazy, unorthodox gunfighter and his portly, horse-thieving brother defend a Mormon settlement from a land-grabbing Major, a Mexican bandit, and their henchmen.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsClint EastwoodLee Van CleefGian Maria VolontèTwo bounty hunters with the same intentions team up to track down a gang of outlaws led by a psychotic Mexican bandit, who is plotting an audacious bank robbery.
- DirectorMario CameriniStarsSilvana ManganoKirk DouglasAnthony QuinnA movie adaptation of Homer's second epic, that depicts Ulysses' efforts to return to his home after the end of ten years of war.
- DirectorMario BavaStarsBarry SullivanNorma BengellÁngel ArandaAfter landing on a mysterious planet, a team of astronauts begin to turn on each other, swayed by the uncertain influence of the planet and its strange inhabitants.
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsBroderick CrawfordRichard BasehartGiulietta MasinaA trio of con-men led by a lonesome swindler must deal with their job and family pressures.
- DirectorAlessandro PivaStarsFrancesco SciannaValentina LodoviniCarmine RecanoThe rise and fall of a Camorra clan in Naples, told through the eyes of a crime boss and his family. Thirty years of a man's life, thirty years in the history of one of the most beautiful and controversial cities on Earth: Naples.
- DirectorGiorgio FerroniStarsGiuliano GemmaIda GalliPierre CressoyAfter the Civil War, ex-Confederate officer returns home where he gets embroiled in local feuds involving an unscrupulous strongman and his hired henchmen.
- DirectorTonino ValeriiStarsLee Van CleefGiuliano GemmaWalter RillaA scruffy garbage boy becomes the pupil of a famed gunfighter, and the stage for confrontation is set when the gunman overruns the boy's town through violence and corruption.
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsMarcello MastroianniAnouk AiméeClaudia CardinaleA harried movie director retreats into his memories and fantasies.Much better than "Dolce vita" and a great infuence on Terry Gilliam, Woody Allen and many others. However, I do think that the film should have half of its length.
- DirectorGiorgio SteganiStarsGiuliano GemmaIda GalliRoberto CamardielA cowboy attempts to clear his name by hunting the rustlers who tricked him into buying stolen cattle, and are also responsible for the rape of a young woman he is helping recuperate.
- DirectorGillo PontecorvoStarsBrahim HadjadjJean MartinYacef SaadiIn the 1950s, fear and violence escalate as the people of Algiers fight for independence from the French government.
- DirectorGiulio QuestiStarsTomas MilianMarilù ToloPiero LulliVarious factions, including a half-breed bandit, a gang of homosexual cowboys, and a priest, feud over stolen gold in a surreal town.
- DirectorGiuseppe ColizziStarsTerence HillBud SpencerEli WallachA recently-escaped bandit forms an unlikely alliance with two bounty hunters and an acrobat to get revenge against the people who framed him.
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsMarcello MastroianniAnita EkbergAnouk AiméeA series of stories following a week in the life of a philandering tabloid journalist living in Rome.It is here because it is very well filmed, with sone great scenes, but, despite that, I did not really like the movie, as it is quite confusing, unfocused, pretensious, weird, and lasts too much. The same point could have been made with a more concise and better told story in a more enjoyable film.
- DirectorNick NostroStarsGiovanni CianfrigliaGérard TichyLoredana NusciakA superhero battles a madman who is plotting to steal uranium in order to take over the world.Well... obviously not good, but not very bad either... a curiousity that worth checking out.
- DirectorMarco BellocchioStarsLou CastelPaola PitagoraMarino MaséA young man takes drastic measures to rid his dysfunctional family of its various afflictions.
- DirectorPaolo TavianiVittorio TavianiStarsOmero AntonuttiSaverio MarconiMarcella MichelangeliThe son of a shepherd embarks in the quest of emancipating himself from a tough lifestyle that his condition and his father force on him.
- DirectorPaolo TavianiVittorio TavianiStarsVincent SpanoJoaquim de AlmeidaGreta ScacchiAfter the bankruptcy of their father's stonemasonry firm, Nicola and Andrea emigrate to America to restore their fortunes. After many adventures and near-disasters, they end up in Hollywood designing sets for D.W. Griffith and marry beautiful actresses, but tragedy strikes with the arrival of World War I, which finds the brothers fighting on opposite sides...
- DirectorPaolo SorrentinoStarsToni ServilloAnna BonaiutoGiulio BosettiThe story of Italian politician Giulio Andreotti, who has served as Prime Minister of Italy seven times since the restoration of democracy in 1946.
- DirectorMarco BellocchioStarsRoberto HerlitzkaPier Giorgio BellocchioLidiya LibermanBalancing between the past and the present, the darkness and the light, within the musky stone walls of Santa Chiara's 17th-century convent prison in Bobbio, a sinful Sister and a cultivated night owl Count are somehow linked together.
- DirectorMichelangelo AntonioniStarsEleonora Rossi DragoGabriele FerzettiFranco FabriziA young woman returns to her hometown of Turin to set up a new fashion salon and gets involved with a troubled woman and her three wealthy friends.
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsOleg YankovskiyErland JosephsonDomiziana GiordanoA Russian poet and his interpreter travel to Italy researching the life of an 18th-century composer, and instead meet a ruminative madman who tells the poet how the world may be saved.
- DirectorMarco BellocchioStarsValerio MastandreaBérénice BejoGuido CaprinoMassimo's idyllic childhood is shattered by the death of his mother. Years later, he is forced to relive his traumatic past and compassionate doctor Elisa could help him open up and confront his childhood wounds.
- DirectorSusanna NicchiarelliStarsTrine DyrholmJohn Gordon SinclairAnamaria MarincaThe last year of singer Nico's life, as she tours and grapples with addiction and personal demons.
- DirectorNanni MorettiStarsMargherita BuyJohn TurturroGiulia LazzariniMargherita, a director in the middle of an existential crisis, has to deal with the inevitable and still unacceptable loss of her mother.
- DirectorEnzo G. CastellariStarsBo SvensonPeter HootenFred WilliamsonIn 1944 France, a group of escaped American military prisoners en route to Switzerland volunteers to steal a German V2 rocket warhead for the Allies.
- DirectorPietro FrancisciMario BavaStarsSteve ReevesSylva KoscinaGabriele AntoniniWhile negotiating peace between two brothers contesting the throne of Thebes, an amnesiac Hercules is seduced by the evil Queen Omphale.
- DirectorBernardo BertolucciStarsPierre ClémentiTina AumontSergio TofanoBernardo Bertolucci, along with co-scenarist Gianni Amico, used Dostoievski's 1846, pre-imprisonment novella The Double: A Petersburg Poem, which they moved to Italy and updated to the pro-Vietcong student-protest present.
- DirectorGiuliano MontaldoStarsGian Maria VolontèRiccardo CucciollaCyril CusackIn 1920s Boston, Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are scrutinized for their anarchist beliefs while on trial for robbery and murder.
- DirectorClaudio NoceStarsEmir KusturicaKseniya RappoportDomenico DieleIn the harsh snowy landscape of the Italian Alps, a young technician arrives to repair an electric power plant of a village plagued by blackouts. There, he encounters a strange disappearance.
- DirectorAndrea ManniStarsDaniele LiottiRoberto CitranFrancesca De SapioThe story of an innocent man accused of a murder. At one moment his stable life turned into a never-ending nightmare. Sufferings,physical and mental pain, humiliation, ruining of all his hopes and dreams, the loss of his true love, his parents, his country.
- DirectorMarcello AndreiStarsCarlos MonzónMalisa LongoSusana GiménezEl Macho is forced to impersonate a dead outlaw killed while stealing a gold shipment. With the help of Kelly he's able to locate Hidalgo and his outlaw gang.
- DirectorMichelangelo AntonioniStarsMonica VittiAlain DelonFrancisco RabalA young woman meets a vital young man, but their love affair is doomed because of the man's materialistic nature.
- DirectorMichelangelo AntonioniStarsJack NicholsonMaria SchneiderJenny RunacreUnable to find the war he's been asked to cover, a frustrated war correspondent takes the risky path of co-opting the identity of a dead arms-deal acquaintance.
- DirectorMario MonicelliStarsMonica VittiStanley BakerCorin RedgraveA Sicilian woman "dishonored" by her lover goes to England with a pistol intending to murder him.
- DirectorMarco BellocchioStarsPierfrancesco FavinoMaria Fernanda CândidoFabrizio FerracaneThe real life of Tommaso Buscetta, the so-called "boss of the two worlds," the first mafia informant in Sicily in the 1980s.
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsJessica HarperStefania CasiniFlavio BucciAn American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.
- DirectorMarta SavinaStarsClaudia GusmanoFabrizio FerracaneFrancesco ColellaA young woman in rural Italy of the 1960's is violently forced into marriage and fights for justice.
- DirectorPaola CortellesiStarsPaola CortellesiValerio MastandreaRomana Maggiora VerganoSet in postwar 1940s Italy, it follows Delia breaking traditional family patterns and aspiring to a different future, after receiving a mysterious letter.
- DirectorStefano SollimaStarsPierfrancesco FavinoElio GermanoClaudio AmendolaA gangster known as "Samurai" wants to turn the waterfront of Rome into a new Las Vegas. All the local mob bosses have agreed to work for this common goal. But peace is not to last long.
- DirectorSandro CiottiStarsJohan CruijffSandro CiottiRuud Krol