Italy

  • Luigi Zampa – Campane a martello AKA Alarm Bells (1949)

    1941-1950ClassicsDramaItalyLuigi Zampa

    Agostina is a maid turned prostitute during World War II. She sends all the money she makes to the local priest in her home village for safekeeping. After the war is over, Agostina and her friend plan to open a clothing store so they return to her home island to collect the money from the priest. But after arriving there, Agostina learns in shock that the priest has been dead for more than a year and that his eccentric successor mistook the received money for donations and spent all of it on building a new orphanage for war orphans. To make matters worse, other islanders think that Agostina is now a millionaire and beg her to help them financially.Read More »

  • Ermanno Olmi – Il segreto del bosco vecchio AKA The Secret of the Old Woods (1993)

    1991-2000Ermanno OlmiFantasyItalyPhilosophyPhilosophy on Screen

    This Ecological Fairy Tale, with live actors and talking animals tells the story of a colonel (Paolo Villaggio) who is entrusted with a large estate of woodlands until his schoolboy nephew comes of age. Disregarding local tradition and the practice of his esteemed deceased brother, the military man decides to selectively cut the old growth timber. He is confronted with the protestations of the tree spirits (Giulio Brogi) and the local townsfolk, to no avail. Over their objection he releases the unpredictable wind from the cave to which it has been confined, and even wishes for the early demise of his nephew so he can own the woods outright. But he comes to value human contact more, starts to come to terms with most of the spirits, and reverses some plots to get rid of his nephew. A bit like a live action Hayan Miyazaki tale such as Princess Mononoke, but not so violent.Read More »

  • Renato Castellani – Questi fantasmi AKA Ghosts – Italian Style (1967)

    1961-1970ComedyItalyRenato CastellaniRomance

    Plot:
    Questi fantasmi is based on what was a very popular play by Eduardo De Filippo. In fact, so popular that it was filmed three times during the ’50s and ’60s. The version uploaded here was the latter of these three adaptations, directed by Renato Castellani, and starring Vittorio Gassman and Sophia Loren in the principal parts of the married couple, who moves into a house that may or may not be haunted. Its “classic” pedigree notwithstanding, the film feels very much like a ’60s production, and it is not Castellani’s best work, even if the charming performances by Gassman and (especially) Loren manage to keep things interesting. Possibly best of all is the opening sequence depicting the moment the two fall in love on a rooftop. over a cup of coffee, so to speak.Read More »

  • Dino Risi – Pane, amore e… aka Scandal in Sorrento (1955)

    1951-1960ComedyDino RisiItalyRomance

    In this Italian romantic comedy set in the town of Sorrento, on the beautiful Bay of Naples, a woman rents a home from a dashing womanizer. Unfortunately, after 30 years away, the man returns to become the town police chief and wants to reclaim his home. The woman refuses to leave. The man then attempts to use his many charms. The ploy works and the woman agrees to dump her fiancé and marry him instead. When the womanizer realizes what she is about to do, he jilts her instead and decides to woo his own landlady instead. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie GuideRead More »

  • Giorgia Cecere – In un posto bellissimo (2015)

    2011-2020DramaGiorgia CecereItaly

    A beauteous depiction of a woman’s life and gradual liberation. Lucia has long been married to Andrea and is fully occupied by raising their son and her work in a flower shop. But everything is turned on its head when she discovers that Andrea has betrayed her. Lucia is forced to ransack her conscience and everything that her existence has been. Slowly she builds up her life again, and then she meets Ahmed, a newly arrived refugee selling odds and ends on the street.Read More »

  • Luigi Comencini – Proibito rubare AKA Guaglio (1948)

    1941-1950ClassicsDramaItalyLuigi Comencini

    Synopsis:
    On his way to Africa, Don Pietro, a young missionary priest has his suitcase stolen in the station of Naples. While making every effort to retrieve his baggage he finds out how devastated and miserable the city of Naples is. Learning that he has been the victim of gang of local street urchins, he decides that is mission is here in Naples, not under distant skies. He creates a home for poor kids, assisted by Maddalena, the cook, with a view to putting the “scugnizzi” back on the right track. He is very successful with Peppinello, who shows gratitude for what the priest is doing and feels good in his new secure home. But other kids do not play by the rules and find the home a convenient place for hiding the product of their thefts…Read More »

  • Lucio Fulci – Quella villa accanto al cimitero AKA The House by the Cemetery (1981) (HD)

    1981-1990HorrorItalyLucio Fulci

    A deranged killer lives in the basement of an old mansion and pops out occasionally to commit grisly murders that include be-headings, ripped throats, and stabbings with a fireplace poker. The killer needs fresh body parts to rejuvenate his cells. He also has maggots for blood.Read More »

  • Luchino Visconti – Ossessione AKA Obsession [+Extras] (1943)

    1941-1950CrimeDramaItalian Neo-RealismItalyLuchino Visconti

    Gino, a young and handsome tramp, stops in a small roadside inn run by Giovanna. She is unsatisfied with her older husband Bragana : she only married him for money. Gino and Giovanna fall in love. But Bragana is inhibiting for their passion, and Giovanna refuses to run away with Gino.Read More »

  • Lucio Fulci – …E tu vivrai nel terrore! L’aldilà AKA The Beyond (1981)

    1981-1990HorrorItalyLucio FulciThriller

    IMDb wrote:
    A young woman inherits an old hotel in Louisiana where, following a series of supernatural “accidents”, she learns that the building was built over one of the entrances to Hell.

    Jim Harper, Electric Sheep Magazine wrote:
    Among fans of graphic, visceral horror, there are few names as highly regarded as that of Lucio Fulci. Thirteen years after his death, Fulci is still considered one of Europe’s most important purveyors of cinematic terror and his greatest films are regular fixtures in fans’ and critics’ best-of lists. In a career that spanned nearly half a century, Fulci directed more than 50 feature films as well as a number of documentaries and had countless credits as screenwriter, producer, assistant director and special effects technician. Read More »

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