The ten interviews gathered here take us on a discovery of Italian cinema through the comments expressed by different voices all representative of trends, genres, periods that have illustrated the history of one of the world's most brilliant cinemas. First, Federico Fellini, the inspired magician of La dolce vita and 8 1/2. Then, Mauro Bolognini, no doubt the most gifted Italian filmmaker when it comes to recreating the past. The Love Makers, Metello, Bubu, Fatti di gente per bene, Eredita Ferramonti - all a voyage in themselves through an Italy that has long since disappeared but which we relive in the filmmaker's masterful style. The great maestros of Italian comedy, Luigi Comencini, Mario Monicelli, Dino Risi; these three men were critical witnesses of a country exploding from the pressure of its contradictions; they were also moralists of a people faced with reconstructing the rudiments of life. Ettore Scola speaks of the films which have marked his extraordinary career, from We All Loved Each Other So Much to A Special Day, to Down and Dirty, and Le Bal. Pursuing in this political vein, which comedy never lost sight of either, presented here are the comments of a director who is exemplary for his uncompromising determination: Francesco Rosi. Salvatore Giuliano, Hands Over the City, The Mattei Affair, Lucky Luciano and Christ Stopped at Eboli are some of the examples of a social commitment always ready to make their contribution to reflections on society's condition. Sergio Leone brought a special international renown to Italian cinema with his westerns and gangster films. Once Upon a Time in America is without doubt the European approach to a typically American genre. Discovered inthe early sixties with Before the Revolution, Bernardo Bertolucci was carried to international fame with Last Tango in Paris and 1900; swept up by his own great creative force, as witnessed in The Last Emperor and Little Buddha, he felt the need to return to the roots with Stealing...
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