Italian Neo-Realism (20/11/10)

The University of Warwick Open Studies Certificate: ‘Introduction to Film and Cinema Studies’; Term 1 “1895-1950: The Birth and Development of Narrative Film"; Week 8 (20/11/10)

A father and son relationship: 'Antonio', 'Bruno' and the Fido Bicycle in The Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, Italy, 1948).

This week’s session consisted of a combined lecture and screening of The Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, Italy, 1948). As this was my introduction to the Neo-Realist movement, it was refreshing to discuss both its conventions and context. Broadly, the movement can be seen as an alternative to the classical Hollywood mode of storytelling which helped the discussion the social and political context of the movement.

We initially examined the social importance of the concept ‘Realism’. This was in relation to both the realistic and the “reality” of everyday life. We considered the Classic Realist Novel of 19^th Century Literature in relation to the presentation of social issues and the criticism of perspective. The issue of perspective presents a different argument when applied to moving-image media and the representation of reality due to society’s conventional concept that photography is objective; the audio-visual nature aiding the illusion of “truth” and the social commentary. We considered this “New” kind of realism between 1943 and 1947.  

Accordingly, we discussed Neo-Realist filmmakers (Federico Fellini, Roberto Rossellini, De Scia and Luchino Visconti), the importance of Cesare Zavattini in the establishment of the movement and, in relation to the aesthetics of Neo-Realism and the language of cinema, the theoretical work of the French film critic André Bazin. Although it may be seen as the antipathy of the Neo-Realist movement, we were able to compare, both thematically and aesthetic, the movement to Film Noir. There was also discussion of the genesis and the conventions of Neo-Realism.

The session itself was too brief to consider the full extent of the political context of the movement and although we were able to touch on the movement’s aesthetic and technical innovation, we were not able to regard the philosophical nature of Neo-Realism. In the second term we will have the opportunity to refer back to Neo-Realism in our study of new wave cinema, especially in week 3 – which may be moved to week 4 – as we look at Italian cinema through La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini, Italy, 1960) and my private study of Michelangelo Antonioni’s work.

Although the module was not made available, I am aware that the Neo-Realism as both National and an International could be studied during A2 Film Studies (WJEC). I was also hoping that I would be able to explore the movement during my time at University. As this is not yet the case, I will have to look into this movement in greater depth through private research.

Some areas I would like to further explore are: cinematography, verisimilitude and objectivity in Neo-Realism; Neo-Realism as a National Cinema; Italian National Cinema before Neo-realism; and in a broader context, Fascism, the implications of spectacle and film aesthetics.  

Further Research to be conducted in relation to Italian Neo-Realism:

• A.Bazin. 1997. Bazin at work: essays and reviews from the Forties and Fifties.
• R.Armes. 1971. Patterns of Realism.
• B.Cardullo. 2002. Vittorio De Sica: director, actor, screenwriter.
• H.Curle, & S.Snyder, (eds.). 2000.  Vittorio De Sica: Contemporary Perspectives.
• J.Dunnage. 2002. Twentieth Century Italy: A Social History.
• D.Forgacs, & S.Gundle. 2008. Mass Culture and Italian Society from Fascism to the Cold War.
• D.Forgacs. 1990.  Italian Culture in the Industrial Era 1880 -1980.
• P.Ginsborg. 2003. A History of Contemporary Italy, 1943-2001.
• S. Gundle. 1992. ‘From Neo-Realism to Luci Rosse: Cinema, Politics and Society, 1945-85’ in Z.Baranski and R.Lumley (eds.), Culture and Conflict in Postwar Italy, pp.195-224; extract from D.Forgacs and S.Gundle. 2008. Mass Culture and Italian Society from Fascism to the Cold War, pp.124-45
• S.Gundle, `Visions of Prosperity: Consumerism and Popular Culture in Italy from the 1920s to the 1950s' in C.Levy and M.Roseman, (eds.). 2002. Three Postwar Eras in Comparison: Western Europe 1918 – 1945 – 1989.
• Mira Liehm, “Lacrimae Rerum (1944-1948),” in Passion and Defiance: Film in Italy from 1942 to the Present (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984), pp. 60-89
• D.Overbey, (ed.). 1967.  Springtime in Italy: A Reader on Neo-realism.
• C.Wagstaff. 2007. Italian Neorealist Cinema, 2007

Bibliography

Bazin, André. 1948. ‘An Aesthetic of Reality: Cinematic Realism and the Italian School of the Liberation’. From: What is Cinema? Volume 2. 1972. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, pp. 16-40.

Bazin, André. 1949. ‘Bicycle Thief’. From: What is Cinema? Volume 2. 1972. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, pp. 47-60.

Bazin, André. ‘The Evolution of the Language of Cinema’. From: What is Cinema? Volume 1. 1967. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, pp. 23-40.

Bazin, André. 1951. ‘De Sica, Metteur en Scène’. From: What is Cinema? Volume 2. 1972. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, pp. 61-78.

Bondanella, Peter. 2007. Italian Cinema: from Neo-Realism to the Present. 3^rd ed. London: Continuum International Publishing.

Bordwell, David., Thompson, Kristin. 2006. Film Art: An Introduction. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. pp. 459-461.

Bordwell, David., Thompson, Kristin. 2009. Film History: An Introduction. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. pp. 330-340.

Casey Benyahia, Sarah. Gaffney, Freddie and White, .John., 2009. A2 Film Studies: The Essential Introduction. 2nd ed. Abingdon: Routledge. pp.201-228.

Cook, Pam., ed., 2008. The Cinema Book. London: BFI Publishing. pp. 83-84; pp. 97-98; pp. 233-237.

Corrigan, Timothy., White, Patricia. 2009. The Film Experience. 2^nd ed. London: Palgrave Macmillian, pp. 90-92; pp. 253-357.

Gordon, Robert S.C.2008. Bicycle Thieves. London: BFI Publishing.

Hayward, Susan. 1996. Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 227-229.

Marcus, Millicent. 1992. Italian film in the Light of Neo-Realism. Princeton: Princeton University press, ‘Chapter 2 – De Sica’s Bicycle Thief: Casting Shadows on the Visionary City’ pp. 54-75.

Monticelli, Simona. 1998. ‘Italian Postwar Cinema and Neorealism’. In: J.Hill and P.Church Gibson, (eds.), Oxford Guide to Film Studies.  Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 455-460.

Perkins, V.F. 1972. Film as Film. London: Penguin Books, pp. 31-32; pp. 172-173.

Shiel, Mark. 2005. Italian Neorealism: Rebuilding the Cinematic City. Short Cuts. London: Wallflower Press.

Ruberto , Laura E., Wilson Kristi M. 2007.Italian Neo-Realism and Global Cinema. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.

Sorlin, Pierre. 1991. European Cinemas, European Societies: 1939-1990. Abingdon: Routledge.

Walford, Michael. 2007. Italian Neorealism: An Introduction. [online] April 24th 2007. Available at: http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/michaelwalford/entry/italian_neorealism_an . [Accessed 19 November 2010]


Walford, Michael. 2007. Italian Neorealism: Rebuilding the Cinematic City. [online] September 6th 2007. Available at: http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/michaelwalford/entry/italian_neorealism_rebuilding .[Accessed 19 November 2010]

Wallis, Tom., Pramaggiore, Maria. 2007. Film: A Critical Introduction. London:Laurence King. pp. 325-327.

Zavattini, Cesare. 1953. ‘Some Ideas on the Cinema’. In: R. Dyer MacCann ed. Film: A Montage of Theories. 1966. New York: Dutton,  pp. 216-228.

Filmography                  

The Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, Produzioni De Sica, Italy, 1948)


Image Source:

‘’A father and son relationship: 'Antonio', 'Bruno' and the Fido Bicycle in The Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, Italy, 1948)” [online] Available at: http://gracchii.blogspot.com/2007/04/double-indemnity.html> [Accessed 20 November 2010].