Italian 466: Italian Society in Cinema

This course will discuss the most creative period of Italian cinema, what is commonly known as Nearealism. We will first focus on the historical background that stimulated the making of movies like Ossessione and Open City. We will then analyse the major cinematic characteristics of Neorealism: from editing to cinematography, from acting to camera movement. Particular emphasis will also be given to the narrative structure of these movies. In the second part of this course we will analyse the influence of Neorealim on directors not usually associated with this label. We will screen some of the early movies by Fellini, Bertolucci and Fellini and discuss their connection to Neorealism.