Film critic Mr.Lalit Rao (FIPRESCI) recommends 25 important films to teach Italian language.
by FilmCriticLalitRao | created - 18 Jul 2015 | updated - 06 Aug 2015 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Monsters (1963)
Not Rated | 87 min | Comedy
The myths of the sixties are satirized in 20 episodes.
Director: Dino Risi | Stars: Ugo Tognazzi, Vittorio Gassman, Lando Buzzanca, Marino Masé
Votes: 2,779
2. We All Loved Each Other So Much (1974)
124 min | Comedy, Drama
Three partisans bound by a strong friendship return home after the war, but the clash with everyday reality puts a strain on their bond.
Director: Ettore Scola | Stars: Nino Manfredi, Vittorio Gassman, Stefania Sandrelli, Stefano Satta Flores
Votes: 7,294
3. Cinema Paradiso (1988)
R | 174 min | Drama, Romance
A 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.
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Enzo Cannavale, Antonella Attili, Isa Danieli
Votes: 283,061 | Gross: $11.99M
4. Umberto D. (1952)
Not Rated | 89 min | Drama
An elderly man and his dog struggle to survive on his government pension in Rome.
Director: Vittorio De Sica | Stars: Carlo Battisti, Maria Pia Casilio, Lina Gennari, Ileana Simova
Votes: 28,211 | Gross: $0.07M
5. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
PG-13 | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When 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.
Director: Roberto Benigni | Stars: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini, Giustino Durano
Votes: 743,500 | Gross: $57.60M
6. Riviera (1954)
102 min | Comedy, Drama
Annamaria, an ex-prostitute, takes her young daughter from convent school with her on a summer vacation. She introduces herself like a widow just to be accepted by people in the Italy of ... See full summary »
Director: Alberto Lattuada | Stars: Martine Carol, Raf Vallone, Mario Carotenuto, Carlo Romano
Votes: 289
7. The Grim Reaper (1962)
Not Rated | 88 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
When a woman is killed in a park, the police bring in everyone suspected of being there when the incident occurred and question them. One of them is the killer.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: Francesco Ruiu, Giancarlo De Rosa, Vincenzo Ciccora, Alfredo Leggi
Votes: 2,606
8. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
GP | 96 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
An American expatriate in Rome attempts to unmask a serial killer he witnessed in the act of an attempted murder - and is now hunting him and his girlfriend.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi
Votes: 24,105 | Gross: $0.42M
9. Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970)
R | 115 min | Crime, Drama
A chief of detectives, homicide section, kills his mistress and deliberately leaves clues to prove his own responsibility for the crime.
Director: Elio Petri | Stars: Gian Maria Volontè, Florinda Bolkan, Gianni Santuccio, Orazio Orlando
Votes: 13,344 | Gross: $0.27M
10. The Fiances (1963)
Not Rated | 77 min | Drama
Despite his fiancee's reluctance, a young man moves to Sicily for a better job, but soon starts questioning his decision.
Director: Ermanno Olmi | Stars: Anna Canzi, Carlo Cabrini
Votes: 2,303
11. The Bullocks (1953)
Not Rated | 104 min | Comedy, Drama
A character study of five young men at crucial turning points in their lives in a small town in Italy.
Director: Federico Fellini | Stars: Alberto Sordi, Franco Fabrizi, Franco Interlenghi, Leopoldo Trieste
Votes: 19,915 | Gross: $0.10M
12. Towards Evening (1990)
Not Rated | 99 min | Drama
Professor Ludovico Bruschi is an elderly Communist whose desire is that of living in an orderly and socially just State. But disorder is just about to break into his life, first of all in ... See full summary »
Director: Francesca Archibugi | Stars: Marcello Mastroianni, Sandrine Bonnaire, Zoe Incrocci, Giorgio Tirabassi
Votes: 269
13. Annabelle partagée (1991)
84 min | Drama, Romance
A girl unhappy in a relationship with a much older man decides to try having an affair with a male friend of her best girlfriend.
Director: Francesca Comencini | Stars: Delphine Zingg, François Marthouret, Jean-Claude Adelin, Florence Thomassin
Votes: 25
14. Illustrious Corpses (1976)
PG | 120 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
An investigation of the judges' assassinations reveals a political background.
Director: Francesco Rosi | Stars: Lino Ventura, Tino Carraro, Marcel Bozzuffi, Paolo Bonacelli
Votes: 2,798
15. Lamerica (1994)
116 min | Comedy, Drama
Immediately after the fall of communism in Albania, two Italians go there to embezzle investment money by creating a fake company. As the chairman/fall guy, they pick a former political prisoner who turns out to be more than meets the eye.
Director: Gianni Amelio | Stars: Enrico Lo Verso, Michele Placido, Piro Milkani, Carmelo Di Mazzarelli
Votes: 2,378 | Gross: $0.44M
16. Misunderstood (1966)
104 min | Drama
A study of bitter relationships between a widower and his two sons.
Director: Luigi Comencini | Stars: Anthony Quayle, Stefano Colagrande, Simone Giannozzi, John Sharp
Votes: 1,278
17. Dillinger Is Dead (1969)
Not Rated | 95 min | Crime, Drama
A man decides to cook for himself, but finds the revolver of John Dillinger hidden in his kitchen instead.
Director: Marco Ferreri | Stars: Michel Piccoli, Anita Pallenberg, Gino Lavagetto, Mario Jannilli
Votes: 2,788
18. The Best of Youth (2003)
R | 374 min | Drama, Romance
An Italian epic that follows the lives of two brothers from the 1960s to the 2000s.
Director: Marco Tullio Giordana | Stars: Luigi Lo Cascio, Alessio Boni, Jasmine Trinca, Adriana Asti
Votes: 23,214 | Gross: $0.27M
19. L'amore molesto (1995)
104 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
When an elderly woman dies--apparently happy but in curious circumstances--her daughter travels home to Naples for the funeral. Staying on, she tries to piece together her mother's recent ... See full summary »
Director: Mario Martone | Stars: Anna Bonaiuto, Angela Luce, Piero Tassitano, Giovanni Viglietti
Votes: 659
20. Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)
Not Rated | 106 min | Comedy, Crime
A motley quintet of inept small-time thieves attempt the burglary of a local pawnshop in this Italian farce.
Director: Mario Monicelli | Stars: Vittorio Gassman, Marcello Mastroianni, Renato Salvatori, Totò
Votes: 11,521
21. Gomorrah (2008)
Not Rated | 137 min | Crime, Drama
Scampia Vele is the Corbusian architecture which has become a stronghold for Mafia of Naples, Italy.
Director: Matteo Garrone | Stars: Gianfelice Imparato, Salvatore Abbruzzese, Toni Servillo, Simone Sacchettino
Votes: 51,218 | Gross: $1.58M
22. La scorta (1993)
Not Rated | 96 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A dedicated, tightly-knit group of bodyguards take on additional duties while safeguarding an honest judge designated to investigate official corruption in Sicily.
Director: Ricky Tognazzi | Stars: Carlo Cecchi, Enrico Lo Verso, Claudio Amendola, Ricky Memphis
Votes: 952 | Gross: $0.15M
23. Teorema (1968)
Not Rated | 98 min | Drama, Mystery
A mysterious young man seduces each member of a bourgeois family. When he suddenly leaves, how will their lives change?
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini | Stars: Silvana Mangano, Terence Stamp, Massimo Girotti, Anne Wiazemsky
Votes: 15,279
24. The White Angel (1955)
100 min | Drama
Widowed and having lost his two children, Guido yearns for the nun Luisa, the woman with whom he had a relationship in "Nobody's Children", the first part of this duology. Then he meets Lina, a chorus dancer who looks just like Luisa.
Director: Raffaello Matarazzo | Stars: Amedeo Nazzari, Yvonne Sanson, Enrica Dyrell, Alberto Farnese
Votes: 260
25. Family Diary (1962)
Not Rated | 113 min | Drama
A man recollects the life of his late younger brother.
Director: Valerio Zurlini | Stars: Marcello Mastroianni, Jacques Perrin, Sylvie, Salvo Randone
Votes: 1,187
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