Editing Cinema of Italy (section)

====Fascist propaganda (1930s–1940s)====
{{see also|Propaganda in Fascist Italy}}
[[File:Vecchia guardia 1934.png|thumb|''[[The Old Guard (1934 film)|The Old Guard]]'' by [[Alessandro Blasetti]] (1934)]]
In the [[Propaganda in Fascist Italy|fascist propaganda cinema]], at the beginning, the representations of the squads and the first fascist actions were rare. ''[[The Old Guard (1934 film)|The Old Guard]]'' (1934), by [[Alessandro Blasetti]] evokes the supposed vitalistic spontaneity of squads with populist tones, but is not appreciated by official critics.<ref>{{cite book|first=Gian Piero|last=Brunetta|title=Cent'anni di cinema italiano|year=1991|publisher=Laterza|page=194|language=it|isbn=978-8842046899}}</ref> ''[[Black Shirt (film)|Black Shirt]]'' (1933), by [[Giovacchino Forzano]], made for the 10th anniversary of the [[March on Rome]], celebrated the regime's policies (the reclamation of the Pontine marshes and the construction of [[Latina, Lazio|Littoria]]) alternating narrative sequences with documentary passages.

With political consolidation, the government authority required the film industry to strengthen the regime's identification with the country's history and culture. Hence the intention to reread Italian history in an authoritarian perspective, teleologically reducing every past event to a harbinger of the "fascist revolution", in continuity with the historiographical work of [[Gioacchino Volpe]]. After the first attempts in this direction, aimed above all at underlining the alleged link between the [[Risorgimento]] and [[Italian fascism|Fascism]] (''[[Villafranca (film)|Villafranca]]'' by Forzano, 1933; ''[[1860 (film)|1860]]'' by Blasetti, 1933), the trend reached its peak just before the war. ''[[Cavalry (1936 Italian film)|Cavalry]]'' (1936), by [[Goffredo Alessandrini]], evokes the nobility of the Savoy fighters by presenting their deeds as anticipations of squads. ''[[Condottieri (film)|Condottieri]]'' (1937) by [[Luis Trenker]], tells the story of [[Giovanni delle Bande Nere]], explicitly establishing a parallel with [[Benito Mussolini]], while ''[[Scipio Africanus: The Defeat of Hannibal]]'' (1937) by [[Carmine Gallone]] (one of the greatest financial efforts of the time), it celebrates the [[Roman Empire]] and indirectly the [[Italian Empire|Fascist Empire]].<ref name=Brunetta352>{{cite book|first=Gian Piero |last=Brunetta|publisher=Einaudi|year=2002|volume=III|pages=352–355|title=Storia del cinema mondiale|isbn=978-88-06-14528-6|language=it}}</ref>

The [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War|invasion of Ethiopia]] gives Italian directors the opportunity to extend the horizons of the settings.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Gian Piero|last1=Brunetta|first2=Jean|last2=Gili|title=L'ora d'Africa del cinema italiano, 1911-1989|publisher=Materiali di Lavoro|year=2000|language=it}}{{No ISBN}}</ref> ''[[The Great Appeal]]'' (1936) by [[Mario Camerini]], exalts imperialism by describing the "new land" as an opportunity for work and redemption, contrasting the heroism of young soldiers with bourgeois fearlessness. The anti-pacifist controversy that accompanies colonial enterprises is also evident in ''[[Lo squadrone bianco]]'' (1936) by [[Augusto Genina]], which combines propaganda rhetoric with notable battle sequences shot in the [[Italian Tripolitania]] desert. Most of the films celebrating the empire are predominantly documentaries, aimed at disguising the war as a struggle of civilization against barbarism. The [[Spanish Civil War]] is described in the documentaries ''Los novios de la muerte'' (1936) by [[Romolo Marcellini]] and ''Arriba España, España una, grande, libre!'' (1939) by [[Giorgio Ferroni]], and is the backdrop for another dozen films, among which the most spectacular is ''[[The Siege of the Alcazar]]'' (1940) by [[Augusto Genina]].<ref name=Brunetta352/>
[[File:Quellimontagna43 cordata.jpg|thumb|''[[Men of the Mountain]]'' by [[Aldo Vergano]] (1943)]]

Films such as ''[[Pietro Micca (film)|Pietro Micca]]'' (1938) by [[Aldo Vergano]], ''[[Ettore Fieramosca (1938 film)|Ettore Fieramosca]]'' (1938), made in the same year by [[Alessandro Blasetti]], and ''Fanfulla da Lodi'' (1940) by [[Giulio Antamoro]] can also be counted as propaganda films (albeit indirect), in which, a pretext for the epic narration of historical events, a clear apology for dedication to the homeland (in some cases even to the point of personal sacrifice) is made in the same vein as colonial films with a contemporary setting.

With [[Military history of Italy during World War II|Italy's participation in World War II]], the fascist regime further strengthens its control over production and requires a more decisive commitment to propaganda. In addition to the now canonical documentaries, short films and newsreels, there is also an increase in feature films in praise of Italian war enterprises. Among the most representative we find ''[[Bengasi (film)|Bengasi]]'' (1942) by Genina, ''Gente dell'aria'' (1943) by [[Esodo Pratelli]], ''[[The Three Pilots]]'' (1942) by [[Mario Mattoli]] (based on a screenplay by [[Vittorio Mussolini]]), ''Il treno crociato'' (1943) by [[Carlo Campogalliani]], ''[[Harlem (film)|Harlem]]'' (1943) by [[Carmine Gallone]] and ''[[Men of the Mountain]]'' (1943) by [[Aldo Vergano]] under the supervision of Blasetti. ''Uomini sul fondo'' (1941) by [[Francesco De Robertis]] is also notable due to its almost documentary approach.<ref>{{cite book|first=Gian Piero |last=Brunetta|publisher=Einaudi|year=2002|volume=III|pages=354|title=Storia del cinema mondiale|isbn=978-88-06-14528-6|language=it}}</ref>

The most successful film of the period is ''[[We the Living (film)|We the Living]]'' (1942) by [[Goffredo Alessandrini]], made as a single film, but then distributed in two parts due to its excessive length. Referable to the genre of anti-communist drama, this sombre melodrama (set in the [[Soviet Union]]) is inspired by [[We the Living|the novel of the same name]] by the writer [[Ayn Rand]] which exalts the most radical philosophical individualism. Precisely because of this generic criticism of authoritarianism, the diptych could be interpreted as a mild accusation against the fascist regime.<ref name=Brunetta355>{{cite book|first=Gian Piero |last=Brunetta|publisher=Einaudi|year=2002|volume=III|page=355|title=Storia del cinema mondiale|isbn=978-88-06-14528-6|language=it}}</ref>

Among the directors who give their contribution to the war propaganda, there is also [[Roberto Rossellini]], author of a trilogy composed of ''[[The White Ship (1941 film)|The White Ship]]'' (1941), ''[[A Pilot Returns]]'' (1942) and ''[[The Man with a Cross]]'' (1943). Anticipating in some ways his works of maturity, the director adopted a modest and immediate style, which does not contrast the effectiveness of the propaganda but neither does it exalt the dominant war rhetoric; it was the same anti-spectacular approach to which he remained faithful throughout his life.<ref name=Brunetta355/>