Editing Cinema of Italy (section)

===1950s===
[[File:Cronaca di un amore2.jpg|thumb|[[Massimo Girotti]] e [[Lucia Bosè]] in ''[[Story of a Love Affair]]'' by [[Michelangelo Antonioni]] (1950)]]
Starting from the mid-1950s, Italian cinema freed itself from neorealism by tackling purely existential topics, films with different styles and points of view, often more introspective than descriptive.<ref name="cinescuola">{{cite web|url=https://www.cinescuola.it/storia/storia-del-cinema-italiano/gli-anni-50/|title=IL CINEMA IN ITALIA NEGLI ANNI '50|access-date=9 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> Thus we are witnessing a new flowering of filmmakers who contribute in a fundamental way to the development of the art.<ref name="cinescuola"/>

[[Michelangelo Antonioni]] is the first to establish himself, becoming a reference author for all contemporary cinema.<ref name="Aldo Tassone" >{{cite book|first=Aldo |last=Tassone|title=I film di Michelangelo Antonioni: un poeta della visione|publisher=Gremese editore|year=2002|language=it}}{{No ISBN}}</ref> This charge of novelty is recognizable from the beginning as the director's first work, ''[[Story of a Love Affair]]'' (1950), marks an indelible break with the world of neorealism and the consequent birth of a modern cinema.<ref name="Aldo Tassone" /> Antonioni investigated the world of the Italian bourgeoisie with a critical eye, left out of the post-war cinematic lens. In doing so, works of psychological research such as ''[[I Vinti]]'' (1952), ''[[The Lady Without Camelias]]'' (1953) and ''[[Le Amiche]]'' (1955), free adaptation of the short story ''Tra donne sole'' by [[Cesare Pavese]], came to light. In 1957, he staged the unusual proletarian drama ''[[Il Grido]]'', with which he obtained critical acclaim.

In 1955, the [[David di Donatello]] was established, with [[David di Donatello for Best Film|its Best Picture category]] being awarded for the first time only in 1970. Named after [[Donatello]]'s ''[[David (Donatello, bronze)|David]]'', a symbolic statue of the [[Italian Renaissance]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://milano.corriere.it/milano/notizie/arte_e_cultura/09_maggio_6/david_donatello_fiera_milano_arturo_carlo_quintavalle-1501327491119.shtml|title=Trionfante e sereno nella sua nudità, David, simbolo del Rinascimento|access-date=21 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> are film awards given out each year by the ''[[Accademia del Cinema Italiano]]'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema).

====Federico Fellini (1950s–1990s)====
{{Main|Federico Fellini}}
[[File:Mastroianni ottomez.jpg|thumb|right|[[Marcello Mastroianni]] in ''[[8½]]'' (1963) by [[Federico Fellini]], considered to be one of the greatest films of all time<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.linkiesta.it/blog/2014/07/il-miglior-film-di-tutti-i-tempi-il-padrino-o-8-e-mezzo/|title=Il miglior film di tutti i tempi: "Il Padrino" o "8 e mezzo"?|access-date=14 January 2022|language=it}}</ref>]]
[[Federico Fellini]] is recognized as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time.<ref name="libreriamo"/> Fellini won the [[Palme d'Or]] for ''[[La Dolce Vita]]'', was nominated for twelve [[Academy Awards]], and won four in the category of [[Best Foreign Language Film]], the most for any director in the history of the academy. He received an honorary award for Lifetime Achievement at the 65th Academy Awards in Los Angeles. His other well-known films include ''[[La Strada]]'' (1954), ''[[Nights of Cabiria]]'' (1957), ''[[Juliet of the Spirits]]'' (1967), ''[[Satyricon]]'' (1969), ''[[Roma (1972 film)|Roma]]'' (1972), ''[[Amarcord]]'' (1973), and ''[[Fellini's Casanova]]'' (1976).

Personal and highly [[idiosyncratic]] visions of society, Fellini's films are a unique combination of memory, dreams, fantasy and desire. The adjectives "Fellinian" and "Felliniesque" are "synonymous with any kind of extravagant, fanciful, even baroque image in the cinema and in art in general".<ref>{{cite book |title=The Films of Federico Fellini |last=Bondanella |first=Peter |date=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-511-06572-9 |location=Cambridge|page=8}}</ref> ''La Dolce Vita'' contributed the term ''[[paparazzi]]'' to the English language, derived from Paparazzo, the photographer friend of journalist Marcello Rubini ([[Marcello Mastroianni]]).<ref>Ennio Flaiano, the film's co-screenwriter and creator of Paparazzo, explained that he took the name from Signor Paparazzo, a character in [[George Gissing]]'s novel ''By the Ionian Sea'' (1901). See {{cite book|first=Peter |last=Bondanella|title=The Cinema of Federico Fellini|publisher=Guaraldi|year=1994|page=136|isbn=978-0691008752}}</ref>

Contemporary filmmakers such as [[Tim Burton]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.timburtoncollective.com/influences.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070616054156/http://www.timburtoncollective.com/influences.html|url-status=dead|title=Tim Burton Collective|archive-date=16 June 2007}}</ref> [[Terry Gilliam]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/03/gilliam.html|title=Gilliam at Senses of Cinema|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209065159/http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/03/gilliam.html|archive-date=9 February 2010|access-date=13 January 2022}}; accessed 17 September 2008.</ref> [[Emir Kusturica]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20041127163516/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1285/is_9_29/ai_55683952 Kusturica Interview at BNET]; accessed 17 September 2008.</ref> and [[David Lynch]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thecityofabsurdity.com/quotecollection/infl.html|title=City of Absurdity Quote Collection|access-date=17 September 2008}}</ref> have cited Fellini's influence on their work.

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====Pink neorealism (1950s–1960s)====
[[File:Pane amore e fantasia.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Pane, amore e fantasia]]'' by [[Luigi Comencini]] (1953)]]

Although ''[[Umberto D.]]'' is considered the end of the neorealist period, subsequent works turned toward lighter, sweetened and mildly optimistic atmospheres, more coherent with the improving conditions of Italy just before the [[Italian economic miracle|economic boom]]; this genre became known as ''pink neorealism''.

The precursor of pink neorealism was Renato Castellani, who helped bring realist comedy into vogue with ''[[Under the Sun of Rome]]'' (1948) and ''[[It's Forever Springtime]]'' (1949), both shot on location and with non-professional actors, and above all with public success and criticism of ''[[Two Cents Worth of Hope]]'' (1952), which laid the foundations for pink neorealism.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.longtake.it/movies/due-soldi-di-speranza|title=Due soldi di speranza|access-date=29 November 2022|language=it}}</ref>
[[File:Poveri ma belli festa-campanile.jpg|thumb|''[[Poveri ma belli]]'' by [[Dino Risi]] (1957)]]

Notable films of pink neorealism, which combine popular comedy and realist motifs, are ''[[Pane, amore e fantasia]]'' (1953) by [[Luigi Comencini]] and ''[[Poveri ma belli]]'' (1957) by [[Dino Risi]], both works are in perfect harmony with the evolution of the Italian costume.<ref>{{cite book|first=Enrico|last=Giacovelli|title=La commedia all'italiana - La storia, i luoghi, gli autori, gli attori, i film|pages=23–24|publisher=Gremese Editore|year=1990|language=it|isbn=978-8876058738}}</ref> The large influx at the box office from the two films remained almost unchanged in the sequels ''[[Bread, Love and Jealousy]]'' (1954), ''[[Scandal in Sorrento]]'' (1955) and ''[[Pretty But Poor]]'' (1957), also directed by Luigi Comencini and Dino Risi.

Similarly, stories of daily life told with gentle irony (without losing sight of the social fabric) can be found in the work of the Milanese [[Luciano Emmer]], whose films ''[[Sunday in August]]'' (1950), ''[[Three Girls from Rome]]'' (1952) and ''[[High School (1954 film)|High School]]'' (1954), are the best-known examples. Another film of the pink neorealism genre was ''[[Susanna Whipped Cream]]'' (1957) by [[Steno (director)|Steno]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/neorealismo_(Enciclopedia-dei-ragazzi)|title=Neorealismo|access-date=29 November 2022|language=it}}</ref>

This trend allowed some actresses to become real celebrities, such as [[Sophia Loren]], [[Gina Lollobrigida]], [[Silvana Pampanini]], [[Lucia Bosé]], [[Barbara Bouchet]], [[Eleonora Rossi Drago]], [[Silvana Mangano]], [[Virna Lisi]], [[Claudia Cardinale]] and [[Stefania Sandrelli]]. Soon pink neorealism was replaced by the [[Commedia all'italiana]], a unique genre that, born on an ideally humouristic line, talked instead very seriously about important social themes.
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====Commedia all'Italiana (1950s–1970s)====
{{Main|Commedia all'Italiana}}
[[File:Mastroianni divorzio italiana.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Divorce Italian Style]]'' by [[Pietro Germi]] (1961)]]

[[Commedia all'italiana]] ("Comedy in the Italian way") is an Italian film genre born in Italy in the 1950s and developed in the following 1960s and 1970s. It is widely considered to have started with [[Mario Monicelli]]'s ''[[Big Deal on Madonna Street]]'' in 1958<ref name="quinlan">{{cite web|url=https://quinlan.it/2020/03/12/i-soliti-ignoti/|title=I soliti ignoti|date=12 March 2020 |access-date=21 November 2022|language=it}}</ref> and derives its name from the title of [[Pietro Germi]]'s ''[[Divorce Italian Style]]'', 1961.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.viv-it.org/immagini/divorzio-all-italiana-1961-di-pietro-germi|title=Divorzio all'italiana (1961) di Pietro Germi|access-date=21 November 2022|language=it}}</ref> According to most of the critics, ''[[La Terrazza]]'' by [[Ettore Scola]] (1980) is the last work considered part of the Commedia all'italiana.<ref name="Brunetta">{{cite book|first=Gian Piero |last=Brunetta|title=Storia del cinema italiano|publisher=Editori Riuniti|volume=IV|chapter=Dal miracolo economico agli anni novanta, 1960-1993|year=1993|page=386|isbn=88-359-3788-4|language=it}}</ref><ref name="italica">{{cite web|url=http://www.italica.rai.it/cinema/schede/commedia4.htm|title=Ultimi bagliori di un crepuscolo (1971-1980)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051126005249/http://www.italica.rai.it/cinema/schede/commedia4.htm |access-date=23 November 2022|archive-date=26 November 2005 |language=it}}</ref><ref name="Giacovelli">{{cite book|first=Enrico|last=Giacovelli|title=La commedia all'italiana - La storia, i luoghi, gli autori, gli attori, i film|pages=11–12|publisher=Gremese Editore|year=1990|language=it|isbn=978-8876058738}}</ref>

Rather than a specific genre, the term indicates a period (approximately from the late 1950s to the early 1970s) in which the Italian film industry was producing many successful comedies, with some common traits like satire of manners, farcical and grotesque overtones, a strong focus on "spicy" social issues of the period (like sexual matters, divorce, contraception, [[marriage of the clergy]], the [[Italian economic miracle|economic rise of the country]] and its various consequences, the [[Catholic Church in Italy|traditional religious influence]] of the [[Catholic Church]]) and a prevailing [[middle-class]] setting, often characterized by a substantial background of sadness and [[social criticism]] that diluted the comic contents.<ref name="treccani1">{{cite web|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/commedia-all-italiana_%28Enciclopedia-del-Cinema%29/|title=Commedia all'italiana|publisher=[[Treccani]]|access-date=21 November 2022|language=it}}</ref>
[[File:Il medico della mutua.png|thumb|''[[Be Sick... It's Free]]'' by [[Luigi Zampa]] (1968)]]

The genre of Commedia all'italiana differs markedly from the light and disengaged comedy from the so-called "pink neorealism" trend, in vogue until all of the 1950s, since, starting from the lesson of [[Italian neorealism|neorealism]], is based on a more frank adherence in writing to reality; therefore, alongside the comic situations and plots typical of traditional comedy, always combines, with irony, a biting and sometimes bitter satire of manners, which reflects the evolution of Italian society in those years.<ref name="treccani1"/>
[[File:Amici miei 18.png|thumb|''[[My Friends (film)|My Friends]]'' by [[Mario Monicelli]] (1975)]]

The success of films belonging to the "Commedia all'italiana" genre is due both to the presence of an entire generation of great actors, who knew how to masterfully embody the vices and virtues, and the attempts at emancipation but also the vulgarities of the Italians of the time, both to the careful work of directors, storytellers and screenwriters, who invented a real genre, with essentially new connotations, managing to find precious material for their cinematographic creations in the folds of a rapid evolution with many contradictions.<ref name="treccani1"/>

Among the actors the main representatives are [[Alberto Sordi]], [[Ugo Tognazzi]], [[Vittorio Gassman]], [[Marcello Mastroianni]] and [[Nino Manfredi]],<ref>{{cite book|first=Gian Piero |last=Brunetta|title=Storia del cinema italiano|publisher=Editori Riuniti|volume=IV|chapter=Dal miracolo economico agli anni novanta, 1960-1993|year=1993|pages=139–141|isbn=88-359-3788-4|language=it}}</ref> while among the actresses is [[Monica Vitti]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Cosulich |first=Callisto |date=4 June 2004 |title=Storia di un mattatore |url= |magazine=Cinecittà News |location= |publisher= }}</ref> Among directors and films, in 1961 [[Dino Risi]] directed ''Una vita difficile'' (''[[A Difficult Life]]''), then ''[[Il Sorpasso]]'' (''The Easy Life''), now a cult-movie, followed by: ''[[I Mostri]]'' (''The Monsters'', also known as ''15 From Rome''), ''In nome del popolo italiano'' (''[[In the Name of the Italian People]]'') and ''[[Profumo di donna]]'' (''Scent of a Woman''). Monicelli's works include ''La grande guerra'' (''[[The Great War (1959 film)|The Great War]]''), ''I compagni'' (''[[The Organizer]]''), ''[[L'armata Brancaleone]]'', ''Vogliamo i colonnelli'' (''[[We Want the Colonels]]''), ''Romanzo popolare'' (''[[Come Home and Meet My Wife]]'') and the ''Amici miei'' (''[[My Friends (film)|My Friends]]'') series.

For the majority of critics the true and proper "Commedia all'italiana" is to be considered definitively waned since the beginning of the 1980s, giving way, at most, to an "Commedia italiana" ("Italian comedy").<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ilsorpassocinema.com/2021/03/21/le-migliori-50-commedie-italiane-degli-anni-80/|title=Le migliori 50 commedie italiane degli anni 80|access-date=25 November 2022|language=it}}</ref>

====Totò (1950s–1960s)====
{{Main|Totò}}
[[File:Totò e i re di Roma.JPG|thumb|[[Totò]] in ''[[Toto and the King of Rome]]'' by [[Mario Monicelli]] and [[Steno (director)|Steno]] (1952)]]

At this time, on the more commercial side of production, the phenomenon of [[Totò]], a Neapolitan actor who is acclaimed as the major Italian comic, exploded. His films (often with [[Aldo Fabrizi]], [[Peppino De Filippo]] and almost always with [[Mario Castellani]]) expressed a sort of neorealistic satire, in the means of a ''guitto'' (a "hammy" actor) as well as with the art of the great dramatic actor he also was.<ref name="ilsaltodellaquaglia">{{cite web|url=https://www.ilsaltodellaquaglia.com/2021/05/05/capriccio-allitaliana-lultimo-film-interpretato-da-toto/|title="Capriccio all'italiana", l'ultimo film interpretato da Totò|date=5 May 2021 |access-date=20 December 2022|language=it}}</ref> Totò is one of the symbols of the [[cinema of Naples]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.luinonotizie.it/anniversario/2022/02/15/15-febbraio-1898-nasceva-toto-simbolo-della-comicita-napoletana/163808|title=Il 15 febbraio 1898 nasceva Totò, simbolo della comicità napoletana|access-date=8 December 2022|language=it}}</ref>

A "film-machine" who produced dozens of titles per year, his repertoire was frequently repeated. His personal story (a prince born in the poorest ''rione'' (section of the city) of [[Naples]]), his unique twisted face, his special mimic expressions and his gestures created an inimitable personage and made him one of the most beloved Italians of the 1960s.

Some of his best-known films are ''[[Fear and Sand]]'' by [[Mario Mattoli]], ''[[Toto Tours Italy]]'' by Mario Mattoli, ''[[Toto the Sheik]]'' by Mario Mattoli, ''[[Cops and Robbers (1951 film)|Cops and Robbers]]'' by [[Mario Monicelli]], ''[[Toto and the Women]]'' by Mario Monicelli, ''[[Totò Tarzan]]'' by Mario Mattoli, ''[[Toto the Third Man]]'' by Mario Mattoli, ''[[Toto and the King of Rome]]'' by Mario Monicelli and [[Steno (director)|Steno]], ''[[Toto in Color]]'' by Steno (one of the first Italian colour movies, 1952, in [[Ferrania]] colour), ''[[Big Deal on Madonna Street]]'' by Mario Monicelli, ''[[Toto, Peppino, and the Hussy]]'' by [[Camillo Mastrocinque]] and ''[[The Law Is the Law]]'' by [[Christian-Jaque]]. [[Pier Paolo Pasolini]]'s ''[[The Hawks and the Sparrows]]'' and the episode "Che cosa sono le nuvole" from ''[[Caprice Italian Style]]'' (the latter released after his death), showed his dramatic skills.<ref name="ilsaltodellaquaglia"/>
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====Don Camillo and Peppone (1950s–1980s)====
{{Main|Don Camillo and Peppone}}
[[File:Don Camillo Peppone il ritorno.jpg|thumb|[[Gino Cervi]] and [[Fernandel]] in ''[[Don Camillo: Monsignor]]'' by [[Carmine Gallone]] (1961)]]
A series of black-and-white films based on [[Don Camillo and Peppone]] characters created by the Italian writer and journalist [[Giovannino Guareschi]] were made between 1952 and 1965. These were French-Italian coproductions, and starred [[Fernandel]] as the Italian priest Don Camillo and [[Gino Cervi]] as Giuseppe 'Peppone' Bottazzi, the Communist Mayor of their rural town. The titles are: ''[[The Little World of Don Camillo]]'' (1952), ''[[The Return of Don Camillo]]'' (1953), ''[[Don Camillo's Last Round]]'' (1955), ''[[Don Camillo: Monsignor]]'' (1961), and ''[[Don Camillo in Moscow]]'' (1965).

The movies were a huge commercial success in their native countries. In 1952, ''Little World of Don Camillo'' became the highest-grossing film in both Italy and France,<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=9 September 1953|page=7|title=Europe Choosey on Films, Sez Reiner; Sluffs Flops|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety191-1953-09#page/n70/mode/1up|access-date=29 September 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> while ''The Return of Don Camillo'' was the second most popular film of 1953 at the Italian and French box office.<ref>{{cite web|website=Box Office Story|title=1953 at the box office|url=https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.boxofficestory.com/france-1948-c22733213&prev=search}}</ref>

[[Mario Camerini]] began filming the film ''Don Camillo e i giovani d'oggi'', but had to stop filming due to Fernandel's falling ill, which resulted in his untimely death. The film was then realized in 1972 with [[Gastone Moschin]] playing the role of Don Camillo and [[Lionel Stander]] as Peppone.

A new Don Camillo film, titled ''[[The World of Don Camillo]]'', was also remade in 1983, an Italian production with [[Terence Hill]] directing and also starring as Don Camillo. [[Colin Blakely]] performed Peppone in one of his last film roles.

====Hollywood on the Tiber (1950s–1960s)====
{{Main|Hollywood on the Tiber}}
[[File:Cuadrigas de Ben Hur (1959).jpg|thumb|300px|American film ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'' by [[William Wyler]] (1959) was shot at the Cinecittà studios and on location around Rome during the "[[Hollywood on the Tiber]]" era.]]
[[Hollywood on the Tiber]] is a phrase used to describe the period in the 1950s and 1960s when the Italian capital of [[Rome]] emerged as a major location for international [[filmmaking]] attracting many foreign productions to the [[Cinecittà]] studios, the largest film studio in [[Europe]].<ref name="ciakmagazine"/> By contrast to the native Italian film industry, these movies were made in [[English language|English]] for global release. Although the primary markets for such films were American and British audiences, they enjoyed widespread popularity in other countries, including Italy.

In the late 1940s, [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] studios began to shift production abroad to Europe. Italy was, along with Britain, one of the major destinations for American film companies. Large-budget films shot at Cinecittà during the "Hollywood on the Tiber" era such as ''[[Quo Vadis (1951 film)|Quo Vadis]]'' (1951), ''[[Roman Holiday]]'' (1953), ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'' (1959), and ''[[Cleopatra (1963 film)|Cleopatra]]'' (1963) were made in English with international casts and sometimes, but not always, Italian settings or themes.

The heyday of what was dubbed '"Hollywood on the Tiber" was between 1950 and 1970, during which time many of the most famous names in world cinema made films in Italy. The phrase "Hollywood on Tiber", a reference to the [[Tiber|river that runs through Rome]], was coined in 1950 by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine during the making of ''Quo Vadis''.<ref>{{cite book|first=Richard |last=Wrigley|title=Cinematic Rome|publisher=Troubador Publishing|year=2008|page=52|isbn=978-1906510282}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="165px">
File:Quo Vadis (1951) trailer 8.jpg|''[[Quo Vadis (1951 film)|Quo Vadis]]'' by [[Mervyn LeRoy]] (1951)
File:Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck on Vespa in Roman Holiday trailer.jpg|[[Gregory Peck]] and [[Audrey Hepburn]] in ''[[Roman Holiday]]'' by [[William Wyler]] (1953)
File:Taylor and Burton Cleopatra.jpg|[[Richard Burton]] and [[Elizabeth Taylor]] in ''[[Cleopatra (1963 film)|Cleopatra]]'' by [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]] (1963)
</gallery>
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====Sword-and-sandal (a.k.a. Peplum) (1950s–1960s)====
{{Main|Sword-and-sandal}}
[[File:Le fatiche di Ercole - Reeves.png|thumb|300px|''[[Hercules (1958 film)|Hercules]]'' by [[Pietro Francisci]] (1958)]]

[[Sword-and-sandal]], also known as ''peplum'' (''pepla'' plural), is a [[subgenre]] of largely [[Italy|Italian]]-made historical, mythological, or Biblical epics mostly set in the [[Greco-Roman antiquity]] or the [[Middle Ages]]. These films attempted to emulate the big-budget Hollywood historical epics of the time.<ref>{{cite book|first=Patrick|last=Lucanio|title=With Fire and Sword: Italian Spectacles on American Screens, 1958–1968|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=1994|isbn=0810828162}}</ref>

With the release of 1958's ''[[Hercules (1958 film)|Hercules]]'', starring American bodybuilder [[Steve Reeves]], the Italian film industry gained entree to the American film market. These films were low-budget costume/adventure dramas, and had immediate appeal with both European and American audiences. Besides the many films starring a variety of muscle men as Hercules, heroes such as [[Samson]] and Italian fictional hero [[Maciste]] were common.

Sometimes dismissed as low-quality escapist fare, the sword-and-sandal allowed newer directors such as [[Sergio Leone]] and [[Mario Bava]] a means of breaking into the film industry. Some, such as Mario Bava's ''[[Hercules in the Haunted World]]'' (Italian: Ercole Al Centro Della Terra) are considered seminal works in their own right.

As the genre matured, budgets sometimes increased, as evidenced in 1962's ''[[I sette gladiatori]]'' (''The Seven Gladiators'' in 1964 US release), a wide-screen epic with impressive sets and matte-painting work. Most sword-and-sandal films were in [[Color motion picture film| colour]], whereas previous Italian efforts had often been black and white.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="165px">
File:Douglas Mangano.jpg|[[Kirk Douglas]] and [[Silvana Mangano]] in a pause during the shootings of ''[[Ulysses (1954 film)|Ulysses]]'' by [[Mario Camerini]] (1954)
File:Arrivano i titani (film).JPG| ''[[My Son, the Hero]]'' by [[Duccio Tessari]] (1962)
</gallery>
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====Musicarelli (1950s–1970s)====
{{main|Musicarello}}
[[File:Al bano e romina nel sole.png|thumb|[[Al Bano and Romina Power]] in ''[[Nel sole (film)|Nel sole]]'' by [[Aldo Grimaldi]] (1967)]]

[[Musicarello]] (pl. musicarelli) is a film subgenre which emerged in Italy and which is characterised by the presence in main roles of young singers, already famous among their peers, and their new record album. The genre began in the late 1950s, and had its peak of production in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite thesis|url=https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/75660|title=The Italian musicarello : youth, gender, and modernization in postwar popular cinema – Texas Scholar Works|year=2017|doi=10.26153/tsw/2764|access-date=15 January 2022|last1=Hotz|first1=Stephanie Aneel|type=Thesis}}</ref>

The film which started the genre is considered to be ''[[I ragazzi del Juke-Box]]'' by [[Lucio Fulci]] (1959).<ref name=scs>{{cite book|last=Lino Aulenti|title=Storia del cinema italiano|year=2011|publisher=libreriauniversitaria, 2011|isbn=978-8862921084}}</ref> The musicarelli were inspired by two American musicals, in particular ''[[Jailhouse Rock (film)|Jailhouse Rock]]'' by [[Richard Thorpe]] (1957)  and earlier ''[[Love Me Tender (film)|Love Me Tender]]'' by [[Robert D. Webb]] (1956), both starring [[Elvis Presley]].<ref name="treccani-musicarelli">{{cite web|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/musicarello_%28Enciclopedia-del-Cinema%29/|title=Musicarello|access-date=30 November 2022|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.casadelcinema.it/?event=canzoni-canzoni-canzoni|title=Canzoni, canzoni, canzoni|access-date=30 November 2022|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.viv-it.org/schede/musicarelli|title=I musicarelli|access-date=30 November 2022|language=it}}</ref>

At the heart of the musicarello is a hit song, or a song that the producers hoped would become a hit, that usually shares its title with the film itself and sometimes has lyrics depicting a part of the plot.<ref>{{cite book|first=Giuliano|last=Pavone|title=Giovannona Coscialunga a Cannes: Storia e riabilitazione della commedia all'italiana anni '70|publisher=Tarab|year=1999|language=it|isbn=978-8886675499}}</ref> In the films there are almost always tender and chaste love stories accompanied by the desire to have fun and dance without thoughts.<ref name="musicalmaestro">{{cite web|url=https://musicalmaestro.altervista.org/i-10-musicarelli-piu-belli/|title=La Commedia Italiana:Classifica dei 10 Musicarelli più importanti degli anni '50 e '60|access-date=30 November 2022|language=it}}</ref> Musicarelli reflect the desire and need for emancipation of young [[Italians]], highlighting some generational frictions.<ref name="treccani-musicarelli"/>

With the arrival of the [[1968 student protests]] the genre started to decline, because the generational revolt became explicitly political and at the same time there was no longer music equally directed to the whole youth audience.<ref name=mus>{{cite magazine|last1=Della Casa|first1=Steve|last2=Manera|first2=Paolo|title=I musicarelli|magazine=Cineforum|year=1991|page=310}}</ref> For some time the duo [[Al Bano and Romina Power]] continued to enjoy success in musicarello films, but their films (like their songs) were a return to the traditional melody and to the musical films of the previous decades.<ref name=mus/>