Editing Cinema of Italy (section)

==== Sceneggiata (1970s–1990s)====
{{main|Sceneggiata}}
[[File:Mario Merola - Sgarro alla Camorra.jpeg|thumb|left|''[[Sgarro alla camorra ]]'' by [[Ettore Maria Fizzarotti]] (1973)]]
The [[sceneggiata]] (pl. sceneggiate) or sceneggiata napoletana is a form of musical drama typical of [[Naples]]. Beginning as a form of musical theatre after [[World War I]], it was also adapted for cinema; sceneggiata films became especially popular in the 1970s, and contributed to the genre becoming more widely known outside Naples.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://corrieredinapoli.com/2020/07/01/cantanapoli-la-sceneggiata-di-mario-merola/|title=CantaNapoli: La sceneggiata di Mario Merola|date=July 2020|access-date=15 January 2022}}</ref> The most famous actors who played dramas were [[Mario Merola (singer)|Mario Merola]], [[Mario Trevi]], and [[Nino D'Angelo]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sorrisi.com/musica/news/nino-d-angelo-uno-show-per-i-suoi-60-anni/|title=Nino D'Angelo: uno show per i suoi 60 anni. L'intervista|date=13 June 2017|access-date=15 January 2022}}</ref>

The sceneggiata can be roughly described as a "musical soap opera", where action and dialogue are interspersed with [[Canzone Napoletana|Neapolitan songs]].  Plots revolve around [[melodrama]]tic themes drawing from the Neapolitan culture and tradition, including passion, jealousy, betrayal, personal deceit and treachery, honour, vengeance, and life in the world of petty crime.  Songs and dialogue were originally in [[Neapolitan dialect]], although, especially in film production, [[Italian language|Italian]] has sometimes been preferred, to reach a larger audience.

''[[Sgarro alla camorra]]'' (i.e. "Offence to the [[Camorra]]", 1973), written and directed by [[Ettore Maria Fizzarotti]] and starring [[Mario Merola (singer)|Mario Merola]] at his film debut, is regarded as the first sceneggiata film and as a prototype for the genre.<ref name=fvf>{{cite book|last=Roberto Poppi|title=I registi: dal 1930 ai giorni nostri|year=2002|publisher=Gremese Editore, 2002|page=180|isbn=8884401712}}</ref><ref name=Curticrime>{{cite book|last1=Roberto Curti|title=Italian Crime Filmography, 1968-1980|date=22 October 2013|publisher=McFarland, 2013|isbn=978-0786469765}}</ref> It was shot in [[Cetara, Campania|Cetara]], [[Province of Salerno]].<ref name=Curticrime>{{cite book|last1=Roberto Curti|title=Italian Crime Filmography, 1968-1980|date=22 October 2013|publisher=McFarland, 2013|isbn=978-0786469765}}</ref> Outside Italy, sceneggiata is mostly known in areas populated by [[Italian diaspora|Italian immigrants]]. Besides Naples, the second homeland of sceneggiata is probably [[Little Italy]] in [[New York City]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Roberto|last=Caselli|title=Storia della canzone italiana|year=2018|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=srdcDwAAQBAJ&dq=sceneggiata+little+italy+new+york&pg=PT88|access-date=11 December 2022|publisher=Hoepli|language=it|isbn=978-8820384913}}</ref>