Editing Italian neorealism (section)

=== Precursors and influences ===
[[File:Gli uomini, che mascalzoni… (film 1932) Franca e De Sica (5a).png|thumb|''[[What Scoundrels Men Are!]]'' by [[Mario Camerini]] (1932)]]
The extent to which Italian neorealism was truly innovative continues to be debated among film historians. Despite its wide influence, some have argued that it was more a revival of earlier Italian creative works than a groundbreaking movement. Important forerunners of Italian neorealism include:

* The ''[[Verismo (literature)|verismo]]'' literary movement, characterized by the works of [[Giovanni Verga]] and [[Luigi Capuana]]
* [[Poetic realism]]
* ''Lost in Darkness'' ([[Nino Martoglio]], 1912)
* ''[[What Scoundrels Men Are!]]'' ([[Mario Camerini]], 1932), the first Italian film shot entirely on location<ref name=bergan />
* ''[[1860 (film)|1860]]'' ([[Alessandro Blasetti]], 1934)
* ''[[An Inn in Tokyo]]'' ([[Yasujirō Ozu]], 1935)
* ''[[Toni (1935 film)|Toni]]'' ([[Jean Renoir]], 1935)
* ''[[Men on the Sea Floor]]'' ([[Francesco De Robertis]], 1941)
* ''[[The White Ship (1941 film)|The White Ship]]'' ([[Roberto Rossellini]], 1941)
* ''[[Aniki-Bóbó]]'' ([[Manoel de Oliveira]], 1942)
* ''[[People of the Mountains]]'' ([[István Szőts]]) 1942
* ''[[Four Steps in the Clouds]]'' ([[Alessandro Blasetti]], 1942)
* [[Desire (1946 Italian film)|Desire]] ([[Marcello Pagliero]], 1946), was to begin production in 1943 under the name ''Scalo merci'' with [[Roberto Rossellini]] directing and [[Giuseppe De Santis]] writing, but production was halted by Allied bombing<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |first=Christopher |last=Wagstaff |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/958572098 |title=Italian Neorealist Cinema : an Aesthetic Approach. |date=2008 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-1-4426-8567-3 |oclc=958572098}}</ref>
* ''People of the Po Valley'' ([[Michelangelo Antonioni]], 1947), filmed in 1943