Let's face it, how many have we heard about the high quality of foreign cinema, especially American, at the expense of that local, from those who, perhaps and almost certainly have not acquired all the necessary means to be able to see things as a whole. It is very true that currently in Italy little quality material is produced, even if we must not forget the trilogy of "I stop when I want", By Sidney Sibilla, who brought a total breath of fresh air into the panorama, or the brilliant"They called him Jeeg Robot"and "Perfect strangers”, Just as it is equally true that, in the past, we have been home to internationally recognized masterpieces and have remained etched in history. Of course it is impossible to collect them all in this ranking, which is also drawn up on subjective parameters, and which wants to dare to collect the 5 Italian films that have left their mark.
1) The usual unknown (1958)
Let's start with what is recognized as the leader of the caper movie genre. With Mario Monicelli director and a luxury cast that boasts, among many others, the presence of Toto and a Vittorio Gassman in splendid shape, the "Usual unknown"Is full of gags and scenic naturalism that make it perfect and versatile for viewing at any time of the day. Social criticism is no longer veiled in the jokes but is a real interlude between them. Its development was so innovative that it definitively affirmed and continued to produce what we know as the "Italian comedy".
2) A special day (1977)
A work of depth and watershed not only for the public, but for the director himself, Ettore Scola, who, after then tried more and more to make the minds of the spectators work, played with nuances and atmospheres: in other words, his works leveled up. The splendid Sophia Loren, for the capital interpretation in the role of Antonietta, wife of Carlo Ponti, a fervent fascist, will receive a silver ribbon. The film looks at the events of their family, and I spoke of fascism because that "special day" is May 6, 1938, the day of Hitler's visit to Rome. Curious to see it?
3) Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Masterpiece of Sergio Leone, set to music by Ennio Morricone, is the first unborn of the famous "spaghetti western"And that starts the trilogy of the time of Leo, which will continue with"down the head"and "Once upon a time in America". In terms of directing, acting and message to the public, it is, according to critics, the best of the genre. A timeless must watch for all the inhabitants of the boot that highlights the piece of land of Sweetwater, which contains the only water source in the region and is in the midst of a conflict.
4) 8 ½ (1963)
The plot takes place in a reality made up of surreal and suggestive images, of symbols, a reality of doubts, mysteries, fears. It is a personal and intimate story that wants to lead to one reflection on the man of the 60s and talks about Guido Anselmi, an established director, who is looking for a peace that will struggle to arrive in view of a new film to be made due to countless unforeseen events, mostly dictated by technicians and actors, who live with him and see in him a leading figure and reference, for anything. Taking the words of Fellini, the director, is the desire to tell an inner crisis of an undefined character.
5) Rome open city (1945)
It deserves the first position for quantity, quality, but not only. It has totally revolutionized the way of making cinema and for this it should be awarded: the records Rossellini he knew he couldn't use posed theaters, bombed out or in ruins, and so takes to the streets, goes through the wearing roads of an Italy that is still wounded and destroyed, showing the dramatic consequences of the war without too many words. A pearl film of Italian neorealism that strikes the heart and remains there forever.
