Vittorio De Sica & Cesare Zavattini

Vittorio De Sica and Cesare Zavattini

Vittorio De Sica & Cesare Zavattini: 

Zavattini wrote nearly all Vittorio De Sica's neorealist films. Defining the principle of the movement:

Which are: (Class Notes)

• to show things as they are, not as they seem, nor as the bourgeois would prefer them to appear
• to write fictions about the human side of social, political, and economic conditions
• to shoot on location wherever possible
• to use untrained actors in the majority of roles
• to capture and reflect reality with little or no compromise
• to depict common people rather than overdressed heroes and fantasy role models
• to reveal the everyday rather than the exceptional
• and to show a person’s relationship to the real social environment rather than to his or her romantic dreams

Mast & Kawin claim that neorealism was opposed to Expressionism and Hollywood, but I think like most movements, there is some overlap between neorealism and other national cinemas (including Hollywood). It becomes difficult to put absolute labels on any version of history. In the tradition of Marxist thought, the neorealist films do repeatedly show the unjust social structures that threaten human values, and the way neorealist films show this stylistically is generally different than the majority of Hollywood films of the time.

De Sica became the most popular neorealist director with American audiences, probably because his films effectively combine the political and the sentimental. De Sica was a film and stage actor in the 1930s and directed what may be described as escapist fluff in the early 1940s. The Bicvcle Thief (or Bicycle Thieves) (1948) is about two thieves: a man who steals the protagonist Antonio’s bike and Antonio himself (Lamberto Maggiorani).

De Sica's Umberto D (1952) also offers melodrama and a sense of heightened realism. The film portrays a man and his dog down on their luck in postwar Italy. In the following clip, Umberto, too proud to panhandle, contemplates how he is to raise money to pay his overdue rent. He enlists the aid of his dog and best friend Flike.

Umberto D (Vittorio De Sica, 1952):

Clip for class Click Here

The textbook (Mast & Kawin) said that neorealism was opposed to Expressionism and Hollywood but teacher disagrees as there is some overlaps from other national cinemas including Hollywood however stylistically different than Hollywood. 

"In the tradition of Marxist thought, the neorealist films do repeatedly show the unjust social structures that threaten human values"

De Sica was the most popular neorealist director with American audiences which liked the combination of political and sentimental. He was a film and stage actor in the 1930's then film directors in the 1940s. 

Bicycle Thieves (1948) 
2 thieves 
The man who steals the bike and Antonio himself

Umberto D (1952)
Melodrama & sense of heightened realism
Man & dog down on their luck in postwar Italy. 
Umberto is too proud to beg but doesn't know how he'll pay rent
Enlists aid of dog and best friend Flike. 

Umberto D (Vittorio De Sica, 1952):

Umberto D Full Film - Click Here

Coffee With Aliens Review Click Here