Neorealist Aesthetics on Rome Open City and 8 1/2
Critically evaluate the influences of neorealist aesthetics on Rome, Open City/Rome, città aperta (Rossellini, 1945), and 8 ½ /Otto e mezzo (Fellini, 1963).
Introduction
To critically evaluate the influences of neorealist aesthetics on Rome, Open City (1945) and 8½ (1963) I believe there are several measure I have to take. First of all, I believe it is essential to get a clear understanding of Italian neorealism and the common aesthetics of neorealist films. Once I have that established it will enable me to critically evaluate the influences of neorealist aesthetics on Rome, Open City and afterwards, 8½, drawing them both together in the conclusion.
The end of World War II, and Mussolini’s fascist regime in 1945 enabled a national film movement to flourish in Italy. This movement was branded ‘Italian neorealism’, and with its unique aesthetic style and themes it produced, arguably, some of the most influential films ever made. Neorealism was seen to be a perfect way for Italian filmmakers to portray the misery and suffering they, and the entire nation experienced throughout this period of repression. Martha Nochimson describes Italian neorealism as:
A strong form of filmic poetry that aims for truth in its stories about the poor and the working class, without using the glamorizing techniques that Hollywood prefers, (that) can only be fully understood within the context of Italian social and political history.
Italian neorealism has distinctive stylistic qualities that give it an almost documentary, ‘newsreel’ feel to the films. Neorealists believed this greatly added to the authenticity of each film and depicted life at that time in a more realistic way. Common characteristics of neorealist films are that they are shot on location, use non-professional or relatively unknown, inexperienced actors, have plain and simple mise-en-scene, avoid complex editing, have a straight forward, feely moving documentary style of photography and have a loosely plotted
Introduction
To critically evaluate the influences of neorealist aesthetics on Rome, Open City (1945) and 8½ (1963) I believe there are several measure I have to take. First of all, I believe it is essential to get a clear understanding of Italian neorealism and the common aesthetics of neorealist films. Once I have that established it will enable me to critically evaluate the influences of neorealist aesthetics on Rome, Open City and afterwards, 8½, drawing them both together in the conclusion.
The end of World War II, and Mussolini’s fascist regime in 1945 enabled a national film movement to flourish in Italy. This movement was branded ‘Italian neorealism’, and with its unique aesthetic style and themes it produced, arguably, some of the most influential films ever made. Neorealism was seen to be a perfect way for Italian filmmakers to portray the misery and suffering they, and the entire nation experienced throughout this period of repression. Martha Nochimson describes Italian neorealism as:
A strong form of filmic poetry that aims for truth in its stories about the poor and the working class, without using the glamorizing techniques that Hollywood prefers, (that) can only be fully understood within the context of Italian social and political history.
Italian neorealism has distinctive stylistic qualities that give it an almost documentary, ‘newsreel’ feel to the films. Neorealists believed this greatly added to the authenticity of each film and depicted life at that time in a more realistic way. Common characteristics of neorealist films are that they are shot on location, use non-professional or relatively unknown, inexperienced actors, have plain and simple mise-en-scene, avoid complex editing, have a straight forward, feely moving documentary style of photography and have a loosely plotted
Bibliography: 8 ½ / Otto e mezzo, dir. by Federico Fellini (Colombia Pictures, 1963) Aumont, Jacques, Aesthetics of Film (Austin: University of Texan Press, 1992) Bicycle Thieves/ Ladri di biciclette, dir. by Vittorio De Sica (Ente Nazionale Industrie Cinematografiche, 1948) Bondanella, Peter, The Films of Federico Fellini (UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002) Brunette, Peter, Roberto Rossellini (Berkeley: Univerity of California Press, 1996) Forgacs, David, Sarah Lutton and Geoffrey Nowell-Smith, Roberto Rossellini: Magician of the Real (UK: British Film Institute, 2000) Gottlied, Sidney, Roberto Rossellini’s Rome open city (UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004) Hirschman, Jack, ‘Film Reviews’, Film Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 1, (1963) Hanson, Stephen Millicent, Marcus, Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1986) Miracle in Milan/ Miracolo a Milano, dir Nochimson, Martha. P, World on Film: an introduction (UK: John Wiley and Sons, 2010) Rome, Open City/Roma, città aperta, dir Sparshott, F. E, ‘Basic Film Aestheics’, Journal of Aesthetic Education, Vol. 5, No. 2, (1971) The White Sheik/ Lo Sceicco Bianco, dir Variety Lights/ Luci del Varietà, dir. by Federico Fellini (Capitolium, 1950) Wagstaff, Christopher, Italian Neorealist Cinema: An Aesthetic Approach (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007) [ 2 ]. 8½/Otto e mezzo, dir. by Federico Fellini (Colombia Pictures, 1963). [ 3 ]. Martha. P. Nochimson, World on Film: an introduction (UK: John Wiley and Sons, 2010), p.152. [ 4 ]. Martha. P. Nochimson, World on Film: an introduction (UK: John Wiley and Sons, 2010), p.157. [ 5 ]. Peter Brunette, Roberto Rossellini (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996), p.41. [ 6 ]. Marcus Millicent, Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1986), p.34. [ 7 ]. David Forgacs and others, Roberto Rossellini: Magician of the Real (UK: British Film Institute, 2000), p.37. [ 8 ]. Stephen. L. Hanson, Roma, città aperta (2012) < http://www.filmreference.com/Films-Ra-Ro/Roma-Citt-Aperta.html> [accessed 20th March 2012]. [ 9 ]. Peter Brunette, Roberto Rossellini (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996), p.42. [ 10 ]. Peter Brunette, Roberto Rossellini (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996), p.42. [ 11 ]. Variety Lights/ Luci del Varietà, dir. by Federico Fellini (Capitolium, 1950) [ 12 ] [ 13 ]. Bicycle Thieves/ Ladri di biciclette, dir. by Vittorio De Sica (Ente Nazionale Industrie Cinematografiche, 1948) [ 14 ]. Jack Hirschman, ‘Film Reviews’, Film Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 1, (1963) p. 43. [ 15 ]. Miracle in Milan/ Miracolo a Milano, dir. by Vittorio de Sica (Criterion Collection, 1951) [ 16 ] [ 17 ]. Marcus Millicent, Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1986), p.36.