History of Italian Cinema

Gian Piero Brunetta is professor of the history and criticism of cinema at the University of Padua in Italy. His many books include the acclaimed five-volume "History of World Cinema".

• PREFACE vii INTRODUCTION The Epic History of Italian Cinema 1 CHAPTER 1 The Silent Era 15 CHAPTER 2 From Sound to Salo' 67 CHAPTER 3 From Neorealism to La dolce vita 108 CHAPTER 4 From the Boom Years to the Years of Terror 167 CHAPTER 5 From the 1970s to the Present 245 EPILOGUE 2007 315 NOTES 323 INDEX OF NAMES 345 INDEX OF FILMS 363

"[Brunetta is] widely recognised as the foremost historian of Italian cinema... Covering the past 100 years or so of Italian cinema history, [The History of Italian Cinema] is a social, political, cultural, economic and literally geographic mapping of Italy's cinematic terrain... [I]nvaluable."--Paul Sutton, Times Higher Education "Brunetta transcends film-studies fads to restore the heft of traditional historiography. In a clear, sinuous narrative he details the development of Italian cinema as art and as industry, within its own cultural and political context and in the world."--M. Yacowar, Choice "If you are a serious film buff, then this book is a godsend, covering all you need to know in great detail. It packs in such a great amount of information that it's pretty much a one-stop shop for getting to grips with Italy's cinematic past, present and future."--Italia "Gian Piero Burnetta believes that Italian cinema is not simply one of the great movie industries but 'the Art Form of the 20th Century'--and he certainly makes a good fist of proving this bold proposition in his comprehensive new history."--West Australian "Those approaching his work for the first time will gain confidence in the depth and scope of his knowledge of Italian cinema and culture."--Marcia Landy, European Legacy "It is impossible to read this book without gaining new insight into Italian cinema, and twentieth-century Italian culture and history."--Frank Caso, Simply Charly