Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Neo-realism Interview with Francesco Rosi
My generation...
...and I'm referring...
...to all the directors, screenwriters and cinematographers of my age...
...learned everything...
...from the great masters of Italian cinema...
...who changed the way of making cinema throughout the world
Basically, Visconti, Rossellini and De Sica...
...were three top directors
People like Suso Cecchi d'Amico, Zavattini...
...Sergio Amidei and so on...
...really changed the way of making cinema throughout the world
At the beginning...
...film-making focused mainly on film stars...
...and on the storyline, making sure that everything added up
But they revolutionised everything
So, neo-realist films...
...represented everyday life...
...life as ordinary people know it
It was a big change from the way films were made before
Before, everything was artificial
Everything had to follow a storyline...
...and abide by specific rules
Instead...
...this new kind of cinema portrayed real life
That's what we saw on the big screen
The audience was able to identify...
...not with fictional characters...
...that had populated films up until then...
...but with characters...
...who were much more human and real
These characters were able to communicate more authentic feelings...
...like insecurity and anxiety...
...familiar to the viewer
In front of that screen, that resembled a white sheet...
...on which these shadows were moving...
...the viewer identified himself with the feelings...
...expressed by the actors
At one point...
...we could identify ourselves in their hopes...
...in their pain, in their defeats...
...as well as in their successes
All of this was possible...
...because it happened at the end of a dictatorship, just after the war
This country had been destroyed by the war...
...but it also enjoyed a moment of renewal...
...which resulted from the fighting spirit of the Resistance...
...that eventually led the way to the drafting of our Constitution...
...in which Italian people identified themselves
All of this had to be reflected...
...in the world of cinema
Political views aside,
...communists, socialists, liberals...
...republicans and so on,
...everyone shared the same hope...
...of contributing to the revival of this country
As it often happened with major neo-realist films...
...and also with realist films...
...the audience didn't appreciate them at first
The audience understood them much later
France understood them better
Even the versions that arrived in America...
Great directors such as Jules Dassin...
...who worked in America and was passionate about Italian cinema...
...used to come to Rome to speak to Amidei...
...or to meet Visconti
On the other hand, the Italian audience wasrt too keen
They understood and appreciated this new cinema much later
Just consider that "Umberto D." by de Sica...
...wasrt understood by anyone in Italy, not even the critics
And yet, it's a film that was shown at a London Festival...
...where it was praised
As far as I'm concerned, I've always been interested in making films
And when I came back from my exile...
...spent in Florence...
...I returned to Naples and started working at a radio station...
...Radio Alleata PWB
That's where I met Ettore Giannini, who was a great theatre director
I became assistant director to Giannini at the theatre...
...but all I really wanted was to make films
What I learned with Giannini was very important
I was his assistant for two years
Then I was lucky enough to meet Visconti
How did I meet him? I came all the way from Naples...
...to watch Visconti direct using his revolutionary technique
His way of directing was innovative for theatre in those days
I already had a group of friends who lived in Rome
I wanted to take the admission test...
...to get into the Centro Sperimentale
I prepared an essay on Verga's "I Malavoglia"...
...to pass the admission test at the Centro Sperimentale
By chance, Visconti was about to work on a film...
...inspired by "I Malavoglia", even though this isn't mentioned...
...in the opening credits of "La terra trema", but that's how it is
My friends introduced me to Visconti
Not only was Visconti a great artist...
...but also a great person
He was also an excellent teacher...
...who was aware of this and who wanted to be like this
We spent six months in Aci Trezza...
...living this wonderful adventure
"La terra trema" cannot exactly be defined a neo-realist film...
...because it belongs more to the Realism movement...
...but without that hint of sentimentality...
...that can be found...
...in some other films, and even in some neo-realist masterpieces
This is a quote...
...from a great French critic, Georges Sadoul...
...who was a great fan of "La terra trema"
For me, this experience was the equivalent...
...of studying at the Centro Sperimentale...
...or getting two university degrees all at once
Then Visconti realised...
...that I was very eager...
...not only to learn...
...but also to be involved, to make myself useful
I was aware that I was going to take part in a fantastic adventure
That very first experience...
...always meant a lot to me
Basically...
...the people who worked with him...
...could sense...
...that he was able to transmit...
...passion, discipline...
...sobriety...
...and a way of interpreting art and cinema...
...as means to express something positive and real
I have many happy memories...
...of learning from him