Film, Italian Culture, Philosophy —

Best Italian Movies: Top 25 Italian Films

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Powerful image from the film Gomorrah which follows the mafia of Naples. Photo courtesy of Slant Magazine

Best Italian Movies

One of the most frustrating (yet liberating) aspects of studying philosophy as an undergraduatewas the idea that one could construct a logical argument for pretty much anything.  So, I spent my University days racking my brain at getting at “ultimate truths” like whether God exists and if our minds are separate from the physical world (the “Mind/Body” problem or Cartesian dualism) only to get frustrated when I realized that arguments could be made to support any position!

When it comes to getting at the best Italian films of all time one can, like my point above, make plenty of arguments for why one film should be included or not.  Hence, my dilemma when I started thinking about the top Italian films I’ve watched.  In order to help me narrow down my top 25 I used the following selection criteria:
  • Did the film cause me to think about some big issue (I think any good film needs to do this in a serious way)?
  • How beautiful was the film or was the cinematography top notch?  Let’s face it, film is, of course, a visual art and if one doesn’t get a sense of beauty when staring at the screen then the film hasn’t done much.
  • Did the film elicit an emotional feeling (i.e., anger, joy, sadness, disbelief, etc.)?  Just as a film can cause one to think deeply about certain topics, a good film should make one “feel” something in a profound way.

In turn, here are my top 25 Italian films of all time (including a fair amount of contemporary titles).  Note: the list is alphabetical and not according to rank or preference.  Also, I’d like for you to tell me which films I’ve missed or whether I’m crazy with my selections below (please leave a comment!).

  1. 1900
  2. 8 1/2
  3. Cinema Paradiso
  4. Golden Door
  5. Gomorrah
  6. I Am Love
  7. Il Grido
  8. Il Postino
  9. I’m Not Scared
  10. Incantato
  11. La Notte
  12. La Strada
  13. L’Aventura
  14. Life is Beautiful
  15. Mafioso
  16. My Mother’s Smile
  17. Roma, Citta` Aperta
  18. Respiro
  19. Seven Beauties
  20. The Battle of Algiers
  21. The Best of Youth
  22. The Bicycle Thief
  23. The Leopard
  24. The Son’s Room
  25. Umberto D.

Update: 11/19/10  Thanks to the many readers that wrote in with the following suggestions (see comments section for more recommendations):

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Author: Lead Italophile (and/or lover of all things Italian).
  • Herman

    Thanks very much for the list, bro.

  • http://bleedingespresso.com Michelle | Bleeding Espresso

    Without a doubt La vita è bella is my all-time fave. Il Postino is a close second. I’m not too up on classic Italian cinema, but I’m sure there are some greats in there that I haven’t seen ;) La Dolce Vita I wasn’t crazy about, but it gets mentioned a lot :)

  • http://www.foodloversodyssey.typepad.com Food Lover Kathy

    You have a great list; especially agree with Golden Door and La Vita e Bella (cried my eyes out on both. Also loved My Son’s Room and Best of Youth. My list would include many of yours, but also I Centi Passi, Malena, Non Ti Muovere, Facing Windows, and His Secret Life.

  • http://www.simplyforties.com SimplyForties

    I saw John Turturro and Roman Paska’s “Rehearsal for a Sicilian Tragedy” at a film festival this past weekend. It was excellent and, if it gets enough play, may make the list one day!

  • Martha Cavanagh

    Don’t miss “Roma, Citta` Aperta. If you know enough italian you can follow it. It’s a Rossellini masterpiece. Part of a trilogy. Part of italian film history,
    Ciao,
    Marta

  • Martha Cavanagh

    Ho sbagliato! It’s #17, “Open City”

  • Di

    Thanks for the list – so many to explore. May I add Olmi’s “Tree of Wooden Clogs” (L’albero degli zoccoli)?

  • yudy

    Just want to thank every one for the list and the comments. I like to watch I Italian movies so that I don’t forget the Italian I learned in high school and in my travels through Italia. The first movie I saw was Cinema Paradiso. It was almost 20 years ago and I still love it. I also like Pinoccio. Thanks!

  • http://monicabelluccixxx.blogspot.com/2011/01/monica-bellucci-filmography.html Joyce

    Thanks for the list. Bellucci is my favourite Italian actress.

  • Gijs

    Un giornata particulare :)

  • Bernardine

    Oneyear when we were in Bologna they had a film festival-”Clint Eastwood”! Huge crowd in Piazza Maggiore to see these films-and us, the puzzled Americanos!

  • MG

    Two Women (Italian: La ciociara, roughly translated as “[The Woman] from Ciociaria”) is a 1960 Italian film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of a woman trying to protect her young daughter from the horrors of war. The film stars Sophia Loren, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Eleonora Brown, Carlo Ninchi and Andrea Checchi. The film was adapted by De Sica and Cesare Zavattini from the novel of the same name written by Alberto Moravia.

    • scordo

      Thanks for the recommendation!

  • james

    Great article and I am rarely but totally in agreement about your criteria as well your selections. It would be wonderful to take the aesthetic social account of Fellini who loved to watch people eat for instance and present it with a Jarmusch–Ridley Scott tension and intensity. However connect that with a director like David Lynch and one would have the most intense Italian movie ever which would be driven by cinematography and great music. Molto buono

  • Pingback: Iurry Massimo

  • Roamingtyro

    Divorce, Italian Style – Pietro Germi

  • Rhharris123

    L’Eclisse
    Mamma Roma
    Salvatore Giuliano
    Il Postino
    Hands across the city
    I Fidanzati
    Il Conformista
    I Vitelloni 

    • scordo

      Excellent choices.

  • Chuckie

    This year’s Terraferma is awesome and I can get it to you if you want.

  • http://winehippie.blogspot.co.uk/ Alessandra Winehippie

    Il Sorpasso – The easy life  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056512/
    La classe operaia va in paradiso http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066919/
    Il conformista http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065571/

    • http://www.scordo.com/ Scordo.com

      Great recommendations, Alessandra! Thanks for the comment.

      Best,
      Vince

  • Joe

    Night of the Shooting Stars

    • http://www.scordo.com/ Scordo.com

      Good pick!

  • http://www.facebook.com/joseph.burello Joseph Burello
  • Shaked

    I think you missed Nights of Cabiria, possibly the greatest Italian movie ever. For comedies, how about Big Deal on Madonna Street. Also some of Visconti’s movies aside from the Leopard such as Ossessione. I also think you have to add something of Pasolini such as Mama Roma. Oh, and Ginger and Fred and Intervista were fantastic as well.

  • http://twitter.com/MsSteMarie Stephanie Strickland

    OMG…you completely forgot Oggi, Ieri, Domani (Today, Yesterday, Tomorrow) & Marriage Italian Style two unbelievable movies with Sophia Lauren and Marcello Mastriani!!

  • Ariana

    Great list, thank you! So sorry if these were already mentioned, but I don’t think I saw the 2 recent films directed and acted by Gianni Di Gregorio (Mid August Lunch and The Salt of Life)http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0223924/ Very low budget films but simple, sweet, and often funny storylines.

    • http://www.scordo.com/ Scordo.com

      Good selections! Thanks, Ariana!

    • http://www.scordo.com/ Scordo.com

      Good selections! Thanks, Ariana!

  • MB

    I just watched Bitter Rice. Silvana Mangano was stunning.

    • http://www.scordo.com/ Scordo.com

      Will research it, thanks!

    • http://www.scordo.com/ Scordo.com

      Will research it, thanks!

  • MB

    Oh!…I almost forgot, Toto’s Arrangiatevi. Hilarious, but a total biased pick since my father was an extra in the film.

    • http://www.scordo.com/ Scordo.com

      Will have to check it out, thanks!

  • Theo

    My favorite is Antonioni, especially L’avventura an L’eclisse (which isn’t on the list, I’ve noticed). I have yet to see La Notte and Red Desert, but they are both on my list.

    • http://www.scordo.com/ Scordo.com

      Theo, good recommendations! We’ll add them to the list..

  • Baron DaCosta

    Watch Carosello Napolitano, Bocaccio ’70, To Forget Venice before you make such a list. And do the movies Anna Magnani made in the US count as Italian? They probably should. The Rose Tattoo, Wild is the Wind, to name just two.

    • http://www.scordo.com/ Scordo.com

      Great recommendations, thanks for the comment!

      Vince