Louis Giannetti Neorealism

Instead, they intend to reflect how real life is truly like and leave the audience to interpret the ending or the entire film on their own. In The Bicycle Thieves, the final scene is shows Antonio and his son holding hands in tears, as they blend into the mass of anonymous people walking down the street, defeated by poverty. Antonio’s shoulder gets blatantly hit by the vehicle that is driving through the middle of the crowd, but numbed by powerlessness, he does not react. The camera watches the two solemnly walk away with the crowd and into an uncertain

War novels are often defined by focusing on small stories and unknown people, and in that regard City of Thieves is no exception. The story places its spotlight on two characters, Lyova Beniov (Lev) and Nikolai Vlasov (Kolya), during the siege of Leningrad. The relationship between these two characters indeed defines the novel and makes it stand out among others in the wartime category. Their comedic back-and-forth, coupled with the absurd mission they embark on together, keeps the reader engaged and helps ease the grim nature of the book’s setting. In that way, the reader benefits the same way Lev and Kolya do (in regards to their constant joking); it helps both parties escape the horrors of the situations they’re engaged in. However, while

Realists attempt to portray the illusion that their film world has not been manipulated and is almost like a mirror to the real world. Their techniques are different to those of any other film. They try to make the film seem as real and as close to normal life as possible by using natural lighting instead of special lighting equipment, they also mostly use hand held cameras and employ non- professional actors to really uphold this realistic image.

Italian Neorealism was a movement of art, which strived to illustrate the normal lives of the ordinary, working class people in post war Rome, usually with the use of non-professional actors. As one of the best Italian Neorealist film, Bicycle Thieves showed an absolute depiction of the war’s impact on daily life and exposed a world in which sufferings, unkindness and corruption jeopardized the rationality of human beings and action of men (Schoonover). By utilizing a depressing and gloomy cinematography, De Sica implies the somber lives of the poor and their crisis in losing their self-identity and moral conscience as a result of parochial society that make a fetish of personal belongings as a mode of social acceptance. By examining the cinematography, ‘mise-en-scene’ and events in the film, the daily struggles of the working class in post war Rome can be seen through the crisis of masculinity, class struggle, ethical dilemma and a profoundly patriarchal society.

The gangster genre within films in America has accomplished numerous positive criticisms and constant willing audiences due to containing outstanding spectacles and mind-blowing action. The Godfather, being second on the IMDb Top 250 Movies, has set a new popular concept to life within the Mafia from their point of view. Doing so, creating a positive association. Yet within Italy, the same topic contains a complete different view. Movies such as I Cento Passi demonstrate unenthusiastic view by those whom are outside yet negatively affected by those members. Unlike American films, the gangsters are not as often viewed at the protagonist and are the main causes for the problematic events. But how different is Italian Mafia and American

The aesthetics of realism in each film can be utilized in many diverse ways to offer certain truths about the world of the film to further express the film’s story. These theatrical elements emphasize what the film attempts to relay to the audience; moreover, it intensifies the authenticity of each aspect of the film. The use of real people, on-camera interviews, textual information, and of direct address to the camera displays the realism of each film.

The critically acclaimed film, Goodfellas, is a gangster crime drama that features an incredible amount of talent. Household names such as: Robert De Niro (Jimmy Conway), Joe Pesci (Tommy DeVito), Paul Sorvino (Paul Cicero), and promising stars like Ray Liotta (Henry Hill) and Lorraine Bracco (Karen Hill), attracted numerous Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. That type of cast power, linked with the signature talent of Martin Scorsese as a director, made for cinematic gold. Unquestionably, the actors and actresses did an excellent job augmenting the verisimilitude of this film and compelling audiences to empathize with their characters. But the cinematography in this film plays just as large a role in having audiences feel what the characters are feeling at a specific moment. Through the use of freeze frames, we learn of significant moments that shape Henry into the man that he is. By means of first-person narration we are able to know exactly what is going through a particular character’s mind. Finally, wonderful editing made great use of point of view and multiple jump cuts, which added to the sensation that we are undergoing the same experiences as the characters on screen. I will go into further detail and specify scenes that convey these elements as the essay progresses. Altogether, Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas effectively depicts paramount scenes and allows the audience to empathize with the characters by virtue of stylistic editing and cinematography.

Set in the depression times of post-World War II Italy, Graziadei and De Sica’s (1948) The Bicycle Thief narrates the story of Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani), who, after finding a job as a bill poster, loses his bicycle to a young thief. He tries to look for it with his son Bruno (Enzo Staiola); however, despite seeing the thief, he fails to recover his bicycle. Desperate, he tries to steal a bike himself but is easily thwarted by a group of bystanders. They plan to bring him to the police station until the owner notices the weeping Bruno and, in an act of compassion, ask others to release the thief. In this paper, I argue that The Bicycle Thief

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Neo-realism by a style of filming that is characterized by simple-le direct depiction of lower-class life. Unforgiven is a very good supporter of this type of depiction. This film follows the endeavors of William Munny who is a widower with two young children. In Munny’s past, he was very skilled at gun fighting but after the marriage to his wife, he retired. Munny’s wife in the film had just recently died of smallpox and the film depicts him trying to live an honest life as a hog farmer. As the movie progressing in the beginning, the audience learns that Munny’s skills as a hog farmer are not very good. His narrative changes when Scofield Kid finds Munny through his past reputation and attempts to recruit

The first one was the teen audience segment, which proved to have higher spending powers because of their disposable income that they used mainly on entertainment. Hollywood therefore produced films that fall under this segment such as The Blackboard Jungle (1955) and as Rebel without a Cause (1955). The second segment was immigrant and working- class audiences that had enough money to buy tickets for the theaters. The third segment was the films targeting anti-communist groups, whereby Hollywood produced more than 50 movies that were against the communist societies. The films intoxicated people that hate the communist societies, saying that these people were murderers, didn’t have children and also caused problems when arrested. Films such as, In Vittorio de Sica’s featuring the Bicycle Thief, was produced in 1950s.

Italian neorealism (1945-1953), through directors like Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio De Sica, made its trademark on cinematic history not only in Italy, but also throughout the world. It was films such as Rome Open City (Roma città aperta, 1945), The Bicycle Thief (Ladri di biciclette, 1948), and Umberto D., (1952) whose style of depicting the harsh economic and social realities of the poor and working class of Italy took off as a new cinematic style after World War II. Neorealism is a response to desperate economic situations and often illustrates suffering, poverty, injustice, and/or discrimination. Many argue that neorealism is a way of seeing reality without prejudice due to the documentary-like technique of the film and its ability

Realism, as the name implies, is a concept that deals with reality, or the actuality of something. In film, the realism as a style does not imply that what is going on in the film is true to real life, but more that the techniques used while filming made it seem real. Documentary films are the closest to a truly realistic depiction of life, with actual people and events, however these are not the only films that deal with realism. In Ryan Fleck’s film, Half Nelson (Ryan Fleck, USA, 2006), a realist style is used as a means of portraying the struggles of drug abuse, the demise of idealism as a lifestyle, and the perception of hopelessness for life in general. All three of which are themes evident throughout the movie and can be represented

	Another fine example of neorealism is The Bicycle Thief (1948), written by Cesare Zavattini and directed by Vittorio De Sica. The narrative of this film unfolds in post-W.W.II times. The film is a portrait of the post-war Italian disadvantaged class (the majority) in their search for self-respect. It is a time of struggle for the Italian people, amplified by a shortage of employment and lack of social services. In the first scenes of the film, these conditions are evident as Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorami) meets his spouse Maria (Lianalla Carell) on his way back home. We see the "men" arguing at the employment "office" as the "women" argue about the shortage of water. Although the director's

In Italy, directors focused on the moral and economic conditions that came with the postwar generation quickly after the war and addressed the war instead of not acknowledging as German cinema did for so long. Unlike Alice in the Cities and The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, films such as Bicycle Thieves depicted dislocation during the postwar period in the Neorealist style, made in 1948, this film differs greatly from the two former films discussed. In Bicycle Thieves, Vittorio De Sica delivers a political message regarding the difficulty of survival in postwar Italy, but also conveys a sense of psychological dislocation through the character development of Antonio Ricci. In many ways, Italy’s economy is much to blame for Ricci’s two-year unemployment in which the film begins, however, Ricci has as many internal struggles as he does externally. Neorealism lies heavily on the depiction of real life problems depicting common people and often used people from the street as actors, in this film the man who played Ricci, Lamberto Maggiorani, actually was a factory worker, which helps solidify the film’s authenticity. Towards the end of Bicycle Thieves, Ricci’s efforts to retrieve his stolen bicycle fail when the people that live near the boy who stole it side with the epileptic boy as he has a

In the film The Bicycle Thief the audience is able to witness all the elements of neorealism. The use of non professional actors, to low class working characters, the flattening of scenes, and the location where it was shot at; are just a few of the essential elements that can be found in this film along with copious neorealist films. It is clear that the director used a variety of shots, angles, and set-ups in order to create certain emotions at very specific scenes in the film. From the start we are able to obtain a feel about the film’s tone as a result of the lack of color. The use of black and white truly helped the audience experience what Italy was like during the post World War 2. As a result of the depressing post war we are able to detect how the act of trying to improve oneself can sometimes lead to desperation.