Tracing the influence: how Italian Neorealism predated the New Hollywood era
The Italian Neorealism movement was one of cinema’s most influential periods, emerging at a vital time for transformation, both politically and culturally. The Second World War was coming to an end, and in Italy, where fascism had reigned strong, people were struggling to stay afloat. Thus, certain filmmakers, such as Vittorio De Sica and Roberto Rossellini, decided to present a more accurate view of Italy, subsequently depicting people affected by war and poverty.
This was a stark contrast from the Telefoni Bianchi movies, which were popular in Italy at the time. These Old Hollywood-esque movies were devoid of any real substance, promoting conservatism with the aim of showing how prosperous Italy supposedly was. Of course, these films ignored the countless people for whom the government had failed, leaving many, including large families and young children, with no welfare or economic support. Telefoni Bianchi movies weren’t an accurate portrayal of life for the majority of the country, resulting in the birth of Italian Neorealism, exposing and dissecting the gritty details of working-class life.
Meanwhile, in Hollywood, studios were making neo-noirs, farcical comedies, and dramas, most of which were rather unoffensive due to the Hays Code. There wasn’t much overt politicism, violence, or sexuality, with many movies prioritising happy endings. While we can’t paint every film with the same brush, there was certainly a lack of originality present in Hollywood by the time that Italian Neorealism took off in the 1940s.
Fast forward to the ‘60s, and an amalgamation of influences had started to inspire groups of young new filmmakers in Hollywood. Directors such as Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Robert Altman, Dennis Hopper, Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg rose to prominence, emerging in the wake of the Hays Code’s dissolution and a feeling of fatigue surrounding the uptight studio system. This period of American cinematic reinvention became known as the New Hollywood era, and these filmmakers took from movements like the French New Wave, British social realism, experimental arthouse cinema, and Italian Neorealism.
It’s not hard to draw parallels between certain aspects of Italian Neorealism and New Hollywood, both of which were reactionary movements borne from a desire to do away with traditionalism and invent something more socially conscious and relevant to the cultural zeitgeist. Both movements were preoccupied with tapping into the feelings of alienation and struggle facing large groups of people, which were otherwise not widely explored in mainstream cinema – in Hollywood or Italy. These two periods of cinematic change peeled back the curtain on the lives of those less privileged and those on the margins of society.
Still, many Italian Neorealism films contained elements of humour or heartwarming bonds between family members, showing that, in spite of everything, the world wasn’t totally devoid of hope and love. Bicycle Thieves, for example, prioritises the relationship between a father and son as they search for a stolen bike that is vital for the family’s survival. Similarly, many New Hollywood movies blended humour into their narratives, connecting with audiences by using comedy as a familiar device. Harold and Maude is a great example of a film from the period that mixed humour with profound explorations of the meaning of life and tragedy.
That’s not to say there weren’t some extremely bleak entries to both movements, too, which offered absolutely no respite at all, like Germany, Year Zero or Bonnie and Clyde and Easy Rider. Some filmmakers appeared to lean closer towards nihilism, reflecting the total disillusionment felt by many people in the wake of poverty and a lack of opportunities. In Italy, the struggle of living in a country ravaged by fascism and war was too much for some, leaving little room for flashes of optimism. Similarly, in America, many filmmakers highlighted the futility of the American Dream and the effects of the Vietnam War on characters, capturing the hippie movement’s dying breaths.
Martin Scorsese, one of the New Hollywood era’s most prominent figures, has cited the Italian Neorealism movement as one of the most significant influences on his work. The filmmaker made a documentary in 1999 called My Voyage to Italy about his love of directors associated with this pivotal time in cinema history, such as Rossellini, Luchino Visconti and Michelangelo Antonioni.
You can see the influence of the movement in movies like Taxi Driver, where Scorsese depicted the bleak streets of New York with a Neorealist flare, highlighting the poor economic conditions of the city where violence and crime run through every street. Its protagonist, Travis Bickle, is a Vietnam War veteran experiencing PTSD and disillusionment with the state of the world, not dissimilar from certain lost and aimless lower-class Italian Neorealist characters navigating life post-war.
Scorsese was also inspired by the use of humour in I Vitelloni, one of Federico Fellini’s early works, considered a transitional piece of Italian Neorealism that emerged near the end of the movement. The filmmaker kept the movie in mind when making Mean Streets, explaining how “it captures the bittersweet emotions of a moment that eventually comes for everyone, the moment you realise you can either grow up or forever be a child”.
It’s obvious that without the influence of Italian Neorealism, Hollywood might not have realised the importance of exposing social and political issues through the medium of cinema, going against the government and using film as a form of protest – subsequently capturing moments in time that were in desperate need of reform. The mixture of astute social commentary, close personal relationships and humour that defined the Italian Neorealist era was quickly lapped up by a new generation of Hollywood filmmakers who knew that to really do something different in the mainstream. They had to rebel against the system and be unafraid to show the less glamorous and stereotypically cinematic sides of life.
Chasing the Real: Italian Neorealism is at BFI Southbank from May 1st – June 30th, with selected films also available to watch on BFI Player.
Rome, Open City is re-released by the BFI in selected cinemas from May 17th.
