Actors: La Lollo e le Sue Amiche
In honor of the passing of Gina Lollobrigida this week, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate La Lollo, as she was affectionately known, and the other Ieading ladies of Italian cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. These actresses' style, sass, strength, and alluring beauty made them icons in their native country and beyond.
Marriage Italian Style
(Matrimonio all'italiana)
A businessman's mistress of 20 years learns he plans to marry a young woman and schemes to protect her family's interests.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 1964
- Director Vittorio De Sica
- Cast Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Aldo Puglisi, Tecla Scarano, Marilù Tolo, Gianni Ridolfi
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Amazon Video, Kanopy, Hoopla
Red Desert
(Il deserto rosso)
Her tenuous grip on reality is starting to slip... can a new man save her or will it only get worse?
- Italy, France • 1964
- Director Michelangelo Antonioni
- Cast Monica Vitti, Richard Harris, Carlo Chionetti, Xenia Valderi, Rita Renoir, Lili Rheims
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max
8½
A film director suffers creative block as he prepares his next movie and navigates the relationships of his life.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 1963
- Director Federico Fellini
- Cast Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimée, Sandra Milo, Rossella Falk, Barbara Steele
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
The Leopard
(Il gattopardo)
Luchino Visconti's enduring romantic adventure, set amidst the social changes of Italian unification.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 1963
- Director Luchino Visconti
- Cast Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale, Paolo Stoppa, Terence Hill, Pierre Clémenti
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand, Hoopla
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
(Ieri, oggi, domani)
A playful anthology comedy following the romantic complications faced by three sets of lovers.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 1963
- Director Vittorio De Sica
- Cast Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Aldo Giuffrè, Agostino Salvietti, Lino Mattera, Tecla Scarano
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Amazon Video, Fandango At Home, Tubi TV, Kanopy, Hoopla
L'Eclisse
(L'eclisse)
… the ache and ecstasy of love…
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 1962
- Director Michelangelo Antonioni
- Cast Alain Delon, Monica Vitti, Francisco Rabal, Lilla Brignone, Rossana Rory, Louis Seigner
- Genre Romance, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Amazon Video
Mamma Roma
A former sex worker attempts to make a new life for herself, despite the looming threats of her past.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 1962
- Director Pier Paolo Pasolini
- Cast Anna Magnani, Ettore Garofolo, Franco Citti, Silvana Corsini, Luisa Loiano, Paolo Volponi
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
Nights of Cabiria
(Le notti di Cabiria)
The story of a betrayed but unquenchable little Roman street-walker.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 1957
- Director Federico Fellini
- Cast Giulietta Masina, François Périer, Franca Marzi, Amedeo Nazzari, Dorian Gray, Aldo Silvani
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Video
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
(Notre-Dame de Paris)
The timeless tale of the seductive gypsy Esmeralda and the tortured hunchback Quasimodo.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Italy • 1956
- Director Jean Delannoy
- Cast Gina Lollobrigida, Anthony Quinn, Jean Danet, Damia, Marianne Oswald, Danielle Dumont
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Amazon Video
La Strada
(La strada)
Gelsoma, a circus performer, endures her husbands coldness and abuse as they travel the Italian countryside performing together.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 1954
- Director Federico Fellini
- Cast Anthony Quinn, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart, Aldo Silvani, Marcella Rovere, Lidia Venturini
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Fandango At Home, Kanopy
Beat the Devil
A motley crew of con artists race to lay claim on a bogus uranium mine.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Italy, United States • 1953
- Director John Huston
- Cast Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, Gina Lollobrigida, Robert Morley, Peter Lorre, Edward Underdown
- Genre Adventure, Comedy, Crime
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Pure Flix, FlixFling, Classix, Epix Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, VUDU Free, Freevee, Xumo Play, DistroTV, Kanopy, Hoopla, Public Domain Movies
Rome, Open City
(Roma città aperta)
A powerful portrayal of dignity and courage.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 1945
- Director Roberto Rossellini
- Cast Aldo Fabrizi, Anna Magnani, Marcello Pagliero, Francesco Grandjacquet, Harry Feist, Maria Michi
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube