Italy remembers the 50th anniversary of the death of the genius Vittorio De Sica

Italy remembers the 50th anniversary of the death of the genius Vittorio De Sica


The father of Neorealism influenced generations of filmmakers

Exactly 50 years ago, cinema lost the Italian genius Vittorio De Sica (1901-1974), father of Neorealism, winner of four Oscar statuettes for best foreign film and nominated five times for the award, approaching Federico Fellini’s record.

There is no shortage of homages to the director of classics such as “Bicycle Thieves” (1948), “The Two Women” (1960) and “The Finzi-Contini Garden” (1970). The city of Naples (his “true” homeland, despite him being born in Sora, Lazio) dedicates an entire street to him and commemorative events and retrospectives are held in several cities.

De Sica was a complex man, a true “star” between the two world wars, a refined and elegant director, an Italian father, a militant in the battles of his time.

As a filmmaker, he influenced several generations of Italian and foreign directors by transforming everyday, private stories of a hero into timeless works, such as the aforementioned “Bicycle Thieves”, as well as “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” (1963) and “Marriage Italian” (1964).

As an actor, he passed on all the tricks for a good performance to his son Christian, making the heir a very popular character in the production.

In his private life he committed bigamy against his Italian wife Giuditta Rissone when he married María Mercader in Mexico. Between one and the other, he had an affair in Spain, where his second daughter was born.

During World War II, when Rome was taken by the Nazis, he refused to flee north and invented a script to film in Cinecittà again with the support of the Vatican.

The film, entitled “The Gate of Paradise”, was nothing more than a pretext to give refuge to Jews and anti-fascists hired as extras. .

Source: Terra

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