Cesare Zavattini
Encyclopedia
Cesare Zavattini was an Italian
screenwriter
and one of the first theorists and proponents of the Neorealist
movement in Italian cinema.
, near Reggio Emilia
in northern Italy
, on 20 September 1902,
Zavattini studied law at the University of Parma
, but devoted himself to writing. In 1930 he relocated to Milan
, and worked for the book and magazine publisher Angelo Rizzoli
. After Rizzoli began producing films in 1934, Zavattini received his first screenplay and story credits in 1936. In 1935, he met Vittorio De Sica
, beginning a partnership that produced some two dozen films, including such masterpieces of Italian neorealism
as
Zavattini died in Rome
on 13 October 1989.
Zavattini worked with in his more than 80 films are:
Also, In the short story "La Santa," by Gabriel García Márquez a character is named after Zavattini. In the story, the character is a teacher of cinema.
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and one of the first theorists and proponents of the Neorealist
Neorealism (art)
In art, neorealism was established by the ex-Camden Town Group painters Charles Ginner and Harold Gilman at the beginning of World War I. They set out to explore the spirit of their age through the shapes and colours of daily life...
movement in Italian cinema.
Brief biography
Born at LuzzaraLuzzara
Luzzara is a comune in the province of Reggio Emilia, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It is located at the northern end of the province and is bounded by the river named Po to the north as well as the provinces of Mantua and the region of Lombardy....
, near Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....
in northern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, on 20 September 1902,
Zavattini studied law at the University of Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
, but devoted himself to writing. In 1930 he relocated to Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, and worked for the book and magazine publisher Angelo Rizzoli
Angelo Rizzoli
Angelo Rizzoli was an Italian publisher and film producer.- Early life :Orphaned at a young age and raised in poverty, Rizzoli rose to prosperity...
. After Rizzoli began producing films in 1934, Zavattini received his first screenplay and story credits in 1936. In 1935, he met Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio de Sica
Vittorio De Sica was an Italian director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement....
, beginning a partnership that produced some two dozen films, including such masterpieces of Italian neorealism
Italian neorealism
Italian neorealism is a style of film characterized by stories set amongst the poor and working class, filmed on location, frequently using nonprofessional actors...
as
- Sciuscià (Shoeshine, 1946)
- Ladri di biciclette (Bicycle Thieves, American release title, The Bicycle Thief, 1948),
- Miracolo a Milano (Miracle in MilanMiracle in MilanMiracle in Milan is a 1951 Italian film directed by Vittorio de Sica. The screenplay was co-written by Cesare Zavattini, based on his novel Totò il Buono. The picture stars Francesco Golisano, Emma Gramatica, Francesco Golisano, Paolo Stoppa, and Guglielmo Barnabò.The film, told as a neo-realist...
, 1951), and - Umberto D.Umberto D.Umberto D. is a 1952 Italian neorealist film, directed by Vittorio de Sica. Most of the actors were non-professional, including Carlo Battisti, who plays the title role...
(1952).
Zavattini died in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
on 13 October 1989.
Directors
Among the many celebrated directors of Italian and international cinemaFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Zavattini worked with in his more than 80 films are:
- Vittorio de SicaVittorio de SicaVittorio De Sica was an Italian director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement....
, - Michelangelo AntonioniMichelangelo AntonioniMichelangelo Antonioni, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian modernist film director, screenwriter, editor and short story writer.- Personal life :...
, - Alessandro BlasettiAlessandro BlasettiAlessandro Blasetti was an Italian film director who influenced Italian neorealism with the film Quattro passi fra le nuvole...
, - Mauro BologniniMauro BologniniMauro Bolognini was an Italian film director of literate sensibility, known for masterful handling of period subject matter.-Biography:Mauro Bolognini was born in Pistoia, Tuscany....
, - Mario Camerini,
- René Clément,
- Federico FelliniFederico FelliniFederico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
, - Pietro GermiPietro GermiPietro Germi was an Italian actor, screenwriter, and director. Germi was born in Genoa, Liguria, to a lower-middle class family. He was a messenger and briefly attended nautical school before deciding on a career in acting.He studied acting and directing at Rome's Centro Sperimentale di...
, - Alberto LattuadaAlberto LattuadaAlberto Lattuada was an Italian film director.Lattuada was born in Milan, the son of composer Felice Lattuada...
, - Mario MonicelliMario MonicelliMario Monicelli was an Italian director and screenwriter and one of the masters of the Commedia all'Italiana , three times nominated for Oscar.-Biography:...
, - Elio Petri,
- Dino Risi,
- Roberto RosselliniRoberto RosselliniRoberto Rossellini was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Rossellini was one of the directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing films such as Roma città aperta to the movement.-Early life:Born in Rome, Roberto Rossellini lived on the Via Ludovisi, where Benito Mussolini had...
, - Mario SoldatiMario SoldatiMario Soldati was an Italian writer and film director.-Biography:Soldati studied Humanities in his native city, Turin, and History of Art in Rome. He started publishing novels in 1929 although his fame came with America primo amore, published in 1935, a diary about the time he spent teaching at...
- Paolo and Vittorio TavianiPaolo and Vittorio TavianiPaolo and Vittorio Taviani are noted Italian film directors and screenwriters...
- Luchino ViscontiLuchino ViscontiLuchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo was an Italian theatre, opera and cinema director, as well as a screenwriter. He is best known for his films The Leopard and Death in Venice .-Life:...
.
Also, In the short story "La Santa," by Gabriel García Márquez a character is named after Zavattini. In the story, the character is a teacher of cinema.
Selected filmography
- I'll Give a MillionI'll Give a MillionI'll Give a Million is a 1936 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Camerini and starring Vittorio De Sica. It is based on the first screenplay by Cesare Zavattini.-Cast:* Vittorio De Sica - Gold* Assia Noris - Anna* Luigi Almirante - Blim...
(1936) - Piruetas Juveniles / Romanzo a passo di danza (1943)
- Un giorno nella vitaUn giorno nella vitaUn giorno nella vita is a 1946 Italian war film directed by Alessandro Blasetti. It was entered into the 1946 Cannes Film Festival. American title: "A Day In the Life". This film was screened in 2009 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center's retrospective "Life Lessons" Italian Neorealism and the...
(1946) - Sperduti nel buioLost in the Dark (1947 film)Lost in the Dark is a 1947 Italian drama film directed by Camillo Mastrocinque. It was entered into the 1947 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Vittorio De Sica - Nunzio* Fiorella Betti - Paolina* Jacqueline Plessis - Livia* Enrico Glori - Paolo Nardone...
(1947) - Vent'anniVent'anniVent'anni is a 1949 Italian drama film directed by Giorgio Bianchi.-Cast:* Oscar Blando - Ciro* Titti Brandani* Nando Bruno* Vittoria Crispo* Checco Durante* Francesco Golisano - Geppa* Barbara Leite* Lamberto Maggiorani* Liliana Mancini - Iris...
(1949) - L'oro di Napoli ("The Gold of NaplesThe Gold of NaplesThe Gold of Naples is a 1954 Italian comedy film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It was entered into the 1955 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:The film is a tribute to Naples, where director De Sica spent his first years, this is a collection of 6 Neapolitan episodes: a clown exploited by a hoodlum; an...
", 1954) - La Ciociara ("Two WomenTwo WomenTwo Women 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...
", 1960) - I sequestrati di Altona ("The Condemned of AltonaThe Condemned of Altona (film)The Condemned of Altona is a 1962 Italian-French drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It is based on the play of the same name by Jean-Paul Sartre.-Cast:* Sophia Loren - Johanna* Maximilian Schell - Franz* Fredric March - Albrecht von Gerlach...
", 1962) - L'isola di Arturo ("Arturo's Island", 1962)
- Ieri, oggi e domani ("Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow", 1963)
- Un monde nouveauUn monde nouveauUn monde nouveau is a 1966 French-Italian drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica. Most notably it featured Sean Connery as himself.-Cast:* Christine Delaroche - Anne* Nino Castelnuovo - Carlo* Madeleine Robinson - Wealthy woman...
(1966) - Caprice Italian StyleCaprice Italian StyleCaprice Italian Style is a 1968 Italian comedy film directed by six different directors, including Mario Monicelli and Pier Paolo Pasolini.-Cast:* Totò as Anziano signore* Ugo D'Alessio as Il commissario di PS* Regina Seiffert as La Ragazza...
(1968) - I girasoli ("SunflowerSunflowerSunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence . The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads...
", 1970) - Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini ("The Garden of the Finzi-ContinisThe Garden of the Finzi-Continis (film)The Garden of the Finzi-Continis is a 1970 Italian film, directed by Vittorio de Sica. It stars Lino Capolicchio, Dominique Sanda and Helmut Berger. The film is based upon Giorgio Bassani's novel of the same name.-Plot:...
", 1970) - Una breve vacanza ("A Brief VacationA Brief VacationA Brief Vacation is a 1973 Italian melodrama directed by Vittorio de Sica. The script, written by Cesare Zavattini, was inspired by an Apollinaire adage .-Synopsis:...
", 1973) - Lo chiameremo AndreaLo chiameremo AndreaLo chiameremo Andrea is a 1972 Italian comedy film directed by Vittorio De Sica.-Cast:* Nino Manfredi - Paolo Antonazzi* Mariangela Melato - Maria Antonazzi* Anna Maria Aragona - Teacher...
(1975)
External links
retrieved October 15, 2006- Cesare Zavattini - Official website , retrieved October 15, 2006