Rossellini, Roberto

Rossellini, Roberto
born May 8, 1906, Rome, Italy
died June 3, 1977, Rome

Italian film director.

He directed his first feature film, White Ship, in 1941. During World War II he made Fascist propaganda films but also secretly filmed anti-Fascist activities. He used the documentary footage in Open City (1945), acclaimed as one of the first examples of Italian Neorealism. The screenplay was written with Federico Fellini, who also collaborated with him on Paisan (1946). He made several films starring Ingrid Bergman, beginning with Stromboli (1949), but the scandal of their adulterous affair and marriage damaged their careers. He later directed General della Rovere (1959) and works for the stage and television, including a series of didactic historical works. His daughter Isabella Rossellini (b. 1952) appeared in films such as Blue Velvet (1986) and Big Night (1996).

* * *

▪ Italian director
born May 8, 1906, Rome
died June 3, 1977, Rome

      one of the most widely known post-World War II motion-picture directors of Italy. His films Roma città aperta (1945; Open City) and Paisà (1946; Paisan) focussed international attention on the Italian Neorealist movement in films.

      The son of a successful sculptor and architect, he travelled extensively throughout Europe. In 1931 his father's fortune was confiscated by the Italian Fascist government, and three years later Rossellini began working at odd jobs in the cinema industry. He directed a full-length feature, La nave bianca (1941; White Ship), but navy officials objected to its antiwar tone. His name was removed from the film, and it was released anonymously.

      During World War II he directed government propaganda short subjects but was also affiliated with the underground cinema movement that secretly recorded the activities of the anti-Fascist Resistance. Open City, which incorporated this documentary footage shot during the war, set the style for postwar Italian films in its use of natural settings and its realistic portrayal of life in Italy during the German occupation. It starred Anna Magnani in her first film role of substance. Internationally recognized as one of the most outstanding films of the postwar period, it earned Rossellini the title of “inventor” of Neorealism. Paisan, a series of six episodes of the war in Italy, also achieved worldwide recognition.

      Rossellini's technique of reconstructing actuality was continued in Germania, anno zero (1947; Germany, Year Zero) and India (1958). A concern with religion is evident in Francesco, giullare di Dio (1950; The Flowers of St. Francis), a series of anecdotes about St. Francis of Assisi. Stromboli, terra di Dio (1949; Stromboli) and Viaggio in Italia (1953; The Lonely Woman) were outstanding in a series of films exploring the meaning of freedom. They starred the actress Ingrid Bergman (Bergman, Ingrid), whose love affair with Rossellini caused an international scandal. Their marriage in 1950, after both sought divorces from their first spouses, was annulled in 1958.

      Rossellini's next films—Il generale della Rovere (1959; General Della Rovere), which starred Vittorio De Sica, another leading Italian director; Viva l'Italia (1960; “Long Live Italy”); Era notte a Roma (1960; “It Was Night at Rome”); and Vanina Vanini (1961; The Betrayer)—exemplify a recurring patriotic theme. During the 1950s and '60s Rossellini also directed a number of works for the stage, and he directed his first film for television in 1956. From 1964 he devoted himself to television films, including the biographical Socrate (1970).

      Rossellini's realistic style strongly influenced the development of important cinema talents, such as the director Federico Fellini, who came into prominence in the 1950s.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Rossellini, Roberto — • РОССЕЛЛИ НИ (Rossellini) Роберто (8.5.1906 3.6.1977)    итал. режиссёр. Учился в Высш. технич. школе. Первые ф. снимал как любитель ( Послеполуденный отдых фавна на музыку К. Дебюсси, и др.). Был сценаристом. Затем пост. ф., восхвалявшие воен.… …   Кино: Энциклопедический словарь

  • Rossellini, Roberto — (1906 1977)    Director and screenwriter. Universally acknowledged as the father of Italian neorealism, Rossellini was born into a wealthy family and a privileged environment. His father was a successful builder architect with a love of music and …   Guide to cinema

  • Rossellini, Roberto — (1906 1977)    Director and screenwriter. Universally acknowledged as the father of Italian neorealism, Rossellini was born into a wealthy family and a privileged environment. His father was a successful builder architect with a love of music and …   Historical dictionary of Italian cinema

  • Rossellini, Roberto — (1906–1977)    Regarded by many as Italy’s greatest film director, Rossellini made his international reputation with a depiction of the resistance to the Nazi occupation, Roma, citta aperta (Open City, 1945). Shot on location in war torn Rome,… …   Historical Dictionary of modern Italy

  • Rossellini, Roberto — ► (1906 77) Realizador cinematográfico italiano. Uno de los iniciadores del neorrealismo italiano. Películas: Roma, ciudad abierta (1944 46), Alemania, año cero (1948) y Europa 51 (1952), entre otras. * * * (8 may. 1906, Roma, Italia–3 jun. 1977 …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Rossellini,Roberto — Ros·sel·li·ni (rô sə lēʹnē, rŏs ə , rōsʹsĕ ), Roberto. 1906 1977. Italian filmmaker whose works, such as Rome, Open City (1945), employ fictional characters to depict historical events. * * * …   Universalium

  • Rossellini — Rossellini, Roberto …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Roberto Rossellini — et Ingrid Bergman en 1951. Données clés Naissance …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Roberto Rosselini — Roberto Rossellini Roberto Rossellini Naissance 8 mai 1906 Rome  Italie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Rossellini — Roberto Rossellini Roberto Rossellini Naissance 8 mai 1906 Rome  Italie …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”