Top 20 Italian Films

This amazing thing about this film is that so much drama and desperation can be captured within the simple event of a man having his bicycle stolen. The film takes place during Italy's devastating post-war depression, and is shot in the streets and alleys of Rome, creating an extremely vivid and life-like environment. A father who is desperate to take care of his family, finds a job putting up posters, but his entire livelihood is at stake when thieves steal his bicycle.

This inspiring film is about how love and the human spirit can triumph over anything. Guido, a charming but sort of bumbling waiter wins the heart of his love interest through a series of humorous and endearing interactions. The couple have a child, but soon their fairy-tale lives are disrupted by WWII and the family is sent to a concentration camp, where Guido does everything in his power to protect his son from the harsh realities of the world.

This oscar-nominated film is quite possibly Fellini's greatest work, a masterpiece of F storytelling and cinema. In the film, a 43-year-old film director is having a midlife crisis, and goes to a health spa to try to regain his creativity. The story is full of beautifully shot flashbacks, dream sequences, exaggerated fantasy scenes, and oddly magical surrealist episodes.

Set in a small village in Sicily, this movie portrays three stages in the life of Salvatore, who leaves his small town as a boy only to return home years later as a famous movie director.

Another Fillini masterpiece, this film follows the story of a well-known journalist who finds himself suddenly involved with the important high society members that his paper so often criticizes.