Italian Cinema

"Film is not the art of Scholars but of illiterates."
-Werner Herzog

Cinema Federico Fellini was a writer/directer is the age of early Italian cinema. Fellini was taken very seriously as an auteur with his production commenting on the superficiality of the middle class. He held that all of his films has "style and sophistication" and that they were seen worthy for critical appraisal.

The historic and social context of Italian cinema was huge. And the industry brought a new economy to Italy. The Italian working class was at the centre of this new media. A lot of Italian working class families would go to the cinema everyday and watch movies like people watch Television at home. People talked, eat and drunk in the cinema bringing a casual atmosphere to the cinema with people entering and exiting the cinema when ever they wanted.

Prima Visiona - Cinema's that attracted a middle class sophisticated audience usually in major cities, the audience selected a film they wanted to watched

Terza Visiona - Less populated area, cheaper tickets, audience went to the cinema based on habit rather than selecting a film. Films were more formulaic than popular.

Filone was another word that Italian cinema use for genre, it was based on the idea of Geology. Examples of Filone -
 - Giallo: Based on detective novels
 - Spaghetti Westerns
 - Mondo/Cannibal film
 - Poliziottesco: Police procedural