Alessandro Blasetti

Alessandro Blasetti (born July 3, 1900 in Rome , † February 1, 1987 ibid) was an Italian film director who influenced Italian neorealism .

Life

After attending the military academy from 1917 to 1918, Blasetti initially worked as a bank clerk and completed a law degree in 1924. His passion for the cinema made him take over the reviews section at L'Impero in 1925 ; finally in 1927 he founded Il Cinematografo and finally Lo spettacolo d'Italia together with other intellectuals.

In 1928 he switched to directing; his first film Sole was a success and is considered a forerunner of neorealism. Only a few scenes have survived from this film, shot in the Pontine Marshes . His second film Nerone is one of the historic monumental films, after which Blasetti also made comedies.

Blasetti found success with both audiences and critics; his creativity made him recognize new trends and quickly take up or even initiate them. There are early examples of divism ( It's a shame that you're a Kanaille , 1954 with Sophia Loren ) and the sexy documentaries ( Europa di notte , 1959) - the forerunners of the Mondo films .

From 1964 Blasetti also worked for television; Notable works are the two-part Napoli 1860: La fine dei Borboni and the three-part series Racconti di fantascienza from 1979.

In 1967 he was President of the Jury at the Cannes International Film Festival .

Filmography (selection)

• 1929: Sole
• 1930: Nerone
• 1930: Resurrectio
• 1931: Terra madre
• 1932: La tavola dei poveri
• 1932: Palio
• 1933: Il caso Haller
• 1934: 1860
• 1934: Mario (Vecchia Guardia)
• 1936: Contessa di Parma
• 1938: Storms over Morreale (Ettore Fieramosca)
• 1939: The Mysterious Avenger (Un'avventura di Salvator Rosa)
• 1941: La cena delle beffe
• 1941: La corona di ferro
• 1942: Lie of a summer night (4 passi fra le nuvole)
• 1946: Un giorno nella vita
• 1948: Fabiola (Fabiola)
• 1950: The husband of the gods (Prima comunione)
• 1951: Other times (Altri tempi)
• 1953: Tempi nostri (Tempi nostri)
• 1954: It's a shame you're a rascal (Peccato che sia una canaglia)
• 1956: How wonderful to be a woman (La fortuna di essere donna)
• 1957: love and chatter (Amore e chiacchiere)
• 1958: The biggest show of the night (Europa di notte)
• 1960: I love, you love ... (Io amo, tu ami)
• 1962: The four truths (Les quatre verités)
• 1963: Liolà (Liolà)
• 1966: Io, io, io… e gli altri
• 1968: Simon Bolivar (Simon Bolivar)
• 1970: Napoli 1860: la fine dei Borboni (TV movie)
• 1979: I racconti di fantascienza (TV movie)

literature

• Blasetti, Alessandro . In: Dieter Krusche: Lexicon of the movies. From silent films to today . Bertelsmann, Gütersloh 1977, pp. 650-651.
• Roberto Poppi: Dizionario del cinema italiano . I registi, Gremese 2003, p. 61.

Web links

• Alessandro Blasetti in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ homepage.univie.ac.at/elisabeth.fraller/neorealismus.doc