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THE Second World War, the fall of the Fascist regime, the material and spiritual devastation suffered by Italy, and the struggle of brother against brother, have combined to produce a serious psychological split in the Italian people.
Although the war ended less than ten years ago, so overwhelming has been the change, so great and terrible the events that separate Italian consciousness of yesterday from the awareness of today, that a full century might have passed. But thanks to that very separation, it is possible to judge the second period of the Italian cinema (1930-1942) with almost the detachment of future generations. For the motion pictures of that period, and the men who produced them, are a vital part of the history of the Italian film.
This second period of Italian film-making is like an island, separated as it is from its initial flowering by ten years (1 920-1 930), during which the ineptitude of its creators caused it to languish and collapse — and by its following era which is now in the full glory of its film-making activity. To reflect on this period of artistic isolation is to become aware of the effect it had, directly and indirectly, on the Italian film of today.
The Fascist dictatorship sought to reduce the motion picture to an instmmentum regni, to make it the most efficient propaganda weapon of the regime. Technical facilities were provided, and the inroads of foreign competition were minimized by protecting the Italian film industry with special laws and provisions. Like all totalitarian regimes, it considered the motion picture important only if it could serve the needs of the state.
Under Fascism, the groundwork for an Italian film renaissance was begun. It is quite possible that without the facilities, institutions and provisions for regulation set in motion by the Fascist regime, the Italian cinema of today would have different, and perhaps more modest, dimensions. On the other hand, the present success of the Italian film must in no way be considered a posthumous reward of dictatorship.
On the contrary, the success of the Italian film today provides yet another definite condemnation of that regime ; for despite abundant capital and favorable regulation, the film industry under the Fascists was never able to achieve a similar success. It only succeeded in creating a film industry of a pseudo-Hollywood type. Huge establishments like Cinecitta or the Instituto Luce did not convince Italian film-makers or film-goers that Hollywood had
Italian cinema.