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IN recent years, many of the new Italian films have been eminently successful. Whethef or not there has been founded a « new school » of film-making — the so-called « neo-realism » or the Italian screen — it is certain that in the last few years the Italian film has more closely approached the proportions of art than ever before. It is a complete period — and a happy one — and it may stand beside those few periods which have accented the brief yet crowded history of the screen ; the first bloom of the Soviet film, the last of the American silent films, and the next to last period of French film production.
There has long been a belief in certain quarters that the Italian 'temperament', otherwise rich in genius and talent, was ill-suited to the cinema. It has been said that Italian actors were too strongly tied to the theatre techniques of the past and to the melodramatic vein of the performing art. But these are unjust cliches. The early Italian film (1904-1923), like that of other countries, had its florid bombast — but it also created some remarkable work. Its downfall was brought about by almost incredible economic and industrial errors. Then came a period of Italian film production (1929-1943) neither dazzlingly original nor brilliant, but there were films which were important and honest — particularly in the period from 1929 to 1935. Notable among them were Rotate (Rails) and Sun, Men What Rascals, i860, Steel and Red Passport. After 1935, the year in which the State intervened in the film industry in Italy, which then became bound to the directives of a regime, good films became rarer. Perhaps only White Squadron and Uomini sul Fondo (Men in the Depths ) can be cited. In any case, today's Italian film owes much to the underground currents which churned (sometimes secretly) throughout the trying days of this period.
The collapse of the silent cinema in Italy saw the exodus of directors, technicians and actors. The coming of sound presented new possibilities for the development of style and technique in the various film-making countries. It was a time of reconstruction and before long Italy, too, was equipped for the production of sound films. An organization for the production of documentaries and newsreels was established ■ — the Istituto Luce ; and a school — the Centro Sperimentale. A lively interest in the cinema was aroused and encouraged by publication, seminars and exhibitions, like the Venice Film Festival.
4* — Italian cinema.