Do you want to know some of the greatest Italian movies of all time?
As a popular art, fashion, and travel destination, Italy is also a gateway for timeless and eponymous European cinema. It has produced a great number of actors and actresses, as well as filmmakers, who have made their marks on the international scene.
We have listed 17 of the greatest Italian movies of all time for your reference – all must-watch!
17 Greatest Italian Movies of All Time
1. La Vita è Bella (Life Is Beautiful)
Year Released: 1997
Director: Roberto Benigni
Best Quote from the Movie: “Nothing is more necessary than the unnecessary.”
Number one on our list is a 1997 classic Italian movie starring Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, and Giorgio Cantarini.
La Vita è Bella is a narrative of a young Jewish Italian family set in Tuscany, Italy. The movie was templated under the Holocaust era with a mix of humor, imagination and perseverance. By turning their time in the concentration camps, the father is able to shield his son from their nightmarish experience.
La Vita è Bella won numerous international awards, including three Oscars for Best International Feature Film, Best Music (Original Score), and Best Actor for Benigni.
A comedic drama with a tinge of romance, this movie is a must-watch among moviegoers.
2. La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life)
Year Released: 1960
Director: Federico Fellini
Best Quote from the Movie: “We must get beyond passions, like a great work of art. In such miraculous harmony. We should love each other outside of time… detached.”
La Dolce Vita is a sexy dramatic comedy film that follows the story of a week in the life of tabloid reporter Marcelo Rubini as he journeys through Rome’s la dolce vita (sweet life) in futile search for love and happiness.
Marcelo chases women and goes around his business in the Italian capital. Wanting to pause for self-reflection, he follows the life of an heiress and a movie star – somehow leaving behind his clingy and and melodramatic fiancée.
Starring Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimee, and Yvonne Furneaux, this great Italian movie was condemned by the Vatican and became subject to wide censorship. However, the groundbreaking satire thrilled the critics and won the Palme d’Or in 1960.
3. Il Postino (The Postman)
Year Released: 1994
Director: Michael Radford
Best Quote from the Movie: “Poetry doesn’t belong to those who write it; it belongs to those who need it.”
Released in 1994, this classic comedy-drama movie top bills Massimo Troisi, Philippe Noiret, and Maria Grazia Cucinotta.
Il Postino tackles the story of Mario Jiménez, a fictional postman in revolution-era Chile, who befriends the real-life poet Pablo Neruda.
In the story, a young Pablo Neruda is exiled from Chile for political reasons to a small island in Italy. A jobless man from the town, Mario, is being asked to work as a postman to deliver Neruda’s letter. Later on, Neruda becomes Mario’s teacher, as the latter learns the wonderful world of poetry as a way to impress a local girl.
This Italian movie is based on Ardiente Paciencia (English title: Burning Patience), a novel by Antonio Skármeta published in 1985.
4. La Ciociara (Two Women)
Year Released: 1960
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Best Quote from the Movie: “I’d like to see you sleeping with the chickens! Eating once a day! And then a guy with money comes along and tells me, ‘I am taking you to Rome.’ I married Rome, not him!”
Starring the beautiful Sophia Loren, together with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Raf Vallone, La Ciociara – roughly translated as “The Woman from Ciociaria” – is set in Italy during the World War II.
La Ciociara follows a story of a widower named Cecira and her teenage daughter, Rosetta, in an effort to escape the horrors of the war, putting distance between the two of them. Michele Di Libero, a young intelligent man falls in love with the widower as they return to the village where Cesira was raised.
This Italian movie, released internationally as Two Women, is based on a 1957 Italian-language war novel titled La Ciociara by Alberto Moravia. The story is fictional, but based on actual events in Rome and rural Lazio in 1944, during the Marocchinate (“Moroccans’ deeds”) or the mass rape and killings carried out after the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy.
Loren’s performance in this great Italian movie received critical acclaim, earning her an Academy Award for Best Actress, among other accolades.
5. Malèna
Year Released: 2000
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
Best Quote from the Movie: “I pedaled as fast as I could… as if I were escaping from longing, from innocence, from her. Time has passed, and I have loved many women. And as they’ve held me close… and asked if I will remember them I’ve said, ‘Yes, I will remember you.’ But the only one I’ve never forgotten is the one who never asked… Malèna.”
This coming-of-age Italian movie stars Monica Belucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro, and Luciano Federico.
With a pang of drama, Malèna is set in the sleepy Sicilian village of Castelcuto during World War II, where Renato, a 13-year-old boy, falls in love with Malèna, an attractive widower. He spies on her in her house and stalks her when she leaves it.
Malèna is both admired by men and resented by women alike. She is an instrument in the divine intervention of Renato’s character as she teaches him the important lessons in life.
Malèna was inspired by a short story of the same title written by Italian writer Luciano Vincenzoni. The movie won the Grand Prix award at the 2001 Cabourg Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.
6. Matrimonio all’Italiana (Marriage Italian Syle)
Year Released: 1964
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Best Quote from the Movie: “The more the world changes, the more it stays the same.”
In this 1964 masterpiece, Sophia Loren (Filumena Marturano) takes on a daring role of being a penniless sex worker. Little did she know that her life is about to change when she meets a wealthy businessman in the person of Domenico Soriano.
They begin their decades-long relationship but Filumena secretly bore Domenico’s three children. As soon as she discovers Domenicos’s plan of marrying another woman, Filumena never expected that the greatest shock of her life is about to come.
To keep him for herself, she takes over-the-top measures.
Matrimonio all’Italiana is set during the World War II era, topbilling Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, and Aldo Puglisi. The film is based on the Italian play Filumena Marturano by Eduardo De Filippo. Definitely one of the best Italian movies you must watch.
7. Divorzio all’Italiana (Divorce Italian Style)
Year Released: 1961
Director: Pietro Germi
Best Quote from the Movie: “If we used our heads more, we could save some real money.”
In this Italian black comedy, Fernando Cefalu (Marcello Mastroianni) is in dire need of marrying Angela (Stefania Sandrelli) despite the fact that they are cousins.
Unfortunately, Fernando is married to Rosalia (Daniela Rocca). Divorce is not allowed in Italy, so Fernando takes unfathomable measures in order to get around with the existing law.
Fernando tries to trick his wife into having an affair with a painter he has persuaded to help him with his plan so he can catch them. That way, he could kill Rosalia in the hopes of his wife be proven guilty of committing an adulterous act.
However, Rosalia veers away from getting into a relationship with the painter, thus proving her devotion to her husband.
Divorzio all’Italiana is based on the 1960 novel Un Delitto d’Onore (“Honor Killing”) by Giovanni Arpino. This Italian film won the 1961 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Germi was nominated for Best Director and Mastroianni for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
8. Il Sorpasso (The Overtaking)
Year Released: 1962
Director: Dino Risi
Best Quote from the Movie: “Love for a woman is fickle as the moon. Brotherly love is steady as the stars.”
This 1962 Italian film is a cult comedy that follows the unlikely pair of Roberto Mariani (Jean-Louis Trintignant), a withdrawn young scholar, and Bruno Cortona (Vittorio Gassman), a freewheeling bachelor in his 40s, on an unpredictable journey that careens from slapstick comedy to tragedy.
Set on the beautiful coasts of Tuscany and Lazio, Il Sorpasso tackles the pleasures and consequences of the good life.
The film is considered Dino Risi’s masterpiece and is said to be one of the finest examples of the commedia all’italiana film genre.
9. La Strada (The Road)
Year Released: 1954
Director: Federico Fellini
Best Quote from the Movie: “What a funny face! Are you a woman, really? Or an artichoke?”
The Italian film La Strada is a drama that tells the story of Gelsomina (Giulietta Masina), an innocent young lady, bought from her peasant mother by brutish circus strongman Zampano (Anthony Quinn) to be his wife and partner. She faithfully endures her husband’s coldness and abuse as they travel the Italian countryside performing as a couple.
With Gelsomina’s astonishing beauty, it doesn’t take long for Zampano to deal with his jealousy and conflicted feelings, especially when the young woman finds a kindred spirit in II Matto (Richard Basehart), a carefree circus fool.
This Italian movie is considered by critics as one of the most influential films ever made and one of Federico Fellini’s best. It garnered an Academy award for Best International Feature Film and Silver Lion for Best Director.
10. Ladri di Biciclette (Bicycle Thieves)
Year Released: 1948
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Best Quote from the Movie: “There’s a cure for everything except death.”
The Italian film Ladri di Biciclette follows Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani) who lands a job as a postman in the impoverished postwar Rome. His bicycle gets stolen on his first day at work, which puts his new job in jeopardy. He meets a fortune teller in order to find the thief. He fights with the crowd, argues with the police, and finally quits the thief hunt because of the lack of evidence.
Deemed one of the greatest films ever made, Ladri di Biciclette was adapted from Luigi Bartolini’s 1946 novel of the same title. It is sometimes known as The Bicycle Thief in the US.
11. Cinema Paradiso (Paradise Cinema)
Year Released: 1988
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
Best Quote from the Movie: “Out of the fire of love come ashes. Even the greatest love eventually fizzles out.”
In the Italian drama Cinema Paradiso (English: “Paradise Cinema”), a filmmaker looks back on his childhood in his war-torn Sicilian village, where he discovered the perfect escape from life: the movie house called Cinema Paradiso. He formed a deep friendship with the cinema’s projectionist, who instilled in him a deep love of films.
This Italian film stars Jacques Perrin, Philippe Noiret, Leopoldo Trieste, Marco Leonardi, Agnese Nano, and Salvatore Cascio. Regarded by many as a classic, Cinema Paradiso won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1989.
12. L’Albero degli Zoccoli (The Tree of Wooden Clogs)
Year Released: 1978
Director: Ermanno Olmi
Best Quote from the Movie: “No money in the world can buy the love between two people.”
Set in the late 1800s, this 1978 Italian movie focuses on the lives of the poor, following a peasant family working in a northern Italian farm. A priest convinces Batisti (Luigi Ornaghi) and his wife, Batistina (Francesca Moriggi) to send their son Minec (Omar Brignoli) to school.
One day, Minec’s wooden shoe broke. In desperation, Batisti puts his family’s future at risk in order to replace the clog.
The Tree of Wooden Clogs made it in The New York Times list of Best 1,000 Movies Ever in 2003.
13. Cesare Deve Morire (Caesar Must Die)
Year Released: 2012
Directors: Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani
Best Quote from the Movie: “Ever since I discovered art, this cell has truly become a prison.”
Set in a high-security prison in Rome, the Italian movie Caesar Must Die tackles the story of convicts in their rehearsals ahead of a prison performance of William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar.
This profoundly moving Italian drama film runs 76 minutes and has no female roles.
For those looking for a film that’s daring as it is gripping, Caesar Must Die more than fits the bill.
14. Le Notti di Cabiria (Nights of Cabiria)
Year Released: 1957
Director: Federico Fellini
Best Quote from the Movie: “Guess there’s some justice in the world. You suffer, you go through hell. Then happiness comes along or everyone.”
The story follows Cabiria (Giulietta Masina), a prostitute living in a poor section of 1957 Rome and wandering the streets to find love but only ends up getting heartbroken.
Nights of Cabiria starts with the titular character getting robbed by her deadbeat boyfriend and then thrown into a river to drown. This Italian film ends in pretty much the same way – Cabiria is robbed, heartbroken, and left for dead.
Giulietta Masina won the Best Actress award in Cannes and the 1957 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. An absolute must-see for Fellini fans!
15. Il Conformista (The Conformist)
Year Released: 1970
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Best Quote from the Movie: “Really serious people are never serious.”
Marcello Clerici (Jean-Louis Trintignant), a member of the secret police in Mussolini’s Fascist Italy, travels to Paris with his new bride, Giulia (Stefania Sandrelli).
Aside from honeymoon, he also plans to assassinate Luca Quadri (Enzo Tarascio), an exiled anti-Fascist.
However, things start to get complicated when Marcello meets Quadri’s young wife, Anna (Dominique Sanda). Now his loyalties are being tested – both romantic and political.
An intoxicatingly beautiful and deeply disturbing political drama film, Il Conformista is based on Alberto Moravia’s 1951 novel of the same title.
16. Otto e Mezzo (8 ½)
Year Released: 1963
Director: Federico Fellini
Best Quote from the Movie: “Destroying is better than creating when we’re not creating those few truly necessary things. But is there anything so just and true in this world that it has the right to live? Better to knock it all down and strew the ground with salt, as the ancients did to purify the battlefields. In the end, what we need is some hygiene, cleanliness, disinfection.”
Otto e Mezzo (8 ½), a surrealist comedy-drama film by Federico Fellini, follows a troubled Italian filmmaker Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni) struggling to get a new movie going.
Deemed one of the best cinematographic films of all time, Otto e Mezzo is a painfully honest discourse about a man in a personal and professional crisis.
17. Roma Città Aperta (Rome, Open City)
Year Released: 1945
Director: Roberto Rossellini
Best Quote from the Movie: “It’s not hard to die well. The hard thing is to live well.”
The Italian film Roma Città Aperta is a neorealist war drama featuring Aldo Fabrizi, Anna Magnani, and Marcello Pagliero. It is set in Rome during the Nazi occupation in 1944, with the title referring to the declaration of Rome as an open city after 14 August 1943.
The story follows Resistance leader Giorgio Manfredi (Marcello Pagliero) as he is tracked down by a Nazi officer who wants the name of others in the underground movement.
The film stuns its audiences by its authenticity that’s more reminiscent of the documentary quality of wartime newsreels than of typical World War II dramas.
Roma Città Aperta garnered several awards at various film festivals, including the highly coveted Cannes Grand Prix.
