Table of Contents

acknowledgements introduction: describing neorealism 1 the origins of neorealism 2 neorealism's first phase 3 neorealism and the city 4 the battle of neorealism 5 neorealism's second phase conclusion: legacies of neorealism bibliography index

About the Author

Mark Shiel is Lecturer in Film Studies at King's College, University of London. He is the co-editor of, and contributor to, Cinema and the City (2001) and Screening the City (2003), and has written several articles and book chapters on the cinematic images of New York, Los Angeles, Paris, and Dublin.

Reviews

'The brief lifespan and relatively small output of this cinematic movement makes it perfectly suited to Wallflower's Short Cuts series, and this volume is the best yet among some fine competition. Mark Shiel concisely and unpretentiously provides everything you could need to know about the cornerstones of the genre, from its sudden birth following Mussolini's time in power, through seven key works, to a brief concluding look at its legacy. An excellent introduction to one of the often mentioned but lesser understood forms of world cinema, this achieves exactly what it sets out to, and delivers cinema-lit and its most comfortably digestible.' ***** Empire, April 2006 'Mark Shiel's survey of Italian Neorealism is a well-written, well-researched and interesting book. His focus on the role of urban spaces in neorealist classics is particularly illuminating, and the discussions of the films in question are always based upon very intelligent and sensitive analyses of the many dimensions of these works (aesthetic, social, ideological, political) that make them so fascinating. Highly recommended.' Peter Bondanella, Indiana University 'A highly engaging introduction to Italy's most celebrated cinematic movement, its crucial relationship to modernist art cinemas, its privileging focus on the city and ontological truths, and its meaning in the films of five major auteurs - Visconti, Rossellini, De Sica, Antonioni, and Fellini. Italian Neorealism: Rebuilding the Cinematic City is a solid study of neorealist aesthetics, a book marked by a critical understanding of Italian cinema and culture, a valuable addition to a field crowded with specialized volumes.' Gaetana Marrone, Princeton University