Vittorio De Sica

Directing

Vittorio De Sica

Born July 7, 1901 · Sora, Frosinone, Lazio, Italy

Died November 13, 1974 · aged 73

Vittorio De Sica (7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: Sciuscià and Bicycle Thieves (honorary), while Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow and Il giardino dei Finzi Contini won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Indeed, the great critical success of Sciuscià (the fi…

Known For

Bicycle ThievesBicycle Thieves · 1948
Bicycle Thieves
8.21948
MovieDrama
Unemployed Antonio is elated when he finally finds work hanging posters around war-torn Rome. However on his first day, his bicycle—essential to his work—gets stolen. His job is doomed unless he can find the thief. With the help of his son, Antonio combs the city, becoming desperate for justice.
We All Loved Each Other So MuchWe All Loved Each Other So Much · 1974
We All Loved Each Other So Much
8.31974
MovieDramaComedy
Three partisans bound by a strong friendship return home after the war, but the clash with everyday reality puts a strain on their bond.
SunflowerSunflower · 1970
Sunflower
7.51970
MovieDramaWar
After World War II, a woman refuses to believe her husband, missing on the Russian front, is dead. Flashbacks reveal their brief courtship and marriage. Years later, she travels to Russia with his photo, determined to find him. What will she discover?
Too Bad She's BadToo Bad She's Bad · 1954
Too Bad She's Bad
6.91954
MovieRomanceComedy
When young and attractive Lina Stroppiani, a thief like the rest of her family, tries to steal the taxi of Paolo, together with two accomplices, she can't possibly know that this will have far reaching consequences.
Boccaccio '70Boccaccio '70 · 1962
Boccaccio '70
6.91962
MovieComedyRomance
An anthology of four comic moral tales about the hypocrisies surrounding sex in 1960s Italy: frothy young love and office politics in the big city; milk advertisements that begin to haunt an aging prude; a trophy wife enduring her husband's very public affairs; a lucky ticket-holder at a small town fair.
LafayetteLafayette · 1962
Lafayette
5.91962
MovieDramaWar
The story of Lafayette, the 19 year old pacifist who takes the side of the Colonials during the American war of Independence.
AusterlitzAusterlitz · 1960
Austerlitz
6.61960
MovieDramaHistory
Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself emperor and fights the English, Austrians and Russians in 1802.
Woman Times SevenWoman Times Seven · 1967
Woman Times Seven
6.41967
MovieComedyDrama
Seven mini-stories of adultery: a widow misbehaves at her husband's funeral, a wife turns to streetwalking for revenge, a prudish girl surprises, a neglected wife vies for her husband's attention, a fight over a dress, a death pact, and a detective revealed as a jealous husband's spy.

Movies

Bicycle ThievesBicycle Thieves · 1948
Bicycle Thieves
8.21948
MovieDrama
Unemployed Antonio is elated when he finally finds work hanging posters around war-torn Rome. However on his first day, his bicycle—essential to his work—gets stolen. His job is doomed unless he can find the thief. With the help of his son, Antonio combs the city, becoming desperate for justice.
We All Loved Each Other So MuchWe All Loved Each Other So Much · 1974
We All Loved Each Other So Much
8.31974
MovieDramaComedy
Three partisans bound by a strong friendship return home after the war, but the clash with everyday reality puts a strain on their bond.
SunflowerSunflower · 1970
Sunflower
7.51970
MovieDramaWar
After World War II, a woman refuses to believe her husband, missing on the Russian front, is dead. Flashbacks reveal their brief courtship and marriage. Years later, she travels to Russia with his photo, determined to find him. What will she discover?
Too Bad She's BadToo Bad She's Bad · 1954
Too Bad She's Bad
6.91954
MovieRomanceComedy
When young and attractive Lina Stroppiani, a thief like the rest of her family, tries to steal the taxi of Paolo, together with two accomplices, she can't possibly know that this will have far reaching consequences.
Boccaccio '70Boccaccio '70 · 1962
Boccaccio '70
6.91962
MovieComedyRomance
An anthology of four comic moral tales about the hypocrisies surrounding sex in 1960s Italy: frothy young love and office politics in the big city; milk advertisements that begin to haunt an aging prude; a trophy wife enduring her husband's very public affairs; a lucky ticket-holder at a small town fair.
LafayetteLafayette · 1962
Lafayette
5.91962
MovieDramaWar
The story of Lafayette, the 19 year old pacifist who takes the side of the Colonials during the American war of Independence.
AusterlitzAusterlitz · 1960
Austerlitz
6.61960
MovieDramaHistory
Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself emperor and fights the English, Austrians and Russians in 1802.
Woman Times SevenWoman Times Seven · 1967
Woman Times Seven
6.41967
MovieComedyDrama
Seven mini-stories of adultery: a widow misbehaves at her husband's funeral, a wife turns to streetwalking for revenge, a prudish girl surprises, a neglected wife vies for her husband's attention, a fight over a dress, a death pact, and a detective revealed as a jealous husband's spy.
Two WomenTwo Women · 1960
Two Women
7.81960
MovieDramaWar
A young widow flees from Rome during WWII and takes her lonely twelve-year-old-daughter to her rural hometown but the horrors of war soon catch up with them.
Dear CarolineDear Caroline · 1968
Dear Caroline
4.71968
MovieDrama
Against the backdrop of the French revolution, young Caroline tries to reunite with her first love, despite her arranged marriage to an older politician.
The CouplesThe Couples · 1970
The Couples
6.91970
MovieComedy
Three episodes. Episode 1 - The Refrigerator (Monicelli). A married couple of two poor emigrant workers spend almost all their money to buy a refrigerator (a must in the '70s). The purchase is too expensive for their family balance sheet. To earn some money they decide to go for prostitution. The wife is not so unhappy to the perspective. Episode 2 - The Room (Sordi). To celebrate ten years of marriage a couple decides to spend a quick holiday in top luxury hotels in Sardinia. But the fashion luxury VIP world is too hard to enter; they soon will end in prison. Episode 3 - The Lion (De Sica). Two adulterous, Antonio and Giulia, are blocked by a lion, staying on the exit in the place they met. They both have to come back home, but couldn't move because of the lion’s presence. The critical situation soon drives them to their limit, revealing their real essence.
Cinéma et RéalitéCinéma et Réalité · 1967
Cinéma et Réalité
6.51967
MovieDocumentary
In this documentary, giants of italian cinema such as Rossellini, De Sica, Fellini and Zavattini talk about the importance of cinema after WW2, and about huge moments of social rebellion. This movie gives the floor to the creators of italian neorealism.
Roman TalesRoman Tales · 1955
Roman Tales
6.11955
MovieComedy
Alvaro is been in jail and so he consider himself the most fit to lead his three friends Mario, Otello and Spartaco. The four young men decide to start a business. They need only a van to start a transport company. But they lack the money. How can they get it?
ShoeshineShoeshine · 1946
Shoeshine
7.81946
MovieDrama
Two shoeshine boys in postwar Rome, Italy save up to buy a horse, but their involvement as dupes in a burglary lands them in juvenile prison; the experience take a devastating toll on their friendship.
Scandal ManScandal Man · 1972
Scandal Man
6.51972
MovieDrama
Marc, is a reporter in a tabloid. At the "Bongo Club", he photographs a young blond woman kissing a black man. This woman is the daughter of Senator Linden, head of the segregationist movement of USA.
It Happened in the ParkIt Happened in the Park · 1953
It Happened in the Park
6.51953
MovieComedyDrama
Villa Borghese, Rome's biggest urban park, is the place where everyday laughs and dramas are consumed. The movie is made of six vignettes set there.
The Sons of His MistressThe Sons of His Mistress · 2007
The Sons of His Mistress
2007
MovieComedyTV Movie
Italian temperament and passionate dances in the play The Sons of His Mistress. The performance unveils simple and timeless human values: love, self-sacrifice, compassion...
The Cuckoo ClockThe Cuckoo Clock · 1938
The Cuckoo Clock
5.81938
MovieComedy
The rich banker Rosen of Livorno fear that the Bonapartist will take all his gold, so he is hiding it inside a cuckoo clock.
Lykke og kroneLykke og krone · 1962
Lykke og krone
9.01962
MovieDocumentary
Depicts the royal houses of Europe (Norwegian, British, Belgian and Dutch) as well as Iran and the Principality of Monaco.
Cesare ZavattiniCesare Zavattini · 2003
Cesare Zavattini
2003
MovieDocumentary
Documentary about Italian film screenwriter Cesare Zavattini
Marriage Italian StyleMarriage Italian Style · 1964
Marriage Italian Style
7.71964
MovieDramaRomance
During the bombing of Naples in World War II, a cynical businessman helps a naive prostitute, who spends the next two decades desperate to have him reciprocate her feelings.
Miracle in MilanMiracle in Milan · 1951
Miracle in Milan
7.31951
MovieComedyFantasy
Once upon a time a wise and kind old woman discovers a baby in her cabbage patch. She brings up the child and, when she dies, the boy, Totò, enters an orphanage. Totò leaves the orphanage a happy young man, and looks for work in post-war Milan. He ends up with the homeless and organizes them to build a shanty town in a vacant lot. But when greedy developers threaten the community’s land, Totò will need all the help he can get in order to find an impossible way out.
Umberto D.Umberto D. · 1952
Umberto D.
7.91952
MovieDrama
When elderly pensioner Umberto Domenico Ferrari returns to his boarding house from a protest calling for a hike in old-age pensions, his landlady demands her 15,000-lire rent by the end of the month or he and his small dog will be turned out onto the street. Unable to get the money in time, Umberto fakes illness to get sent to a hospital, giving his beloved dog to the landlady's pregnant and abandoned maid for temporary safekeeping.
Belmondo: The IncorrigibleBelmondo: The Incorrigible · 2022
Belmondo: The Incorrigible
8.22022
MovieDocumentary
Charismatic and resourceful, seducer and daredevil, Jean-Paul Belmondo has always played his roles as he lived, at a thousand miles an hour. He had only one passion: to entertain the public with his smile, his naturalness, his energy, his stunts. But contrary to appearances, his destiny was full of pitfalls. This film lifts the veil on a founding childhood that allowed him to overcome many obstacles throughout his life thanks to the tutelary figures of his father and mother. Told from the inside with the help of his autobiography, interviews and unpublished archives, this epic story traces the career of this turbulent young actor who launched the New Wave in Breathless before becoming the popular Bebel, an indestructible and provocative vigilante. From film to film, this documentary paints an intimate portrait of a man who built himself up to reach the top: his triumphs but also his trials, his doubts, his secrets, his angers, his clowning, his disappointments or his personal dramas.

TV Shows

CinépanoramaCinépanorama · 1956
Cinépanorama
8.71956
SeriesDocumentaryFamily
The Adventures of PinocchioThe Adventures of Pinocchio · 1972
The Adventures of Pinocchio
7.31972
SeriesComedyFamily
Mastro Geppetto is a poor carpenter with no wife and no children. The man is very lonely, and when trading a piece of wood with his colleague Mastero Cherry, he decides to build himself a puppet to make him company.
Hallmark Hall of FameHallmark Hall of Fame · 1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
8.81951
SeriesDrama
Long-running anthology program sponsored by Hallmark Cards. Beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2019, the series received 80 Emmy Awards, 24 Christopher Awards, 11 Peabody Awards, 9 Golden Globes, and 4 Humanitas Prizes. Early seasons were a weekly live drama, eventually transitioning to videotaped and then filmed productions broadcast as occasional specials.
The Four Just MenThe Four Just Men · 1959
The Four Just Men
7.71959
SeriesDrama
The Four Just Men was a 1959 Sapphire Films production for ITC Entertainment. It ran for one season of 39 half-hour monochrome episodes.
Birth of the RepublicBirth of the Republic · 1971
Birth of the Republic
1971
Series
A 1971 three-part miniseries about the birth of the Italian Republic, directed by Sandro Bolchi, Vittorio De Sica, and Ermanno Olmi