Roberto Rossellini(1906-1977)
- Writer
- Director
- Producer
The master filmmaker Roberto Rossellini, as one of the creators of
neo-realism, is one of the most influential directors of all time. His
neo-realist films influenced France's nouvelle vague movement in the
1950s and
'60s that changed the face of international cinema. He also influenced American directors, including Martin Scorsese.
He was born into the world of film, making his debut in Rome on May 8,
1906, the son of Elettra (Bellan), a housewife, and Angiolo Giuseppe
"Beppino" Rossellini, the man who opened Italy's first cinema. He was
immersed in cinema from the beginning, growing up watching movies in
his father's movie-house from the time that film was first quickening
as an art form. Italy was one of the places were movie-making matured,
and Italian film had a huge influence on
D.W. Griffith and other
international directors. Between the two world wars, Hollywood would
soon dictate what constituted a "well-made" film, but Rossellini would
be one of the Italian directors who once again put Italy at the
forefront of international cinema after the Second World War.
His training in cinema was thorough and extensive and he became expert
in many facets of film-making. (His brother
Renzo Rossellini, also was
involved in the industry, scoring films.) He did his apprenticeship as
an assistant to Italian filmmakers, then got the chance to make his
first film, a documentary, "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune", in
1937. Due to his close ties to
Benito Mussolini's second son, the
critic and film producer
Vittorio Mussolini, he flourished in
fascist Italy's cinema. Once Il Duce was deposed, Rossellini produced
his first classic film, the anti-fascist
Rome, Open City (1945)
("Rome, Open City") in 1945, which won the Grand Prize at Cannes. Two
other neo-realist classics soon followed,
Paisan (1946) ("Paisan") and
Germany Year Zero (1948)
("Germany in the Year Zero"). "Rome, Open City" screenwriters
Sergio Amidei and
Federico Fellini were nominated for a
Best Writing, Screenplay Oscar in 1947, while Rossellini himself, along
with Amidei, Fellini and two others were nominated for a screen-writing
Oscar in 1950 for "Paisan".
"I do not want to make beautiful films, I want to make useful films,"
he said. Rossellini claimed, "I try to capture reality, nothing else."
This led him to often cast non-professional actors, then tailor his
scripts to their idiosyncrasies and life-stories to heighten the sense
of realism.
With other practitioners of neo-realism,
Vittorio De Sica and
Luchino Visconti, film was changed
forever. American director Elia Kazan credits
neo-realism with his own evolution as a filmmaker, away from
Hollywood's idea of the well-made film to the gritty realism of
On the Waterfront (1954).
Rossellini had a celebrated, adulterous affair with
Ingrid Bergman that was an
international scandal. They became lovers on the set of
Stromboli (1950) while both were
married to other people and Bergman became pregnant. After they shed
their spouses and married, producing three children, history repeated
itself when Rossellini cheated on her with the Indian screenwriter
Sonali Senroy DasGupta while he
was in India at the request of Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru to help revitalize
that country's film industry. It touched off another international
scandal, and Nehru ousted him from the country. Rossellini later
divorced Bergman to marry Das Gupta, legitimizing their child that had
been born out-of-wedlock.
Rossellini continued to make films until nearly his death. His last
film The Messiah (1975) ("The Messiah"),
a story of The Passion of Christ, was released in 1975.
Roberto Rossellini died of a heart attack in Rome on June 3, 1977. He
was 71 years old.
neo-realism, is one of the most influential directors of all time. His
neo-realist films influenced France's nouvelle vague movement in the
1950s and
'60s that changed the face of international cinema. He also influenced American directors, including Martin Scorsese.
He was born into the world of film, making his debut in Rome on May 8,
1906, the son of Elettra (Bellan), a housewife, and Angiolo Giuseppe
"Beppino" Rossellini, the man who opened Italy's first cinema. He was
immersed in cinema from the beginning, growing up watching movies in
his father's movie-house from the time that film was first quickening
as an art form. Italy was one of the places were movie-making matured,
and Italian film had a huge influence on
D.W. Griffith and other
international directors. Between the two world wars, Hollywood would
soon dictate what constituted a "well-made" film, but Rossellini would
be one of the Italian directors who once again put Italy at the
forefront of international cinema after the Second World War.
His training in cinema was thorough and extensive and he became expert
in many facets of film-making. (His brother
Renzo Rossellini, also was
involved in the industry, scoring films.) He did his apprenticeship as
an assistant to Italian filmmakers, then got the chance to make his
first film, a documentary, "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune", in
1937. Due to his close ties to
Benito Mussolini's second son, the
critic and film producer
Vittorio Mussolini, he flourished in
fascist Italy's cinema. Once Il Duce was deposed, Rossellini produced
his first classic film, the anti-fascist
Rome, Open City (1945)
("Rome, Open City") in 1945, which won the Grand Prize at Cannes. Two
other neo-realist classics soon followed,
Paisan (1946) ("Paisan") and
Germany Year Zero (1948)
("Germany in the Year Zero"). "Rome, Open City" screenwriters
Sergio Amidei and
Federico Fellini were nominated for a
Best Writing, Screenplay Oscar in 1947, while Rossellini himself, along
with Amidei, Fellini and two others were nominated for a screen-writing
Oscar in 1950 for "Paisan".
"I do not want to make beautiful films, I want to make useful films,"
he said. Rossellini claimed, "I try to capture reality, nothing else."
This led him to often cast non-professional actors, then tailor his
scripts to their idiosyncrasies and life-stories to heighten the sense
of realism.
With other practitioners of neo-realism,
Vittorio De Sica and
Luchino Visconti, film was changed
forever. American director Elia Kazan credits
neo-realism with his own evolution as a filmmaker, away from
Hollywood's idea of the well-made film to the gritty realism of
On the Waterfront (1954).
Rossellini had a celebrated, adulterous affair with
Ingrid Bergman that was an
international scandal. They became lovers on the set of
Stromboli (1950) while both were
married to other people and Bergman became pregnant. After they shed
their spouses and married, producing three children, history repeated
itself when Rossellini cheated on her with the Indian screenwriter
Sonali Senroy DasGupta while he
was in India at the request of Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru to help revitalize
that country's film industry. It touched off another international
scandal, and Nehru ousted him from the country. Rossellini later
divorced Bergman to marry Das Gupta, legitimizing their child that had
been born out-of-wedlock.
Rossellini continued to make films until nearly his death. His last
film The Messiah (1975) ("The Messiah"),
a story of The Passion of Christ, was released in 1975.
Roberto Rossellini died of a heart attack in Rome on June 3, 1977. He
was 71 years old.