Reel Corner - July 2014 Issue

As part of my itinerary for a trip to Rome to celebrate my birthday I put the Cinecittà Studios, the hub of Italian cinema, on my list. As a film enthusiast, I could not miss the opportunity to explore memorabilia of great Italian directors, such as Fellini, or catch a film clip of my favorite Italian actress, Anna Magnani. With a convenient subway stop, Cinecittà was easy to locate and packed full of fascinating information.

Cinecittà Studios have been making films for 70 years, including many of the classic epics like Three Coins in the Fountain, Life is Beautiful and Cleopatra. They’re also starting to play host to television series through BBC/HBO productions like “Rome.”

Cinecittá Studios is known for its lavish sets and accommodations, which have serviced such epic films as Ben Hur and Gangs of New York. I was told that independent filmmakers, however, know they can also bring their small-scale productions to Cinecittá, where they will receive access to the same excellent facilities and talented staff as their big-budget counterparts. And, they are very proud that the 2014 Academy Award for best foreign language  film went to Italy’s The Great Beauty.

The founding of Cinecittà
Cinecittà was opened by Mussolini in 1937 with the intention of promoting Italy and the then current fascist ideals through cinema. The complex, in southeast Rome, was designed as a complete center of production, with facilities covering everything from training, to film production, to post-production. Within six years, almost 300 films had been made at the new studios.

Cinecittà during World War II
In 1943, Italy surrendered and the Germans took over the country. They looted Cinecittà and the film production facilities were moved to temporary accommodations in Venice. Over the next two years Cinecittà was subjected to Allied bombing. Following the war, between 1945 and 1947, the studios of Cinecittà found a new use as a displaced persons’ camp. The period from 1943 onwards contributed towards the forming of the cinematic genre known as Italian neorealism; the Roman filmmakers, denied both funding and access to the facilities of Cinecittà, took to the streets and used amateur actors. The resulting films, like Rome, Open City portrayed a strong sense of the difficulty being faced in Italy at the time.

Cinecittà after the war
By the 1950s, American production companies in search of cheap facilities began to turn their attention to Cinecittà. Films like Roman Holiday and Three Coins in the Fountain took advantage of both the facilities at Cinecittà and the possibilities for location shooting in Rome, itself. The studios also hosted many epic productions, an early example being Quo Vadis? in 1951. Ben Hur was filmed here in 1959, and the production of Cleopatra was moved from London to Cinecittà following problems with budgeting, bad weather and Elizabeth Taylor’s health.

Cinecittà today
Cinecittà Studios was privatized in the mid ‘90s. Although much of the studio is closed to the public, I was able to schedule an English tour of the studio where Cinecittà history is displayed and an entire wing is dedicated to famed director Federico Fellini, including a wall of story boards used in his films. There are plans to open a full studio tour, along with a theme park called Cinecittà World, in the near future.

Before going to Rome for your holiday I would suggest renting the classic Gregory Peck/Audrey Hepburn film Roman Holiday. It will inspire you to rent a Vespa, fight the congested traffic and see the magnificent historic 2000-year-old city of Rome, Italy.

Donne Paine, film enthusiast, once lived around the corner from the Orson Wells Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where her strong interest in films, especially independent ones, began. She was a 12-year member of the Hilton Head Second Sunday Film Society, and frequent visitor to the Sundance Film Festival. To support her habit of frequent movie going, Donne is an executive recruiter and staff development consultant. Are you interested in joining a film club? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..