Italian cinema has proved very popular with international audiences, and yet a surprising unfamiliarity remains regarding the rich traditions from which its most fascinating moments arose. Directory of World Cinema: Italy aims to offer a wide film and cultural study in which to situate some of Italian cinema’s key aspects, from political radicalism to opera and from the arthouse to popular genres. Essays by leading academics about prominent genres, directors and themes provide insight into the cinema of Italy and are bolstered by reviews of significant titles. From silent spectacle to the giallo, the spaghetti western to the neorealist masterworks of Rossellini, this book offers a comprehensive historical sweep of Italian cinema that will appeal to film scholars and cinephiles alike.