CAPOLAVORO!

In this episode Russ and Ken talk about Michelangelo Antonioni's classic genre defying masterpiece 'L'Avventura' from 1960. After discussing the use of black and white in art house cinema in this period Russ outlines how the film has been critically interpreted as a kind of filmic philosophical investigation of existentialism by a director who, for the time, seems unusually aware of female sensibi...

In this episode Russ and Ken discuss 'I Vitelloni' a Federico Fellini Classic from 1953, his first international success. We talk through the story, the main characters and what gives it classic status, including Fellini's use of humour, visual composition and characters. It's the story of a group of small town 'loafers' avoiding responsibility whilst hoping for better as Italy's post war economic...

In this podcast we set the scene for the series by discussing cinema under Mussolini including the creation of Cinecittà in Rome. We then talk about the director, and writers of 'Rome, Open City' (including Federico Fellini), the plot (execution of a priest and pregnant woman, based on true events that occurred only months before the film was made), problems in production, excellent performances,...