Mario Soldati

A Magic Friend: The Maestro Nino Rota

The artistic evolution of the great composer, whose work left an indelible mark in the history of Italian cinema. In this documentary Nino Rota's extraordinary musical production relives in the words of his friends and colleagues. His collaboration with Visconti and Fellini are truly memorable. His movie score and sequences of his performances in theaters all over the world hand us down a full and evocative outline of this outstanding artist.

12 Directors for 12 Cities

Promotional omnibus film, made for the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, featuring portraits of 12 Italian cities.

Il Pranzo di Natale a casa di Cesare Zavattini

Mario Soldati accompanies us once again, after the journey in the Po valley, in search of genuine foods, this time to discover the culinary traditions of Christmas lunch. Cesare Zavattini tells about the typical Christmas dishes of his region. The broadcast aired on December 17, 1958.

Il Pranzo di Natale di Mario Soldati

Mario Soldati accompanies us in search of genuine food, this time to discover the culinary traditions of Christmas lunch, with Father Mariano, Cesare Zavattini, the shoemaker Angelo Gatto, the baroness Aurelia Michetti and the General Lorenzo De Grandi.

Side Street Story

A combination of a satire on war and a comedy with war as the background. It tells of the ordinary people living on a Naples sidestreet, from 1940 to 1950 under the dominance of the Fascists, the Nazis and then the Allies occupation forces. Primary among the citizens is Gennaro Iovine (Eduard De Filippo)who has a penchant for innocently getting into trouble, and his friend Pasquale (Toto.) The latter is a rail-sweeper who becomes a professional stand-in...a corpse used to conceal contraband...serving jail time for those who don't care to spend the time to do the time...a substitute at a political rally when violence threatens the scheduled speaker

Escape to France

A former Fascist takes his son and escapes across the border into France, where he tries to avoid being recognized and having to pay for his wartime crimes.

Professor, My Son

During Fascism and after WWII, a school porter sacrifices himself so his son, who is slightly ashamed of a lowly background, can become a respected professor.The film also takes a few jabs at Italy's rapid governmental reshuffles.

Malombra

A nineteenth-century Italian noblewoman, imprisoned in a foreboding lakeside palazzo by her uncle, comes to believe she's possessed by a long ago mistress of the manor.