My Voyage To Italy (1999) - DVD

In My Voyage to Italy, American master Martin Scorsese (Raging Bull, Taxi Driver) explores, in detail, the legacy of the classic period of Italian cinema. Beginning with Roberto Rossellini’s Rome Open City, the film traces the development of Italian neorealism: its currents and its philosophy, its evolution and its descent. Classics such as The Bicycle Thief and La Dolce Vita are discussed alongside rarer titles like Senso and Europa ’51. Scorsese’s appreciation is rooted in his identity as an Italian-American film-maker. Less a documentary than an impassioned essay, it ultimately provides a portrait of a national cinema that doubles as a disguised autobiography.