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Umberto D Vittorio De Sica One of the masterpieces of Italian Neo-Realist cinema - the Italian postwar Renaissance. The story centers on a retired civil servant, living only on his pension, whose best friend is his dog. Unable to survive on his meager income, he sacrifices a part of his pension for his dog, and is evicted by his landlady for non-payment of rent. "Infused with so much awareness that the screen seems luminous" (Pauline Kael, The New Yorker). In Italian with English subtitles. The DVD is a Criterion Collection edition, and includes a new high-definition digital transfer, an interview with actress, Maria Pia Casilio, an essay by Stuart Klawans, the made-for-Italian television documentary, This Is Life: Vittorio De Sica. Italy, 1952, 89 mins. DVD | $44.95
The Bicycle Thief Vittorio De Sica Perhaps the single most important and moving film of Italian neo-realism, Bicycle Thief tells the deceptively simple story of an unemployed man finding work to paste up signs, work requiring a bicycle, which is then stolen. A landmark of cinema. The DVD is a 2 disc Criterion Collection Edition with a new restored, high-definiton transfer, and includes a new collection of interviews, a new program on Italian neorealism, a documentary on screenwriter Cesare Zavattini, optional English-dubbed soundtrack, improved English subtitles, and a booklet with new essays and classic writings. Italian with English subtitles. Italy, 1948, 90 mins. DVD | $59.95
A Brief Vacation Vittorio De Sica The words of French poet Guillaume Apollinaire - "sickness is the vacation of the poor" - formed the premise of this film from the director of the neorealist classics The Bicycle Thief and Umberto D. Florinda Bolkan stars a working woman who must support herself, her children, her incapacitated husband and his family on her meager wages from a local factory. After collapsing at work with a lung disease, she is sent to recover at a sanatorium in the snowy mountains where she finds a new world, new friends and, possibly, new love. Includes excerpts from De Sica's Woman Times Seven. In Italian with English subtitles. Italy, 1973, 112 mins. DVD | $44.95
The Children Are Watching Us Vittorio De Sica With his fifth film, Vittorio De Sica surprised everyone by turning into a vicious critic of society. The film, set among the bourgeoisie, focuses on a marital triangle. The mother of a four-year-old boy leaves her husband for another man; the husband, unable to stand the humiliation, commits suicide. The boy, lonely and unwanted, is sent to an orphanage. The script was written by six scenarists, including Cesare Zavattini, who, through the film, emerged as a driving force in Italian cinema for many years to come. B&W. Italian with English subtitles. Italy, 1944, 92 mins. Videocassette | $44.95
Indiscretion of An American Wife Vittorio De Sica Italian neo-realist master Vittorio De Sica lost out to David O. Selznick for control of this drama about the ill-fated romance between an American woman (Jennifer Jones) and her Italian lover (Montgomery Clift). Much of De Sica's distinctive touch remains, but Selznick (Jones' husband at the time) brought in Truman Capote to juice up Cesare Zavattini's story and later cut the film by more than 24 minutes for its American release. What remains is a compromised but still compelling work, standing halfway between Italian neo-realism and Hollywood melodrama. De Sica's 87-minute cut, titled Terminal Station, was released in other countries and received an American revival in the early 1980s, but that version has yet to come to video. USA/Italy, 1954, 63 mins. DVD | $19.95
Indiscretion of an American Wife & Terminal Station Vittorio De Sica Italian neo-realist master Vittorio De Sica lost out to David O. Selznick for control of his drama, Terminal Station, about the ill-fated romance between an American woman (Jennifer Jones) and her Italian lover (Montgomery Clift). Selznick (Jones' husband at the time) cut footage, brought in Truman Capote to juice up Cesare Zavattini's story, and later renamed the film, Indiscretion of an American Wife, for its American release. What remains is a compromised, yet compelling, work that retains much of De Sica's distinctive touch, resulting in a film halfway between Italian neo-realism and Hollywood melodrama. This Criterion Collection edition presents Indiscretion of an American Wife (72 mins.) together with De Sica's original cut of Terminal Station (89 mins.) for the first time. Includes an audio commentary by film scholar Leonard Leff, the original theatrical trailer, promotional materials and more. Italy/USA, 1954, 161 mins. DVD | $59.95
Marriage Italian-Style Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica's slick sex romp based on Eduardo De Filippo's 1946 play Filumena. Sophia Loren schemes to seduce Marcello Mastroianni and sustain his romantic interest. With Aldo Puglisi, Pia Lindstrom and Vito Moriconi. An Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actress. In Italian with English subtitles. Italy, 1964, 102 mins. DVD | $44.95
Two Women Vittorio De Sica Sophia Loren won an Academy Award for her portrayal of a mother ravaged by war as she and her 13-year old daughter become the focus of attack by retreating German soldiers. A heartwrenching film - one of the best known - by Vittorio De Sica. Italian with English subtitles. Italy, 1961, 99 mins. DVD | $37.95
