100 Best Italian Movies of All Time
by fedde7 | created - 23 Apr 2021 | updated - 08 Aug 2021 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Cops and Robbers (1951)
105 min | Comedy, Drama
Esposito is a thief who cons tourists in Rome. Officer Bottoni manages to catch him and starts persecuting him. When Esposito manages to flee, Bottoni's superiors inform him that he'll lose his job if he can't catch Esposito.
Directors: Mario Monicelli, Steno | Stars: Aldo Fabrizi, Totò, Ave Ninchi, William Tubbs
Votes: 1,757
2. Il posto (1961)
Not Rated | 93 min | Drama
Bursting with big dreams and plans, an Italian teen goes to Milan to work in a big impersonal corporate office, where he becomes disillusioned and drained of all his individualism.
Director: Ermanno Olmi | Stars: Sandro Panseri, Loredana Detto, Corrado Aprile, Guido Chiti
Votes: 6,748 | Gross: $0.01M
3. The Damned (1969)
R | 157 min | Drama, War
The dramatic collapse of a wealthy, industrialist/Junker family during the reign of the Third Reich.
Director: Luchino Visconti | Stars: Dirk Bogarde, Ingrid Thulin, Helmut Griem, Helmut Berger
Votes: 9,928 | Gross: $0.63M
4. Bellissima (1951)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama
A woman from the lower class desperately tries to get her daughter into the movies.
Director: Luchino Visconti | Stars: Anna Magnani, Walter Chiari, Tina Apicella, Gastone Renzelli
Votes: 5,394
5. I'm Not Scared (2003)
R | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A young boy accidentally discovers a deep hole in the ground, where another boy is kept prisoner.
Director: Gabriele Salvatores | Stars: Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Dino Abbrescia, Giorgio Careccia, Riccardo Zinna
Votes: 15,555 | Gross: $1.62M
6. General Della Rovere (1959)
Not Rated | 129 min | Drama, War
Bardone, a petty con man, is arrested by the Gestapo and coerced into impersonating a partisan leader in order to expose another resistance organizer.
Director: Roberto Rossellini | Stars: Vittorio De Sica, Hannes Messemer, Sandra Milo, Giovanna Ralli
Votes: 3,688
7. A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
R | 99 min | Action, Drama, Western
A wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volontè, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy
Votes: 232,832 | Gross: $14.50M
8. Duck, You Sucker! (1971)
PG | 138 min | Drama, War, Western
A low-life bandit and an I.R.A. explosives expert rebel against the government and become heroes of the Mexican Revolution.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Rod Steiger, James Coburn, Romolo Valli, Maria Monti
Votes: 37,520 | Gross: $0.70M
9. Django (1966)
Not Rated | 91 min | Action, Drama, Western
A coffin-dragging gunslinger and a prostitute become embroiled in a bitter feud between a Klan of Southern racists and a band of Mexican Revolutionaries.
Director: Sergio Corbucci | Stars: Franco Nero, José Canalejas, José Bódalo, Loredana Nusciak
Votes: 31,017 | Gross: $0.03M
10. Accattone (1961)
Not Rated | 117 min | Drama
A pimp with no other means to provide for himself finds his life spiraling out of control when his prostitute is sent to prison.
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini | Stars: Franco Citti, Franca Pasut, Silvana Corsini, Paola Guidi
Votes: 10,162
11. Last Tango in Paris (1972)
NC-17 | 129 min | Drama, Romance
A young Parisian woman meets a middle-aged American businessman who demands their clandestine relationship be based only on sex.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider, Maria Michi, Giovanna Galletti
Votes: 58,379 | Gross: $36.14M
12. Black Souls (2014)
Not Rated | 109 min | Crime, Drama
The story of three brothers, the sons of a shepherd, close to the ndrangheta and of their divided soul.
Director: Francesco Munzi | Stars: Marco Leonardi, Peppino Mazzotta, Fabrizio Ferracane, Barbora Bobulova
Votes: 3,140 | Gross: $0.10M
13. Scent of a Woman (1974)
R | 103 min | Comedy, Drama
A young private is assigned to accompany a blind captain. It soon becomes clear that they are both complex personalities.
Director: Dino Risi | Stars: Vittorio Gassman, Alessandro Momo, Agostina Belli, Moira Orfei
Votes: 5,168
14. The Spider's Stratagem (1970)
100 min | Drama, Mystery
A man returns to the place where his father was murdered and tries to find closure. But he finds himself in a similar predicament as his late father instead.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: Giulio Brogi, Alida Valli, Pippo Campanini, Franco Giovanelli
Votes: 3,148
15. The Railroad Man (1956)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama
The railroad engineer Andrea Marcocci has been working with his partner and friend Gigi Liverani for thirty years and feels happy and proud of his work, drinking wine after hours with his ... See full summary »
Director: Pietro Germi | Stars: Pietro Germi, Luisa Della Noce, Sylva Koscina, Saro Urzì
Votes: 1,414
16. Like Crazy (2016)
Not Rated | 116 min | Comedy, Drama
Two quite different women escape a mental institution to see Tuscany in a stolen car and get to know each other.
Director: Paolo Virzì | Stars: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Micaela Ramazzotti, Valentina Carnelutti, Sergio Albelli
Votes: 10,280 | Gross: $0.11M
17. Padre Padrone (1977)
Not Rated | 114 min | Biography, Drama
The son of a shepherd embarks in the quest of emancipating himself from a tough lifestyle that his condition and his father force on him.
Directors: Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani | Stars: Omero Antonutti, Saverio Marconi, Marcella Michelangeli, Fabrizio Forte
Votes: 4,368
18. Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)
Not Rated | 106 min | Comedy, Crime
A motley quintet of inept small-time thieves attempt the burglary of a local pawnshop in this Italian farce.
Director: Mario Monicelli | Stars: Vittorio Gassman, Marcello Mastroianni, Renato Salvatori, Totò
Votes: 11,522
19. Fantozzi (1975)
PG-13 | 108 min | Comedy
A good-natured but unlucky Italian is constantly getting into difficult situations, but never loses his positive mood.
Director: Luciano Salce | Stars: Paolo Villaggio, Anna Mazzamauro, Gigi Reder, Giuseppe Anatrelli
Votes: 7,002
20. Mamma Roma (1962)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
An ex-prostitute reunites with her son, but an extortion scheme threatens her aspirations for a decent life.
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini | Stars: Anna Magnani, Ettore Garofolo, Franco Citti, Silvana Corsini
Votes: 10,475
21. Ugly, Dirty and Bad (1976)
Not Rated | 115 min | Comedy, Drama
Four generations of a family live in a shantytown in the outskirts of Rome. The household engages in various forms of sexual idiosyncrasies, land swindles, incest, drugs and adultery.
Director: Ettore Scola | Stars: Francesco Anniballi, Maria Bosco, Giselda Castrini, Alfredo D'Ippolito
Votes: 9,115 | Gross: $0.01M
22. The Swindle (1955)
Not Rated | 92 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A trio of con-men led by a lonesome swindler must deal with their job and family pressures.
Director: Federico Fellini | Stars: Broderick Crawford, Richard Basehart, Giulietta Masina, Franco Fabrizi
Votes: 6,906
23. Caesar Must Die (2012)
Unrated | 77 min | Drama
Inmates at a high-security prison in Rome prepare for a public performance of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar."
Directors: Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani | Stars: Cosimo Rega, Salvatore Striano, Giovanni Arcuri, Antonio Frasca
Votes: 6,814
24. Lamerica (1994)
116 min | Comedy, Drama
Immediately after the fall of communism in Albania, two Italians go there to embezzle investment money by creating a fake company. As the chairman/fall guy, they pick a former political prisoner who turns out to be more than meets the eye.
Director: Gianni Amelio | Stars: Enrico Lo Verso, Michele Placido, Piro Milkani, Carmelo Di Mazzarelli
Votes: 2,379 | Gross: $0.44M
25. The Mattei Affair (1972)
R | 116 min | Biography, Drama, Mystery
An Italian industrialist died in a plane crash. An accident or an assassination?
Director: Francesco Rosi | Stars: Gian Maria Volontè, Luigi Squarzina, Peter Baldwin, Renato Romano
Votes: 2,461
26. The Girlfriends (1955)
Not Rated | 104 min | Drama, Romance
A young woman returns to her hometown of Turin to set up a new fashion salon and gets involved with a troubled woman and her three wealthy friends.
Director: Michelangelo Antonioni | Stars: Eleonora Rossi Drago, Gabriele Ferzetti, Franco Fabrizi, Valentina Cortese
Votes: 3,407 | Gross: $0.05M
27. Love & Anarchy (1973)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When a friend is murdered by the Facists, a melancholy farmer takes up residence in a Roman brothel as he and an anarchist prostitute plot to assassinate Mussolini.
Director: Lina Wertmüller | Stars: Giancarlo Giannini, Mariangela Melato, Lina Polito, Eros Pagni
Votes: 3,530
28. Marriage Italian Style (1964)
Not Rated | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Wealthy businessman Domenico and penniless prostitute Filumena share a large part of their lives in post-WWII Italy.
Director: Vittorio De Sica | Stars: Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Aldo Puglisi, Tecla Scarano
Votes: 11,038
29. Il marchese del Grillo (1981)
135 min | Comedy, History
A mischievous nobleman and his poor doppelganger get into serious troubles when a practical joke endangers the Pope.
Director: Mario Monicelli | Stars: Alberto Sordi, Paolo Stoppa, Caroline Berg, Riccardo Billi
Votes: 3,869
30. Kaos (1984)
R | 187 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Five stories by Luigi Pirandello set in turn-of-the-century Italy.
Directors: Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani | Stars: Margarita Lozano, Orazio Torrisi, Carlo Cartier, Biagio Barone
Votes: 3,142 | Gross: $0.33M
31. L'armata Brancaleone (1966)
120 min | Adventure, Comedy, History
A group of misfits, headed by an incompetent knight named Brancaleone, set out to reach the small town of Aurocastro so that their leader can take possession of the fief.
Director: Mario Monicelli | Stars: Vittorio Gassman, Catherine Spaak, Folco Lulli, Gian Maria Volontè
Votes: 5,276
32. Obsession (1943)
TV-14 | 140 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Gino, a drifter, begins an affair with inn-owner Giovanna, and they plan to get rid of her older husband.
Director: Luchino Visconti | Stars: Clara Calamai, Massimo Girotti, Dhia Cristiani, Elio Marcuzzo
Votes: 8,277
33. The Great Silence (1968)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, Western
A mute gunfighter defends a young widow and a group of outlaws against a gang of bounty killers in the winter of 1898, and a grim, tense struggle unfolds.
Director: Sergio Corbucci | Stars: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Klaus Kinski, Frank Wolff, Vonetta McGee
Votes: 18,112 | Gross: $0.05M
34. La Notte (1961)
Not Rated | 122 min | Drama
A day in the life of an unfaithful married couple and their steadily deteriorating relationship.
Director: Michelangelo Antonioni | Stars: Jeanne Moreau, Marcello Mastroianni, Monica Vitti, Bernhard Wicki
Votes: 24,047 | Gross: $0.04M
35. The Son's Room (2001)
R | 99 min | Drama
A psychoanalyst and his family go through profound emotional trauma when their son dies in a scuba-diving accident.
Director: Nanni Moretti | Stars: Nanni Moretti, Laura Morante, Jasmine Trinca, Giuseppe Sanfelice
Votes: 21,446 | Gross: $1.01M
36. Fire at Sea (2016)
114 min | Documentary
Capturing life on the Italian island of Lampedusa, a frontline in the European migrant crisis.
Director: Gianfranco Rosi | Stars: Samuele Pucillo, Mattias Cucina, Samuele Caruana, Pietro Bartolo
Votes: 6,056 | Gross: $0.12M
37. The Birds, the Bees and the Italians (1966)
115 min | Comedy
Three stories, all set in Treviso. Various couple experience adultery at a party, a bank clerk abandons his wife for his mistress and all the men in the end are prosecuted for having intercourse with an underage girl.
Director: Pietro Germi | Stars: Virna Lisi, Gastone Moschin, Alberto Lionello, Olga Villi
Votes: 1,743
38. For a Few Dollars More (1965)
R | 132 min | Drama, Western
Two bounty hunters with the same intentions team up to track down a gang of outlaws led by a psychotic Mexican bandit, who is plotting an audacious bank robbery.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volontè, Mara Krupp
Votes: 274,814 | Gross: $15.00M
39. Suspiria (1977)
R | 92 min | Horror
An American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bosé
Votes: 105,499
40. Fists in the Pocket (1965)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
A young man takes drastic measures to rid his dysfunctional family of its various afflictions.
Director: Marco Bellocchio | Stars: Lou Castel, Paola Pitagora, Marino Masé, Liliana Gerace
Votes: 4,916
41. The Flowers of St. Francis (1950)
Not Rated | 85 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A series of vignettes depicting the lives of the original Franciscan monks, including their leader and the bumbling Ginepro.
Director: Roberto Rossellini | Stars: Aldo Fabrizi, Gianfranco Bellini, Peparuolo, Severino Pisacane
Votes: 4,046
42. Seven Beauties (1975)
R | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, War
The defense of honor, a strong value in Neapolitan society, and its effects on the life of everyman Pasquale Frafuso.
Director: Lina Wertmüller | Stars: Giancarlo Giannini, Fernando Rey, Shirley Stoler, Elena Fiore
Votes: 6,488 | Gross: $0.01M
43. White Nights (1957)
Not Rated | 97 min | Drama, Romance
A humble clerk courts a woman who awaits her lover's return night after night.
Director: Luchino Visconti | Stars: Maria Schell, Marcello Mastroianni, Jean Marais, Marcella Rovena
Votes: 9,009
44. Juliet of the Spirits (1965)
Not Rated | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy