Alessandro Blasetti facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alessandro Blasetti
Blasetti in 1965
Born	(1900-07-03)3 July 1900 Rome, Italy
Died	1 February 1987(1987-02-01) (aged 86) Rome, Italy
Occupation	Film director
Years active	1917–1981

Alessandro Blasetti (born July 3, 1900 – died February 1, 1987) was an Italian film director and writer. He helped shape a style of filmmaking called Italian neorealism with his movie Quattro passi fra le nuvole. Blasetti was a very important person in Italian movies during the time known as the Fascist era. People sometimes call him the "father of Italian cinema" because he helped bring the movie industry back to life in the late 1920s.

Early Life and Start in Movies

Blasetti in 1954

Blasetti in 1965

Alessandro Blasetti was born and died in Rome, Italy. He first studied law at university. But he decided to become a journalist and a film critic instead. A film critic writes reviews and opinions about movies.

He worked for several movie magazines. He also worked hard to encourage Italy to make more of its own movies. At that time, not many Italian films were being made. In 1919, he even acted a little bit as an extra in a movie called Tortured Soul.

Becoming a Director

In 1929, Blasetti directed his first movie, Sun. This film told a story about the draining of the Pontine Marshes, which were swampy areas being turned into farmland. People really liked the movie. This was important because very few Italian films were being made back then. Even Benito Mussolini, who was a leader in Italy at the time, called it "the dawn of the Fascist film." Many of Blasetti's early movies showed hints of the neorealism style, which focused on showing real life.

Because Sun was so popular, Blasetti got an offer from Stefano Pittaluga. Pittaluga was the only big movie producer left in Italy. He had just updated his studios in Rome to make sound films (movies with spoken dialogue). Blasetti directed a movie called Resurrection. It was supposed to be the first Italian sound film. But it was released a bit later than another movie, The Song of Love.

In 1934, Blasetti directed a huge outdoor play called 18 BL. It had 2,000 amateur actors, meaning people who acted for fun, not as a job.

Blasetti was a key person in making the Italian movie industry strong again in the 1930s. He pushed for the government to give more money and help to filmmakers. This led to the building of the large Cinecittà studios in Rome. Cinecittà became a famous place where many Italian movies were made.

Later Years

Alessandro Blasetti even played himself in a movie called Bellissima. This film starred Anna Magnani as a mother from Rome who wants her daughter to become a movie star. In the movie, Blasetti is shown doing screen tests for child actors at Cinecittà.

In 1967, he was the head of the judges at the 1967 Cannes Film Festival. This is a very famous film festival in France. His 1969 movie, Simón Bolívar, was shown at the 6th Moscow International Film Festival.

Selected Films Directed by Blasetti

See also

In Spanish: Alessandro Blasetti para niños