Roberto Rossellini facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Roberto Rossellini
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Roberto Rossellini
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| Born |
Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini
8 May 1906 |
| Died | 3 June 1977 (aged 71) Rome, Italy
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| Occupation | Film director, producer, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1936–1977 |
| Spouse(s) |
Marcella De Marchis
(m. 1936; div. 1950)Sonali Senroy Das Gupta
(m. 1957; sep. 1973) |
| Children | 6, including Renzo Rossellini and Isabella Rossellini |
Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (born May 8, 1906 – died June 3, 1977) was a famous Italian film director, producer, and writer. He was one of the most important directors of a film style called Italian neorealism. This style showed real life, often using non-professional actors and filming in real locations. His most famous films from this period include Rome, Open City (1945), Paisan (1946), and Germany, Year Zero (1948).
Contents
Early life and Interests
Roberto Rossellini was born in Rome, Italy. His mother, Elettra, was a housewife. His father, Angiolo Giuseppe "Peppino" Rossellini, owned a construction company. His family was originally from Pisa, Tuscany.
Roberto's father built the first movie theater in Rome, called the "Barberini." This meant young Roberto could watch movies for free whenever he wanted. He started going to the cinema at a very young age. After his father passed away, Roberto worked in film sound and tried many different jobs related to making movies. This helped him learn a lot about every part of filmmaking. Roberto also had a younger brother, Renzo, who later wrote music for many of his films.
Even though he wasn't very religious himself, Roberto was very interested in Christian values. He liked the ideas of Catholic ethics and religious feelings. He felt these things were often forgotten in the modern world.
Filmmaking Career
In 1937, Roberto Rossellini made his first film, "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune." This film might not have been released and is now lost. After this, he worked as an assistant director on other important Italian films. His friendship with Vittorio Mussolini, the son of Italy's leader Benito Mussolini, may have helped him get these early jobs.
Some people describe his early career as a series of "trilogies," which means groups of three films. His first full-length movie, The White Ship (1941), was about the Navy. It was part of his "Fascist Trilogy," along with A Pilot Returns (1942) and The Man with a Cross (1943). During this time, he became friends with other famous filmmakers like Federico Fellini and Aldo Fabrizi.
When the Fascist government ended in 1943, Rossellini started making Roma città aperta (Rome, Open City, 1945). This film was against fascism. Federico Fellini helped him write the script. Aldo Fabrizi played the role of a priest. Rossellini produced the film himself, and filming began in January 1945. He had to get money and film supplies from unusual places. This powerful movie was a huge success right away.
Rome, Open City is considered the first film of his "Neorealist Trilogy." The second film was Paisà (1946), which used everyday people instead of professional actors. The third film was Germany, Year Zero (1948), filmed in Berlin. In Berlin, Rossellini also wanted to use non-actors. He liked to film in real places, putting his camera in the middle of a town square.
Rossellini once said that to create a character, a director often has to argue with actors. He preferred to use non-professional actors because he didn't want to waste energy arguing. He would even change his scripts to fit the feelings and stories of these real people. His films showed regional accents, dialects, and clothes exactly as they were in real life.
After his Neorealist Trilogy, Rossellini made two "Transitional films." These included L'Amore (1948) with actress Anna Magnani. In 1948, a famous foreign actress, Ingrid Bergman, wrote to him. She had seen his films and wanted to work with him. This letter started one of the most famous love stories in film history.
Bergman and Rossellini were both very successful at this time. Their first movie together was Stromboli terra di Dio (1950). It was filmed on the island of Stromboli, and the volcano even erupted during filming! They made several other films together, including Europa '51 (1952) and Journey to Italy (1954). They also had three children: Renato Roberto, and twin daughters Isabella Rossellini (who became a famous actress and model) and Ingrid Isotta.
In 1957, the Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, invited Rossellini to India. He wanted Rossellini to make a documentary called India and help the Indian film industry. Later, in 1971, Rice University in Houston, Texas, invited Rossellini to help start a Media Center. In 1973, he taught a course at Yale University called "The Essential Image." Rossellini's last film project was a documentary called Beaubourg, filmed in 1977.
Family Life
Roberto Rossellini was married several times and had many children. In 1934, he married Assia Noris, an actress. This marriage ended in 1936. On September 26, 1936, he married Marcella De Marchis, a costume designer. They worked together even after their marriage ended. Marcella and Roberto had two sons: Marco Romano (who passed away young) and Renzo (born in 1941). Roberto and Marcella divorced in 1950.
While making the film Stromboli, Roberto Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman began a relationship. They had a son, Renato Roberto, born in 1950. In 1952, their twin daughters, Isotta Ingrid and Isabella Rossellini, were born.
In 1957, Rossellini met and fell in love with a writer from India named Sonali Dasgupta. He adopted her young son, Arjun, who was renamed Gil Rossellini. Gil later became a film producer. Roberto and Sonali also had a daughter together, Raffaella Rossellini, who is an actress and model. Roberto Rossellini passed away from a heart attack in 1977 at the age of 71.
Legacy and Influence
Even though some of Rossellini's later films were not big hits at the box office, they were very important to film critics and other directors. He was seen as a master by critics of Cahiers du Cinéma, especially André Bazin, François Truffaut, and Jean-Luc Godard. Truffaut said that Rossellini was like "the father of the French New Wave," a new style of filmmaking in France.
The famous American director Martin Scorsese has also said that Rossellini had a huge influence on him. In his documentary My Voyage to Italy, Scorsese talks about how important Rossellini's films were to Italian and world cinema. Scorsese noted that unlike many directors who become more traditional as they get older, Rossellini kept experimenting with new styles and challenges throughout his career. Scorsese especially liked Rossellini's biographies of historical figures that he made in the 1960s.
Some of Rossellini's film materials and personal papers are kept at the Wesleyan University Cinema Archives. Scholars and film experts can study them there. Rossellini's son, Renzo, is creating an "Audiovisual Encyclopedia of History by Roberto Rossellini." This will be a collection of all of Rossellini's works, interviews, and other materials from his archives.
Filmography
- La Vispa Teresa (1939) - short film
- Il Tacchino prepotente (1939) - short film
- Fantasia sottomarina (1940) - short film
- Il Ruscello di Ripasottile (1941) - short film
- The White Ship (1941)
- A Pilot Returns (1942)
- The Man with a Cross (1943)
- Rome, Open City (1945)
- Paisà (1946)
- L'Amore (1948)
- Germany, Year Zero (1948)
- Stromboli terra di Dio (1950)
- Francesco, giullare di Dio (1950)
- "Envie, L'Envy" (part of Les Sept péchés capitaux) (1952)
- The Machine to Kill Bad People (1952)
- Europa '51 (1952)
- "Ingrid Bergman" (part of Siamo donne) (1953)
- "Napoli 1943" (part of Amori di mezzo secolo) (1954)
- Dov'è la libertà...? (1954) - finished by studio
- Viaggio in Italia (1954)
- La Paura (1954)
- Giovanna d'Arco al rogo (1954)
- India: Matri Bhumi (1959)
- Il generale Della Rovere (1959)
- Era Notte a Roma (1960)
- Viva l'Italia! (1961)
- Vanina Vanini (1961)
- Anima nera (1962)
- "Illibatezza" (part of Ro.Go.Pa.G.) (1963)
- Da Gerusalemme a Damasco (1970)
- Anno uno (1974)
- Il messia (1975)
- Beaubourg, centre d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou (1977)
Other Work in Film
- "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune" (1937) - lost project
- Desire (1946) - based on an unfinished film
- L'Invasore (1949) - supervisor
- Rivalità (1953) - supervisor
- Benito Mussolini (1962) - producer
- Les Carabiniers (1963) - co-writer
- Intervista a Salvador Allende: La forza e la ragione (1971) - interviewer
Television Work
After some of his films were not well received, Rossellini started directing films for TV in 1966. He mostly worked in television until the end of his career in 1977.
TV Films
- La Prise de pouvoir par Louis XIV (1966)
- Idea di un'isola (1967)
- Socrates (1971)
- Rice University (1971) - with Beppe Cino
- Blaise Pascal (1972)
- Agostino d'Ippona (1972)
- Cartesius (1974)
- The World Population (1974) - with Renzo Rossellini
- Concerto per Michelangelo (1977)
He also worked on several TV series as a writer or director.
TV Series
- L'India vista da Rossellini (1959) - director, mini-series
- L'Età del ferro (1964) - director, mini-series
- Atti degli apostoli (1969) - director, mini-series
- La lotta dell'uomo per la sua sopravvivenza (1970) - writer
- L'Età di Cosimo de' Medici (1973) - director, mini-series
See also
In Spanish: Roberto Rossellini para niños
