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Vittorio De Sica
Il generale Della Rovere (1959) Vittorio De Sica (cropped).png
De Sica in General Della Rovere (1959)
Born (1901-07-07)7 July 1901
Sora, Lazio, Kingdom of Italy
Died 13 November 1974(1974-11-13) (aged 73)
Occupation Film director, actor
Years active 1917–1974
Spouse(s)
  • Giuditta Rissone
    (m. 1937; div. 1954)
  • María Mercader
    (m. 1968)
Children

Vittorio De Sica (/də ˈskə/ -_-SEE-kə, Italian: [vitˈtɔːrjo de ˈsiːka]; born July 7, 1901 – died November 13, 1974) was a famous Italian film director and actor. He was a very important person in the neorealist film movement. This style of filmmaking showed real-life stories, often about poor people, right after World War II.

Four of the movies he directed won Academy Awards, also known as Oscars. Sciuscià and Bicycle Thieves received special honorary awards. Later, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow and Il giardino dei Finzi Contini won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The success of Sciuscià and Bicycle Thieves helped create the permanent Oscar for Best Foreign Film. These two films are seen as classic movies. In 1958, Bicycle Thieves was even called the greatest film ever by a poll of filmmakers and critics.

De Sica was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1957. This was for his role as Major Rinaldi in the movie A Farewell to Arms. Many people thought his acting was the best part of that film.

About Vittorio De Sica's Life and Career

De Sica V fine anni venti
Vittorio De Sica in the late 1920s

Vittorio De Sica was born on July 7, 1901, in Sora, Lazio, Italy. His father worked for the Bank of Italy. Vittorio started acting in the theater in the early 1920s. In 1933, he started his own theater company with his wife, Giuditta Rissone. They mostly performed light comedies.

A very important moment for De Sica was meeting the writer Cesare Zavattini. Together, they made some of the most famous films of the neorealist period. These included Sciuscià (Shoeshine) and Bicycle Thieves. De Sica directed both of these movies. He also appeared in the British TV show The Four Just Men in 1959.

Vittorio De Sica's Personal Life

Vittorio De Sica had a strong interest in gambling. Because of this, he sometimes took on acting jobs that he might not have otherwise chosen. He even showed this interest through characters in some of his own movies, like The Gold of Naples.

In 1937, Vittorio De Sica married actress Giuditta Rissone. They had a daughter named Emilia, also known as Emi. Later, in 1942, he met Spanish actress María Mercader while working on a movie. They started a relationship and had two sons: Manuel, born in 1949, who became a musician, and Christian, born in 1951, who followed his father into acting and directing.

Vittorio De Sica was a Roman Catholic and a communist. Even though he had two families, he stayed connected to both. He made sure to celebrate holidays with both his first wife and daughter, and his second wife and sons.

Vittorio De Sica passed away at the age of 73 in Paris, France, after having surgery for lung cancer.

Awards and Recognitions for Vittorio De Sica

Vittorio De Sica received many awards for his work. In 1971, he was given the Interfilm Grand Prix by the Berlin International Film Festival.

Here are some of the major awards his films won:

  • Miracolo a Milano won the Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or.
  • Il Tetto won the Cannes Film Festival OCIC Award.
  • Il Giardino dei Finzi-Contini won the Berlin International Film Festival Golden Bear and the Interfilm Award.
  • He won the Nastro d'Argento for Best Director in 1946 for Sciuscià.
  • Sciuscià also received an Academy Honorary Award in 1947.
  • Bicycle Thieves won a Special Foreign Language Film Award at the Academy Awards in 1949. It also won a BAFTA (British Academy Award) for Best Film in 1950.
  • Ieri, oggi, domani won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1965.
  • Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1972.

Vittorio De Sica's Films as Director

Italian Title English Title Notes Released
Rose scarlatte N/A Co-director 1940
Maddalena, zero in condotta Maddalena, Zero for Conduct 1940
Teresa Venerdì Do You Like Women, Doctor Beware 1941
Un garibaldino al convento A Garibaldian in the Convent 1942
I bambini ci guardano The Children Are Watching Us, The Little Martyr 1944
La porta del cielo The Gate of Heaven 1945
Sciuscià Shoeshine Won Special Academy Award 1946
Cuore Heart, Heart and Soul Co-director 1948
Ladri di biciclette Bicycle Thieves, The Bicycle Thief Won Special Academy Award 1948
Miracolo a Milano Miracle in Milan 1951
Umberto D. N/A 1952
Stazione Termini Terminal Station, Station Terminus, Indiscretion of an American Wife 1953
L'oro di Napoli The Gold of Naples 1954
Il Tetto The Roof 1956
Anna di Brooklyn Anna of Brooklyn Co-director 1958
La Ciociara Two Women Won Academy Award for Best Actress (Sophia Loren) 1960
Il Giudizio universale The Last Judgment 1961
I sequestrati di Altona The Condemned of Altona 1962
Boccaccio '70 N/A Short film – segment La riffa 1962
Il Boom N/A 1963
Ieri, oggi e domani Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Won Academy Award for Best Foreign Film 1963
Matrimonio all'italiana Marriage Italian-Style 1964
Un monde nouveau A New World 1966
Caccia alla volpe After the Fox 1966
Sette Volte Donna Woman Times Seven 1967
Le streghe The Witches Short film – segment Una sera come le altre 1967
Amanti A Place for Lovers 1968
I Girasoli Sunflower 1970
Il Giardino dei Finzi-Contini The Garden of the Finzi-Continis Won Academy Award for Best Foreign Film 1970
Le Coppie The Couples Short film – segment Il Leone 1970
Dal referendum alla costituzione: Il 2 giugno From Referendum to the Constitution: 2 June Documentary 1971
I Cavalieri di Malta The Knights of Malta Documentary 1971
Lo chiameremo Andrea We'll Call Him Andrea 1972
Una Breve vacanza A Brief Vacation 1973
Il viaggio The Voyage 1974

Vittorio De Sica's Films as Actor

  • Il processo Clemenceau (1917)
  • La bellezza del mondo (1927)
  • La compagnia dei matti (1928)
  • La vecchia signora (1932)
  • Gli uomini, che mascalzoni! (1932)
  • Due cuori felici (1932)
  • Paprika (1933)
  • Pasa el amor (1933)
  • Lisetta (1934)
  • La canzone del sole (1934)
  • Un cattivo soggetto (1933)
  • La segretaria per tutti (1933)
  • Tempo massimo (1934)
  • Il signore desidera? (1934)
  • The Song of the Sun (1934)
  • Darò un milione (1935)
  • Amo te sola (1936)
  • Non ti conosco più (1936)
  • Lohengrin (1936)
  • L'uomo che sorride (1937)
  • Il signor Max (1937)
  • But It's Nothing Serious (1937)
  • Naples of Olden Times (1938)
  • La mazurka di papà (1938)
  • Il Trionfo dell'amore (1938)
  • The Cuckoo Clock (1938)
  • Departure (1938)
  • They've Kidnapped a Man (1938)
  • Ai vostri ordini, signora! (1939)
  • Naples That Never Die (1939)
  • Questi ragazzi (1939)
  • Castles in the Air (1939)
  • Department Store (1939)
  • It Always Ends That Way (1939)
  • Manon Lescaut (1940)
  • Two on a Vacation (1940)
  • Red Roses (1940)
  • The Two Mothers (1940)
  • The Sinner (1940)
  • Maddalena, Zero for Conduct (1940)
  • The Adventuress from the Floor Above (1941)
  • Teresa Venerdì (1941)
  • Se io fossi onesto (1942)
  • A Garibaldian in the Convent (1942)
  • La guardia del corpo (1942)
  • Non sono superstizioso... ma! (1943)
  • I nostri sogni (1943)
  • Nessuno torna indietro (1945)
  • L'ippocampo (1945)
  • Lo sbaglio di essere vivo (1945)
  • Roma città libera (1946)
  • Abbasso la ricchezza! (1946)
  • Natale al campo 119 (1947)
  • Sperduti nel buio (1947)
  • Lo Sconosciuto di San Marino (1948)
  • Cuore (1948)
  • Il mondo vuole così (1949)
  • Domani è troppo tardi (1949)
  • Cameriera bella presenza offresi... (1951)
  • Mamma Mia, What an Impression! (1951)
  • Buongiorno, elefante! (1952)
  • Gli uomini non guardano il cielo (1952)
  • In Olden Days (1952)
  • The Earrings of Madame de... (1953)
  • Villa Borghese (1953)
  • Pane, amore e fantasia (1953)
  • Il matrimonio (1954)
  • Cento anni d'amore (1954)
  • Gran Varietà (1954)
  • A Slice of Life (1954)
  • Il letto (1954)
  • Vergine moderna (1954)
  • Allegro squadrone (1954)
  • Pane, amore e gelosia (1954)
  • L'oro di Napoli (1954)
  • Peccato che sia una canaglia (1954)
  • Il segno di Venere (1955)
  • Gli ultimi cinque minuti (1955)
  • La bella mugnaia (1955)
  • Racconti romani (1955)
  • Pane, amore e... (1955)
  • Lucky to Be a Woman (1955)
  • Il bigamo (1956)
  • I giorni più belli (1956)
  • Mio figlio Nerone (1956)
  • Tempo di villeggiatura (1956)
  • The Monte Carlo Story (1956)
  • Noi siamo le colonne (1956)
  • Padri e figli (1957)
  • I colpevoli (1957)
  • Souvenir d'Italie (1957)
  • Count Max (1957)
  • Casinò de Paris (1957)
  • La donna che venne dal mare (1957)
  • Il medico e lo stregone (1957)
  • A Farewell to Arms (1957) (Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor)
  • Vacanze a Ischia (1957)
  • Totò, Vittorio e la dottoressa (1957)
  • Amore e chiacchiere (1958)
  • Domenica è sempre domenica (1958)
  • Anna of Brooklyn (1958)
  • Pezzo, capopezzo e capitano [it] (1958)
  • Ballerina e buon Dio (1958)
  • Gli zitelloni (1958)
  • Pane, amore e Andalusia (1958)
  • La ragazza di Piazza San Pietro (1958)
  • La prima notte (1959)
  • Il nemico di mia moglie (1959)
  • Uomini e nobiluomini (1959)
  • Vacanze d'inverno (1959)
  • Il mondo dei miracoli (1959)
  • Il moralista (1959)
  • Il generale della Rovere (1959)
  • Ferdinando I, re di Napoli (1959)
  • Nel blu dipinto di blu (1959)
  • Policarpo, ufficiale di scrittura (1959)
  • Gastone (1960)
  • The Angel Wore Red (1960)
  • Austerlitz (1960)
  • It Started in Naples (1960)
  • Le tre eccetera del colonnello (1960)
  • Le pillole di Ercole (1960)
  • The Millionairess (1960)
  • Il vigile (1960)
  • Un amore a Roma (1960)
  • Gli attendenti (1961)
  • L'onorata società (1961)
  • Vive Henri IV, vive l'amour (1961)
  • The Last Judgment (1961)
  • The Wonders of Aladdin (1961)
  • Gli incensurati (1961)
  • I due marescialli (1961)
  • La Fayette (1962)
  • Eva (1962)
  • The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders (1965)
  • Io, io, io... e gli altri (1966)
  • Un italiano in America (1967)
  • After the Fox (1966)
  • Gli altri, gli altri e noi (1967)
  • The Biggest Bundle of Them All (1968)
  • Darling Caroline (1968)
  • The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968)
  • If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969)
  • The Thirteen Chairs (1969)
  • Cose di Cosa Nostra (1970)
  • Io non-vedo, tu non-parli, lui non-sente (1971)
  • Trastevere (1971)
  • Siamo tutti in libertà provvisoria (1972)
  • Ettore lo fusto (1972)
  • Snow Job (1972)
  • L'odeur des fauves (1972)
  • Le avventure di Pinocchio (1972)
  • The Small Miracle (1973, TV Movie)
  • Storia de fratelli e de cortelli (1973)
  • Il delitto Matteotti (1973)
  • Viaggia, ragazza, viaggia, hai la musica nelle vene (1973)
  • Blood for Dracula (1974)
  • C'eravamo tanto amati (1974)
  • Intorno (1974, Short)
  • L'eroe (1976, TV Movie) (final film role)

Television Appearances as Actor

  • The Four Just Men, by Sapphire Films (1959) (10 episodes)

See also

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