Vittorio De Sica

Vittorio De Sica (/də ˈsiːkə/ də SEE-kə, Italian: [vitˈtɔːrjo de ˈsiːka]; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement.

"De Sica" redirects here. For Vittorio De Sica's sons, see Christian De Sica and Manuel De Sica.
In this Romance language name, the surname is De Sica, not Sica.

Vittorio De Sica
De Sica in 1959
Born(1901-07-07)7 July 1901
Sora, Lazio, Kingdom of Italy
Died13 November 1974(1974-11-13) (aged 73)
Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Occupations
  • Film director
  • actor
Years active1917–1974
Spouses
  • Giuditta Rissone
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1937; div. 1954)​
  • María Mercader
    ​
    (m. 1968)​
Children3, including

Widely considered one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: Sciuscià and Bicycle Thieves (honorary), while Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow and Il giardino dei Finzi Contini won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Indeed, the great critical success of Sciuscià (the first foreign film to be so recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) and Bicycle Thieves helped establish the permanent Best Foreign Film Award. These two films are considered part of the canon of classic cinema.[1] Bicycle Thieves was deemed the greatest film of all time by Sight & Sound magazine's poll of filmmakers and critics in 1958,[2] and was cited by Turner Classic Movies as one of the 15 most influential films in cinema history.[3]

De Sica was also nominated for the 1957 Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for playing Major Rinaldi in American director Charles Vidor's 1957 adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms, a movie that was panned by critics and proved a box office flop. De Sica's acting was considered the highlight of the film.[4]

Life and career
De Sica in the late 1920s

De Sica was born on 7 July 1901 in Sora, Lazio, the son of Neapolitan parents.[5] His father was an officer of the Bank of Italy, and was transferred from Naples to Sora, Italy.[6] De Sica began his career as a theatre actor in the early 1920s and joined Tatiana Pavlova's theatre company in 1923. In 1933 he founded his own company with the actress, Giuditta Rissone, who later became his wife, and Sergio Tofano. The company performed mostly light comedies, but they also staged plays by Beaumarchais and worked with famous directors like Luchino Visconti.[7]

His meeting with the screenwriter Cesare Zavattini was a very important event: together they created some of the most celebrated films of the neorealistic age, like Sciuscià (Shoeshine) and Bicycle Thieves (released as The Bicycle Thief in America), both of which De Sica directed.[8]

De Sica appeared in the British television series The Four Just Men (1959).[9]

Personal life

His passion for gambling was well known and because of it, he often lost large sums of money and accepted work that might not otherwise have interested him. He never kept his gambling a secret from anyone; in fact, he projected it on characters in his own movies, like Count Max (which he acted in but did not direct) and The Gold of Naples,[9] as well as in General Della Rovere, a film directed by Rossellini in which De Sica played the title role.[10]

In 1937 Vittorio De Sica married the actress Giuditta Rissone, who gave birth to their daughter, Emilia (Emi). In 1942, on the set of Un garibaldino al convento, he met Spanish actress María Mercader (cousin of Ramon Mercader, Leon Trotsky's assassin), with whom he started a relationship. After divorcing Rissone in France in 1954, he married Mercader in 1959 in Mexico, but this union was not considered valid under Italian law. In 1968 he obtained French citizenship and married Mercader in Paris. Meanwhile, he had already had two sons with her: Manuel, in 1949, a musician, and Christian, in 1951, who would follow his father's path as an actor and director.[11] Christian's son and Vittorio's grandson Brando De Sica continued the dynasty and became an actor and film director.[12]

He was a Roman Catholic[13] and a communist.[14][15] Although divorced, De Sica never parted from his first family. He led a double family life, with double celebrations on holidays. It is said that, at Christmas and on New Year's Eve, he used to put back the clocks by two hours in Mercader's house so that he could make a toast at midnight with both families. His first wife agreed to keep up the facade of a marriage so as not to leave her daughter without a father.

Vittorio De Sica died at 73 after surgery due to lung cancer at the Neuilly-sur-Seine hospital in Paris.[16]

Awards and nominations

Vittorio De Sica was given the Interfilm Grand Prix in 1971 by the Berlin International Film Festival.

Filmography

Directing credits
English title Original title Notes Released
Red Roses Rose scarlatteCo-director 1940
Maddalena, Zero for Conduct Maddalena, zero in condotta
Do You Like Women Teresa Venerdi1941
A Garibaldian in the Convent Un garibaldino al convento1942
The Children Are Watching Us I bambini ci guardano1944
The Gate of Heaven La porta del cielo1945
Shoeshine SciusciàAcademy Award Winner for Best Foreign Film (Special Award)1946
Heart and Soul CuoreCo-director1948
Bicycle Thieves Ladri di bicicletteAcademy Award Winner for Best Foreign Film (Special Award)
Miracle in Milan Miracolo a Milano1951
Umberto D. 1952
Terminal Station Stazione Termini1953
The Gold of Naples L'oro di Napoli1954
The Roof Il Tetto1956
Anna of Brooklyn Anna di BrooklynCo-director1958
Two Women La Ciociara1960
The Last Judgment Il Giudizio universale1961
The Condemned of Altona I sequestrati di Altona1962
Boccaccio '70 Short film – segment La riffa
Il Boom 1963
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Ieri, oggi e domani Academy Award Winner, Best Foreign Film[20]
Marriage Italian-Style Matrimonio all'italianaAcademy Award Nominee, Best Foreign Film[21]1964
Un monde nouveau1966
After the Fox Caccia alla volpe
Woman Times Seven Sette Volte Donna1967
The Witches Le stregheShort film – segment Una sera come le altre
A Place for Lovers Amanti1968
Sunflower I Girasoli1970
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis Il Giardino dei Finzi-ContiniAcademy Award Winner, Best Foreign Film[22]
The Couples Le CoppieShort film – segment Il Leone
From Referendum to the Constitution: 2 June Dal referendum alla costituzione: Il 2 giugnoDocumentary1971
The Knights of Malta I Cavalieri di Malta
We'll Call Him Andrea Lo chiameremo Andrea1972
A Brief Vacation Una breve vacanza1973
The Voyage Il viaggio1974

Acting credits
  • Il processo Clemenceau (1917, by Alfredo De Antoni) as Pierre Clémenceau bambino
  • La bellezza del mondo (1927, by Mario Almirante)
  • La compagnia dei matti (1928, by Mario Almirante) as Prof. Rosolillo
  • La vecchia signora (1932, by Amleto Palermi) as Il fine dicitore
  • Gli uomini, che mascalzoni! (1932, by Mario Camerini) as Bruno
  • Due cuori felici (1932, by Baldassarre Negroni) as Mister Brown
  • Paprika (1933, by Carl Boese)
  • Pasa el amor (1933, by Adolf Trotz)
  • Lisetta (1934, by Carl Boese) as Fritz Peters
  • La canzone del sole (1934, by Max Neufeld (he stars too the German version titles Das lied der sonne)) as Dr. Giuseppe Paladino
  • Un cattivo soggetto (1933, by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia) as Willy
  • La segretaria per tutti (1933, by Amleto Palermi) as Un gagà
  • Tempo massimo (1934, by Mario Mattoli) as Il professore Giacomo Banti
  • Il signore desidera? (1934, by Gennaro Righelli) as Martino
  • The Song of the Sun (1934, by Max Neufeld) as Paladino, il avvocato
  • Darò un milione (1935, by Mario Camerini) as Gold
  • Amo te sola (1936, by Mario Mattoli) as Prof. Giovanni Agano
  • Non ti conosco più (1936, by Nunzio Malasomma) as Il dottore Alberto Spinelli
  • Lohengrin (1936, by Nunzio Malasomma) as Alfredo
  • L'uomo che sorride (1937, by Mario Mattoli) as Pio Fardella
  • Il signor Max (1937, by Mario Camerini) as Gianni / Max Varaldo
  • But It's Nothing Serious (1937, by Mario Camerini) as Memmo Speranza
  • Naples of Olden Times (1938, by Amleto Palermi) as Mario Esposito
  • La mazurka di papà (1938, by Oreste Biancoli) as Stefano San Mauro / Il figlio di San Mauro
  • Il Trionfo dell'amore (1938, by Mario Mattoli) as Vincenzo
  • The Cuckoo Clock (1938, by Camillo Mastrocinque) as Il capitano Ducci
  • Departure (1938, by Amleto Palermi) as Paolo Veronda
  • They've Kidnapped a Man (1938, by Gennaro Righelli) as L'attore cinematografico
  • Ai vostri ordini, signora! (1939, by Mario Mattoli) as Pietro Haguet
  • Naples That Never Die (1939, by Amleto Palermi)
  • Questi ragazzi (1939, by Mario Mattoli) as Vincenzo
  • Castles in the Air (1939, by Augusto Genina (He stars too the German version Ins blaue leben)) as Riccardo Pietramola
  • Department Store (1939, by Mario Camerini) as Bruno Zacchi
  • It Always Ends That Way (1939, by Enrique Telémaco Susini) as Alberto Miller
  • Manon Lescaut (1940, by Carmine Gallone) as Renato Des Grieux
  • Two on a Vacation (1940, by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia) as Il conte Corrado Valli
  • Red Roses (1940, by Giuseppe Amato and Vittorio De Sica) as Alberto Verani
  • The Two Mothers (1940, by Amleto Palermi) as Salvatore
  • The Sinner (1940, by Amleto Palermi) as Pietro Bandelli
  • Maddalena, Zero for Conduct (1940, by Vittorio De Sica) as Alfredo Hartman
  • The Adventuress from the Floor Above (1941, by Raffaello Matarazzo (script too, not credited)) as Fabrizio Marchini
  • Teresa Venerdì (1941, by Vittorio De Sica) as Dott. Pietro Vignali
  • Se io fossi onesto (1942, by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia (script too)) as Pietro Kovach
  • A Garibaldian in the Convent (1942, by Vittorio De Sica) as Nino Bixio (uncredited)
  • La guardia del corpo (1942, by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia (script too)) as Riccardo, L'investigatore privato
  • Non sono superstizioso... ma! (1943, by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia (script too)) as Il barone Roberto
  • I nostri sogni (1943, by Vittorio Cottafavi (script too)) as Leo
  • Nessuno torna indietro (1945, by Alessandro Blasetti) as Maurizio
  • L'ippocampo (1945, by Gian Paolo Rosmino (script too, and assistant to director, not credited)) as Pio Sandi
  • Vivere ancora (1945, by Nino Giannini)
  • Lo sbaglio di essere vivo (1945, by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia) as Adriano Lari
  • Rome, Free City (1946, by Marcello Pagliero) as Il signore distinto
  • Abbasso la ricchezza! (1946, by Gennaro Righelli (story and script too)) as Il conte Ghirani
  • Natale al campo 119 (1947, regia di Pietro Francisci (script too and supervision director, not credited)) as Don Vicenzino
  • Sperduti nel buio (1947, by Camillo Mastrocinque) as Nunzio
  • Lo Sconosciuto di San Marino (1948, by Michal Waszynski and Vittorio Cottafavi) as Leo, l'ateo
  • Cuore (1948, by Duilio Coletti (producer and script too)) as Professor Perboni
  • Il mondo vuole così (1949, by Giorgio Bianchi) as Paolo Morelli
  • Domani è troppo tardi (1949, by Léonide Moguy (consulting director too, not credited)) as Il professor Landi
  • Cameriera bella presenza offresi... (1951, by Giorgio Pàstina) as Leonardo Leonardi
  • Mamma Mia, What an Impression! (1951, by Roberto Savarese)
  • Buongiorno, elefante! (1952, by Gianni Franciolini (producer too)) as Carlo Caretti
  • Gli uomini non guardano il cielo (1952, by Umberto Scarpelli)
  • In Olden Days (1952, by Alessandro Blasetti) as L'Avvocato Difensore (segment "Il processo di Frine")
  • The Earrings of Madame de... (1953, by Max Ophüls) as Baron Fabrizio Donati
  • Villa Borghese (1953, by Gianni Franciolini) as L'avvocato Arturo Cavazzuti (segment: Incidente a Villa Borghese)
  • Pane, amore e fantasia (1953, by Luigi Comencini) as Maresciallo Carotenuto
  • Il matrimonio (1954, by Antonio Petrucci) as Gregory Stefanovich Smirnov
  • Cento anni d'amore (1954, by Lionello De Felice) as Duke Giovanni del Bagno aka Signor Pallini (segment "Pendolin")
  • Gran Varietà (1954, by Domenico Paolella) as Veneziani - il fine dicitore (segment "Il censore")
  • A Slice of Life (1954, by Alessandro Blasetti et Paul Paviot) as Il conte Ferdinando (segment "Don Corradino")
  • Il letto (1954, by Gianni Franciolini) as Roberto (segment "Divorce, Le")
  • Vergine moderna (1954, by Marcello Pagliero) as Antonio Valli
  • Allegro squadrone (1954, by Paolo Moffa) as Il generale
  • Pane, amore e gelosia (1954, by Luigi Comencini) as Maresciallo Carotenuto
  • L'oro di Napoli (1954, by Vittorio De Sica) as Il conte Prospero B. (segment "I giocatori") (uncredited)
  • Peccato che sia una canaglia (1954, by Alessandro Blasetti) as Vittorio Stroppiani
  • Il segno di Venere (1955, by Dino Risi) as Alessio Spano
  • Gli ultimi cinque minuti (1955, by Giuseppe Amato) as Carlo Reani
  • La bella mugnaia (1955, by Mario Camerini) as Don Teofilo - governatore
  • Racconti romani (1955, by Gianni Franciolini) as Avvocato Mazzoni Baralla
  • Pane, amore e... (1955, by Dino Risi) as Comandante Carotenuto
  • Lucky to Be a Woman (1955, by Alessandro Blasetti) as Minor Role (uncredited)
  • Il bigamo (1956, by Luciano Emmer) as L'onorevole Principe / Attorney Principe
  • I giorni più belli (1956, by Mario Mattoli)
  • Mio figlio Nerone (1956, by Steno) as Seneca
  • Tempo di villeggiatura (1956, by Antonio Racioppi) as Aristide Rossi
  • The Monte Carlo Story (1956, by Samuel Taylor and Giulio Macchi (director's assistant too)) as Count Dino della Fiaba
  • Noi siamo le colonne (1956, by Luigi Filippo D'Amico) as Alfredo Celimontani
  • Padri e figli (1957, by Mario Monicelli) as Vincenzo Corallo
  • I colpevoli (1957, by Turi Vasile) as Giorgio
  • Souvenir d'Italie (1957, by Antonio Pietrangeli) as The Count
  • Count Max (1957, by Giorgio Bianchi) as Conte Max Orsini Varaldo
  • Casinò de Paris (1957, by André Hunebelle) as Alexandre Gordy
  • La donna che venne dal mare (1957, by Francesco De Robertis (1957) as Console Bordogin
  • Il medico e lo stregone (1957, by Mario Monicelli) as Antonio Locoratolo
  • A Farewell to Arms (1957, directed by Charles Vidor (Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor) as Major Alessandro Rinaldi
  • Vacanze a Ischia (1957, by Mario Camerini) as Ingegner Occhipinti
  • Totò, Vittorio e la dottoressa (1957, by Camillo Mastrocinque) as Marchese De Vitti
  • Amore e chiacchiere (1958, by Alessandro Blasetti) as Avvocato Bonelli
  • Domenica è sempre domenica (1958, by Camillo Mastrocinque) as Comandante Castaldi
  • Anna of Brooklyn (1958, by Carlo Lastricati and Vittorio De Sica) as Don Luigi
  • Pezzo, capopezzo e capitano (1958, by Wolfgang Staudte) as Il comandante Ernesto De Rossi
  • Ballerina e buon Dio (1958, by Antonio Leonviola) as God
  • Gli zitelloni (1958, by Giorgio Bianchi) as Il professore
  • Pane, amore e Andalusia (1958, by Javier Setó (director's assistant too)) as Maresciallo Carotenuto
  • La ragazza di Piazza San Pietro (1958, by Piero Costa) as Armando Conforti
  • La prima notte (1959, by Alberto Cavalcanti) as Alfredo
  • Il nemico di mia moglie (1959, by Gianni Puccini) as Ottavio Terenzi, padre di Marco
  • Uomini e nobiluomini (1959, by Giorgio Bianchi) as Marchese Nicola Peccori Macinelli di Afragola
  • Vacanze d'inverno (1959, by Camillo Mastrocinque) as Maurice
  • Il mondo dei miracoli (1959, by Luigi Capuano) as Director Pietro Giordani
  • Il moralista (1959, by Giorgio Bianchi) as The O. I. M. P. President
  • Il generale della Rovere (1959, by Roberto Rossellini) as Bardone AKA 'Grimaldi'
  • Ferdinando I, re di Napoli (1959, by Gianni Franciolini) as Salvatore Caputo
  • Nel blu dipinto di blu (1959, by Piero Tellini) as Spartaco
  • Policarpo, ufficiale di scrittura (1959, by Mario Soldati)
  • Gastone (1960, by Mario Bonnard) as The prince
  • The Angel Wore Red (1960, by Nunnally Johnson and Mario Russo) as Gen. Clave
  • Austerlitz (1960, by Abel Gance) as Pope Pius VII
  • It Started in Naples (1960, by Melville Shavelson) as Mario Vitale
  • Le tre eccetera del colonnello (1960, by Claude Boissol) as Colonel Belalcazar
  • Le pillole di Ercole (1960, by Luciano Salce) as Piero Cuocolo
  • The Millionairess (1960, by Anthony Asquith) as Joe
  • Il vigile (1960, by Luigi Zampa) as Il sindaco
  • Un amore a Roma (1960, by Dino Risi) as Director
  • Gli attendenti (1961, by Giorgio Bianchi) as Attore di Fumetti
  • L'onorata società (1961, by Riccardo Pazzaglia) as Salvatore, the 'Capintesta'
  • Vive Henri IV, vive l'amour (1961, by Claude Autant-Lara) as L'ambassadeur d'Espagne
  • The Last Judgment (1961, director) as Defense lawyer
  • The Wonders of Aladdin (1961, by Mario Bava and Henry Levin) as Genie
  • Gli incensurati (1961, by Francesco Giaculli) as Colonnello Filippo Bitossi
  • I due marescialli (1961, by Sergio Corbucci) as Maresciallo Vittorio Cottone
  • La Fayette (1962, by Jean Dréville) as Bancroft
  • Eva (1962, by Joseph Losey and Guidarino Guidi) (uncredited)
  • The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders (1965, by Terence Young) as The Count
  • Io, io, io... e gli altri (1966, by Alessandro Blasetti) as Commendator Trepossi
  • Un italiano in America (1967, by Alberto Sordi) as Giuseppe's Father
  • After the Fox (1966, director) as Himself (uncredited)
  • Gli altri, gli altri e noi (1967, by Maurizio Arena)
  • The Biggest Bundle of Them All (1968, by Ken Annakin) as Cesare Celli
  • Darling Caroline (1968, by Denys de la Patellière) as Le comte de Bièvre - le père de Caroline
  • The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968, by Michael Anderson) as Cardinal Rinaldi
  • If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969, by Mel Stuart) as Shoemaker
  • The Thirteen Chairs (1969, by Nicolas Gessner and Luciano Lucignani) as Carlo De Seta - The Commendatore
  • Cose di Cosa Nostra (1970, by Steno) as Don Michele
  • Io non-vedo, tu non-parli, lui non-sente (1971, by Mario Camerini) as Player in Venice casino
  • Trastevere (1971, by Fausto Tozzi) as Enrico Formichi
  • Siamo tutti in libertà provvisoria (1972, by Manlio Scarpelli) as Giuseppe Mancini 'Pulcinella'
  • Ettore lo fusto (1972, by Enzo G. Castellari) as Giove
  • Snow Job (1972, by George Englund) as Enrico Dolphi
  • L'odeur des fauves (1972, by Richard Balducci) as Milord
  • Le avventure di Pinocchio (1972, by Luigi Comencini (both Film and TV versions)) as Il giudice
  • The Small Miracle (1973, TV Movie, by Jeannot Szwarc) as Father Damico
  • Storia de fratelli e de cortelli (1973, by Mario Amendola) as Maresciallo Cenciarelli
  • Il delitto Matteotti (1973, by Florestano Vancini) as Mauro Del Giudice
  • Viaggia, ragazza, viaggia, hai la musica nelle vene (1973, by Pasquale Squitieri)
  • Blood for Dracula (1974, by Paul Morrissey and Antonio Margheriti) as Il Marchese Di Fiore
  • C'eravamo tanto amati (1974, by Ettore Scola) as Himself
  • Intorno (1974, Short, by Manuel De Sica)
  • L'eroe (1976, TV Movie, by Manuel De Sica) (final film role)

Note: on many sources, Fontana di Trevi by Carlo Campogalliani (1960) and La bonne soupe by Robert Thomas (1964) are included but de Sica does not appear in those films.

Television appearances as actor
  • The Four Just Men, by Sapphire Films (1959) (10 of the 39 episodes made)

References
  1. Ebert, Roger. "The Bicycle Thief / Bicycle Thieves (1949)". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 5 November 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  2. Ebert, Roger (19 March 1999). "The Bicycle Thief / Bicycle Thieves (1949) review". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  3. Ebert, Roger. "TCM's 15 most influential films of all time, and 10 from me". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  4. "A Farewell To Arms - TV Guide". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  5. Lambiase, Sergio (20 February 2013). "Foto e lettere inedite di De Sica, il ciociaro cosmopolita che voleva essere napoletano". Corriere del Mezzogiorno (in Italian). Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  6. "De Siza - Actor Director". Continental Film Review. July 1965. p. 14. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  7. Cardullo 2002, p. 29.
  8. Cardullo 2002, pp. 128, 164.
  9. Curle & Snyder 2000, p. 12.
  10. Bondanella, Peter (1993). The Films of Roberto Rossellini. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 119. ISBN 0-521-39236-5.
  11. Cardullo 2002, p. 3.
  12. Volpe, Maria. "I De Sica e la saga famigliare: il padre Vittorio, le due famiglie, Christian e il cognato Verdone". Corriere della sera. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  13. "Famous Catholics". www.adherents.com. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  14. Ariela Bankier (22 April 2010). "All About My Father". Haaretz. Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd. Retrieved 26 June 2021. "They were both communists, both Cesare and De Sica," his son says.
  15. Gino Moliterno (2000). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture. Routledge. p. 409. ISBN 9780415145848.
  16. Kaufman, Michael T. (14 November 1974). "Vittorio De Sica, 73, Dies; Neorealist Movie Director". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  17. "IMDB.com: Awards for Anna di Brooklyn". imdb.com. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  18. "4th Moscow International Film Festival (1965)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  19. "Berlinale 1971: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  20. "The 37th Academy Awards (1965) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  21. "The 38th Academy Awards (1966) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  22. "The 44th Academy Awards (1972) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 27 November 2011.

Further reading
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vittorio De Sica.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.