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{{Short description|Italian film genre}}
{{For|the Italian improvisational theatre|Commedia dell'arte{{!}}''Commedia dell'arte''}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Italics title}}
[[File:I soliti ignoti 3.png|thumb|''[[Big Deal on Madonna Street]]'' by [[Mario Monicelli]] (1958)]]
'''''Commedia all'italiana''''' ({{IPA|it|komˈmɛːdja allitaˈljaːna|lang}}) or '''Italian-style comedy''' is an Italian [[film genre]] born in Italy in the 1950s and developed in the 1960s and 1970s. It is widely considered to have started with [[Mario Monicelli]]'s ''[[Big Deal on Madonna Street]]'' in 1958,<ref name="quinlan">{{cite web|url=https://quinlan.it/2020/03/12/i-soliti-ignoti/|title=I soliti ignoti|access-date=21 November 2022|language=it}}</ref> and derives its name from the title of [[Pietro Germi]]'s ''[[Divorce Italian Style]]'' (1961).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.viv-it.org/immagini/divorzio-all-italiana-1961-di-pietro-germi|title=Divorzio all'italiana (1961) di Pietro Germi|access-date=21 November 2022|language=it}}</ref> According to most of the critics, ''[[La Terrazza]]'' (1980) by [[Ettore Scola]] is the last work considered part of the ''commedia all'italiana''.<ref name="Brunetta">{{cite book|first=Gian Piero |last=Brunetta|title=Storia del cinema italiano|publisher=Editori Riuniti|volume=IV|chapter=Dal miracolo economico agli anni novanta, 1960-1993|year=1993|page=386|isbn=88-359-3788-4|language=it}}</ref><ref name="italica">{{cite web|url=http://www.italica.rai.it/cinema/schede/commedia4.htm|title=Ultimi bagliori di un crepuscolo (1971-1980)|access-date=23 November 2022|language=it|archive-date=26 November 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051126005249/http://www.italica.rai.it/cinema/schede/commedia4.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Giacovelli">{{cite book|first=Enrico|last=Giacovelli|title=La commedia all'italiana - La storia, i luoghi, gli autori, gli attori, i film|pages=11-12|publisher=Gremese Editore|year=1990|language=it|isbn=978-8876058738}}</ref>

Rather than a specific genre, the term indicates a period (approximately from the late 1950s to the early 1970s) in which the [[Cinema of Italy|Italian film industry]] was producing many successful comedies, with some common traits like satire of manners, farcical and grotesque overtones, a strong focus on spicy social issues of the period (like sexual matters, divorce, contraception, [[marriage of the clergy]], the [[Italian economic miracle|economic rise of the country]] and its various consequences, the traditional religious influence of the [[Catholic Church in Italy]]) and a prevailing [[middle-class]] setting, often characterized by a substantial background of sadness and [[social criticism]] that diluted the comic contents.<ref name="treccani">{{cite web|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/commedia-all-italiana_%28Enciclopedia-del-Cinema%29/|title=Commedia all'italiana|publisher=[[Treccani]]|access-date=21 November 2022|language=it}}</ref>

==Characteristics==
[[File:Gassman I mostri.jpg|thumb|''[[I mostri]]'' (1963) by [[Dino Risi]]]]
[[File:Detenuto in attesa di giudizio.JPG|thumb|''[[In Prison Awaiting Trial]]'' (1971) by [[Nanni Loy]]]]

The genre of ''commedia all'italiana'' differed markedly from the light and disengaged comedy of the so-called "pink neorealism" trend, in vogue during the 1950s, in its departure from [[Italian neorealism|neorealism]]'s strict adherence to reality. Alongside the comic situations and plots typical of traditional comedy, it combined a biting and sometimes bitter satire of manners with irony to highlight the contradictions of contemporary Italian society.<ref name="treccani"/> The setting was often Italy of the time period, although films that used different historical contexts to take aim at social current affairs were not uncommon.<ref name="eg">{{cite book|first=Enrico|last=Giacovelli|title=La commedia all'italiana - La storia, i luoghi, gli autori, gli attori, i film|page=43|publisher=Gremese Editore|year=1990|language=it|isbn=978-8876058738}}
</ref>

Starting from the end of the 1960s and throughout the 1970s, Italy experienced numerous phases that radically changed the mentality and customs of Italians. The economic situation, student unrest and the search for new emancipations in the world of work and family, became the ideal place within which to project the characters of the comedy, ready to revive the changes in civil society on stage.<ref>{{cite book|first=Enrico|last=Giacovelli|title=La commedia all'italiana - La storia, i luoghi, gli autori, gli attori, i film|page=49|publisher=Gremese Editore|year=1990|language=it|isbn=978-8876058738}}</ref>

For Italy, these were the years of the economic boom, which were followed by those of social conquests, in which a radical change took place in the mentality and also in the sexual habits of the Italians, the birth of a new relationship with power and with religion, the search for new forms of economic and social emancipation, in the world of work, family and marriage, all themes that can be traced in the films belonging to this vein. During the 1970s, the ''commedia all'italiana'' even touched on more complex social issues, with works with a basically dramatic background (for example, ''[[In Prison Awaiting Trial]]'' by [[Nanni Loy]] or ''[[An Average Little Man]]'' by [[Mario Monicelli]]).<ref name="treccani"/>

The success of films belonging to the ''commedia all'italiana'' genre is due both to the presence of an entire generation of great actors, who knew how to masterfully embody the vices (many) and virtues (few), and the attempts at emancipation but also the vulgarities of the Italians of the time, both to the careful work of directors, storytellers and screenwriters, who invented a real genre, with essentially new connotations, managing to find precious material for their cinematographic creations in the folds of a rapid evolution with many contradictions.<ref name="treccani"/>

If one wanted to identify a manifesto of this kind, whose charm also rests, in part, on the vagueness of shared or in any case easily identifiable aesthetic canons, one could probably refer to three films out of all, ''[[I mostri]]'' by [[Dino Risi]] (with [[Vittorio Gassman]] and [[Ugo Tognazzi]], who during the various episodes of the film are transformed into a series of grotesque characters), ''[[Be Sick... It's Free]]'' by [[Luigi Zampa]], and its sequel ''[[Il Prof. Dott. Guido Tersilli, primario della clinica Villa Celeste, convenzionata con le mutue]]'' by [[Alberto Sordi]], and Monicelli's ''[[Big Deal on Madonna Street]]'', where Gassman is joined by [[Marcello Mastroianni]], [[Totò]], and a roundup of exceptional character actors. This last film, the first in chronological order among those mentioned (1958), is considered by many critics, due to its setting, themes, typology of characters and aesthetic settings, the starting point of the real ''commedia all'italiana''.<ref name="quinlan"/>

==Directors and films==
[[File:La-grande-guerra2.jpg|thumb|left|''[[The Great War (1959 film)|The Great War]]'' (1959) by [[Mario Monicelli]]]]

It is generally believed that it was the director [[Mario Monicelli]], progenitor and among the greatest exponents (with [[Dino Risi]], [[Luigi Comencini]], [[Pietro Germi]] and [[Ettore Scola]]) of the ''commedia all'italiana'', who inaugurated this new phase with the feature film ''[[Big Deal on Madonna Street]]'' (1958), written together with [[Suso Cecchi D'Amico]] and the screenwriting duo [[Agenore Incrocci]] and [[Furio Scarpelli]]. The work combines grotesque cues with sequences typical of underclass drama, filming with great detail a peripheral and degraded [[Rome]], still extraneous to the economic processes of the [[Italian economic miracle]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Dizionario dei film 2011|author-link=Paolo Mereghetti|first=Paolo|last=Mereghetti|publisher= Baldini Castoldi Dalai Editore|year= 2011|isbn=978-88-6073-626-0|language=it|page=3139}}</ref> The film proved to be a success (even across borders) so much so that it was nominated for an Oscar as best foreign film.<ref name = "eg" />
[[File:Brancaleone5.jpg|thumb|''[[L'armata Brancaleone]]'' by [[Mario Monicelli]] (1966)]]

In 1959, ''[[The Great War (1959 film)|The Great War]]'' by Monicelli was released in theaters, with [[Alberto Sordi]] and [[Vittorio Gassman]]. The feature film, inspired by a story by [[Guy de Maupassant]], contaminates historical tragedy with comedy modules, the massacres of [[World War I]], taboo for all national cinema.<ref name="Merenghetti 1449">{{Cite book|title=Dizionario dei film 2011|author-link=Paolo Mereghetti|first=Paolo|last=Mereghetti|publisher= Baldini Castoldi Dalai Editore|year= 2011|isbn=978-88-6073-626-0|language=it|page=1449}}</ref> After ''[[The Organizer]]'' (1963), Monicelli directed ''[[L'armata Brancaleone]]'' (1966). The film is a mixture of fantasy and farcical adventures that unfold throughout an unbridled and carnivalesque Middle Ages, in clear controversy with the opposite vision of the middle age proposed by Hollywood cinema.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Dizionario dei film 2011|author-link=Paolo Mereghetti|first=Paolo|last=Mereghetti|publisher= Baldini Castoldi Dalai Editore|year= 2011|isbn=978-88-6073-626-0|language=it|page=1494}}</ref> Some time later, in full protest, he brought ''[[The Girl with the Pistol]]'' (1968) to the screens, sensing the comic qualities of the actress [[Monica Vitti]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Dizionario dei film 2011|author-link=Paolo Mereghetti|first=Paolo|last=Mereghetti|publisher= Baldini Castoldi Dalai Editore|year= 2011|isbn=978-88-6073-626-0|language=it|page=2749}}</ref> Among subsequent films by Monicelli are ''[[We Want the Colonels]]'' (1973), ''[[Come Home and Meet My Wife]]'' (1974), ''[[My Friends (film)|My friends]]'' (1975) and ''[[An Average Little Man]]'' (1977). The latter work is explicitly affected by the repressive climate of the [[Years of Lead (Italy)|Years of Lead]] and gives the actor Alberto Sordi one of his darkest and most suffered characters.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Dizionario dei film 2011|author-link=Paolo Mereghetti|first=Paolo|last=Mereghetti|publisher= Baldini Castoldi Dalai Editore|year= 2011|isbn=978-88-6073-626-0|language=it|page=477}}</ref>
[[File:Il sorpasso (1962) Spaak e Gassman.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Il Sorpasso]]'' (1962) by [[Dino Risi]]]]

The 1960s was the period of the Italian economic miracle and consequently the cinema is affected by the changes that modify Italian society. One of the first artists to document these changes was the Milanese filmmaker [[Dino Risi]]. In his best known feature film ''[[Il Sorpasso]]'' (1962), the director mixes, with acute sensitivity, comedy and seriousness of the subject, veering, in an unusual way, in a dramatic and chilling ending. The histrionics of Vittorio Gassman and the soundtrack, with pieces by [[Edoardo Vianello]] and [[Domenico Modugno]], photograph the picture of the time, making the comedy genre reach full authorial maturity. Also directed by Dino Risi is the cult movie ''[[I mostri]]'' (1963) and ''[[A Difficult Life]]'' (1961), which brings an intense Alberto Sordi to the scene. The film is an artistic document on post-war Italy and the nascent democracy, in a perfect balance between farce and drama, between sociological ambitions and political disillusionment.<ref name="Merenghetti 3709">{{Cite book|title=Dizionario dei film 2011|author-link=Paolo Mereghetti|first=Paolo|last=Mereghetti|publisher= Baldini Castoldi Dalai Editore|year= 2011|isbn=978-88-6073-626-0|language=it|page=3709}}</ref> Other works worth mentioning are ''[[Il vedovo]]'' (1959), ''[[Il Mattatore]]'' (1960), ''[[The Thursday]]'' (1964), ''[[Weekend, Italian Style]]'' (1965), ''[[Torture Me But Kill Me with Kisses]]'' (1968), ''[[In the Name of the Italian People]]'' (1971) and the film ''[[Scent of a Woman (1974 film)|Scent of a Woman]]'' (1974), fully supported by the acting verve of Vittorio Gassman.
[[File:Ragazza di Bube-Cardinale.jpg|thumb|''[[La ragazza di Bube (film)|La ragazza di Bube]]'' (1963) by [[Luigi Comencini]]]]

It should be highlighted how often the constituent elements of comedy have been artfully intertwined with different genres, giving rise to decidedly unclassifiable films. In inaugurating this technique, the filmmaker [[Luigi Comencini]] was undoubtedly one of the most important authors. After having achieved popularity in the 1950s with some pink comedies (among all the well-known ''[[Bread, Love and Dreams]]'' 1953), in 1960 he gave Italian cinema the war opera ''[[Everybody Go Home]]''. The feature film, constantly poised between humor and drama, reconstructs the days following the [[Armistice of Cassibile]], helping to break the wall of silence that had fallen on the [[Italian Civil War]], a topic hitherto ignored by a large part of national cinema.<ref name="Merenghetti 3709" /> Among his best works are ''[[On the Tiger's Back]]'' (1961), ''[[La ragazza di Bube (film)|La ragazza di Bube]]'' (1963), ''[[The Scientific Cardplayer]]'' (1972), the drama ''[[The Adventures of Pinocchio (1972 miniseries)|The Adventures of Pinocchio]]'' (1972), ''[[The Cat (1977 film)|The Cat]]'' (1978) and ''[[Traffic Jam (film)|Traffic Jam ]]'' (1979), in which different genres and styles merge.
[[File:Sedotta e abbandonata 1964-cast.png|thumb|''[[Seduced and Abandoned (1964 film)|Seduced and Abandoned]]'' by [[Pietro Germi]] (1964)]]

Another leading figure for the development and imposition of the ''commedia all'italiana'' is the director [[Pietro Germi]]. After having ventured into works with an evident civil content, somehow attributable to the canons of [[Italian neorealism|neorealism]], in the last phase of his career he directed films that could be inserted within the range of comedy, where components of criticism survive alongside the usual humorous tones on the customs of the middle class.<ref>{{cite book|first=Mario|last=Sesti|title=Il cinema di Pietro Germi|publisher=Baldini Castoldi Dalai Editore|year=1997|page=55|language=it|isbn=978-8880892908}}</ref> The already mentioned ''[[Divorce Italian Style]]'' opened the doors to Germi's success which materialized with ''[[Seduced and Abandoned (1964 film)|Seduced and Abandoned]]'' (1964) and with the clear and caustic ''[[The Birds, the Bees and the Italians]]'' (1965). The film (a satire on the bourgeois hypocrisy of a small town in the upper Veneto region) won the [[Palme d'Or]] at the [[Cannes Film Festival]] equal to ''[[A Man and a Woman]]'' (1966) by [[Claude Lelouch]].
[[File:Brutti02.jpg|thumb|''[[Ugly, Dirty and Bad]]'' by [[Ettore Scola]] (1976)]]

The latest protagonist of the great season of comedy was the Roman director [[Ettore Scola]]. Throughout the 1950s, he played the role of screenwriter, to then make his directorial debut in 1964 with the film ''[[Let's Talk About Women]]''. In 1974 he directed his best-known film, ''[[We All Loved Each Other So Much]]'', which retraces 30 years of Italian history through the stories of three friends: the lawyer Gianni Perego ([[Vittorio Gassman]]), the porter Antonio ([[Nino Manfredi]]) and the intellectual Nicola ([[Stefano Satta Flores]]). Other important films are ''[[Ugly, Dirty and Bad]]'' (1976), led by Nino Manfredi, and ''[[A Special Day]]'' (1977), where [[Sophia Loren]] and [[Marcello Mastroianni]] give one of their most high and poignant performances.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Dizionario dei film 2011|author-link=Paolo Mereghetti|first=Paolo|last=Mereghetti|publisher=Baldini Castoldi Dalai Editore|year= 2011|isbn=978-88-6073-626-0|language=it|page=1423}}</ref>

In 1980, the director sums up the ''commedia all'italiana'' in the generational [[Parody|pamphlet]] of ''[[La terrazza]]'', which effectively describes the bitter existential balance sheet of a group of left-wing intellectuals. According to most of the critics, the film is the last work still attributable to the ''commedia all'italiana''.<ref name="Brunetta"/><ref name="italica"/><ref name="Giacovelli"/>
[[File:Alberto Sordi Il vigile.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''[[The Traffic Policeman]]'' by [[Luigi Zampa]] (1960)]]

A separate place is occupied by [[Antonio Pietrangeli]], who in almost all of his films has dealt with female psychology, outlining portraits of unhappy and tormented women with marked sensitivity, from ''[[Adua and Her Friends]]'' (1960) to ''[[La visita]]'' (1963), from ''[[The Girl from Parma]]'' (1963) to ''[[I Knew Her Well]]'' (1965), considered his masterpiece. Other significant works are the timeless ''[[The Traffic Policeman]]'' (1960) and ''[[Be Sick... It's Free]]'' (1968) by [[Luigi Zampa]], ''[[Crimen (film)|Crimen]]'' (1961) by [[Mario Camerini]], ''[[Leoni al sole]]'' (1961) by [[Vittorio Caprioli]], ''[[To Bed or Not to Bed]]'' (1963) by [[Gian Luigi Polidoro]], as well as some comedies by [[Vittorio De Sica]], such as ''[[Il Boom]]'' (1963), ''[[Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow]]'' (1963) and ''[[Marriage Italian Style]]'' (1964).

Between the 1960s and 1970s, the cinema of [[Luciano Salce]], author of many comedies with guaranteed box-office receipts, became famous. In addition to the comic cycle of films based on the adventures of the accountant [[Ugo Fantozzi]], we can mention ''[[The Fascist]]'' (1961), ''[[Crazy Desire]]'' (1962), ''[[The Hours of Love]]'' (1963) and ''[[Duck in Orange Sauce]]'' (1975), all enriched by the recitative flair of [[Ugo Tognazzi]]. Also is [[Franco Brusati]]'s film ''[[Bread and Chocolate]]'' (1973), which revisits the various problems of [[Italian diaspora]] with biting intelligence, aided in this by the incisive interpretation of [[Nino Manfredi]]. Brusati himself directed ''[[To Forget Venice]]'' (1979).
[[File:Filmdamoreedanarchia.png|thumb|''[[Love and Anarchy]]'' (1973) by [[Lina Wertmüller]]]]

Also in this context, the work done by the director [[Lina Wertmüller]], who together with the experienced couple of actors [[Giancarlo Giannini]] and [[Mariangela Melato]] gave life, in the first half of the 1970s, to successful films among ''[[The Seduction of Mimi]]'' (1972), ''[[Love and Anarchy]]'' (1973) and ''[[Swept Away (1974 film)|Swept Away]]'' (1974). Two years later, with ''[[Seven Beauties]]'' (1976), she obtained four [[Academy Awards]] nominations, making her the first woman ever to receive a nomination for best director.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.repubblica.it/spettacoli/cinema/2015/09/21/news/wertmuller-123217477/|title=Lina Wertmuller: "Agli Oscar credo poco, preferisco pensare al nuovo film"|language=it|access-date=21 February 2017}}</ref>
[[File:Le quattro giornate di Napoli.png|thumb|''[[The Four Days of Naples (film)|The Four Days of Naples]]'' (1962) by [[Nanni Loy]]]]

Of note is the artistic product of [[Sergio Citti]], who along the lines of certain [[Pier Paolo Pasolini|Pasolinian]] cinema directs bizarre and surreal comedies, achieving convincing results in more than one film among which are ''[[Ostia (film)|Ostia]]'' (1970), ''[[Beach House (1977 film)|Beach House]]'' (1977) and ''[[Il minestrone]]'' (1981). Other directors worth mentioning are [[Nanni Loy]] for the film ''[[The Four Days of Naples (film)|The Four Days of Naples]]'' (1962), [[Steno (director)|Steno]] in the successful film ''[[Febbre da cavallo]]'' (1976), [[Sergio Corbucci]], [[Salvatore Samperi]], [[Gianni Puccini]] and [[Marcello Fondato]]. Others are [[Pasquale Festa Campanile]], [[Luigi Filippo D'Amico]], [[Tonino Cervi]], [[Flavio Mogherini]], [[Franco Rossi (director)|Franco Rossi]] and [[Luigi Magni]], who in his small but significant production, outlined comedies set in papal and [[Unification of Italy|Risorgimento]] Rome that often saw Nino Manfredi as the leading actor.<ref>{{cite book|first=Enrico|last=Giacovelli|title=La commedia all'italiana - La storia, i luoghi, gli autori, gli attori, i film|page=71|publisher=Gremese Editore|year=1990|language=it|isbn=978-8876058738}}</ref>

==Actors and actresses==
[[File:Mastroianni divorzio italiana.jpg|thumb|''[[Divorce Italian Style]]'' (1961) by [[Pietro Germi]]]]

Among the forerunners of the ''commedia all'italiana'' are certainly two of the great actors of the 20th century, [[Aldo Fabrizi]], who anticipated the genre with some successful films of the early 1950s, and [[Totò]], forerunner of the ''commedia all'italiana'' with the popular trend of "Totò e Peppino" in which another famous actor of Neapolitan comedy appeared as a sidekick, [[Peppino De Filippo]]. The two actors, in addition to playing leading roles in a large number of feature films of the genre, left an indelible mark, as guests of honor, in some masterpieces of the time. Totò for example, in ''[[Big Deal on Madonna Street]]'' (1958) and Peppino de Filippo in [[Federico Fellini|Fellini]]'s episode ''The Temptations of Doctor Antonio'' in ''[[Boccaccio '70]] (1962).<ref name="treccani"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/fotografie/schede/IMM-6x010-0005385/|title=Scena dell'episodio "Le tentazioni del dottor Antonio" del film "Boccaccio '70|access-date=22 November 2022|language=it}}</ref>

Among the actors, in addition to Totò and Aldo Fabrizi, the main representatives are [[Alberto Sordi]], [[Ugo Tognazzi]], [[Vittorio Gassman]], [[Marcello Mastroianni]] and [[Nino Manfredi]],<ref>{{cite book|first=Gian Piero |last=Brunetta|title=Storia del cinema italiano|publisher=Editori Riuniti|volume=IV|chapter=Dal miracolo economico agli anni novanta, 1960-1993|year=1993|page=139-141|isbn=88-359-3788-4|language=it}}</ref> while among the actresses is [[Monica Vitti]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Cosulich |first=Callisto |date=4 June 2004 |title=Storia di un mattatore |url= |magazine=Cinecittà News |location= |publisher= |access-date=}}</ref> However, there are numerous high-level interpreters working in the genre. Among these are [[Sophia Loren]], [[Gina Lollobrigida]], [[Claudia Cardinale]], [[Vittorio De Sica]], [[Franco and Ciccio]], [[Raimondo Vianello]], [[Gino Cervi]], [[Walter Chiari]], [[Aroldo Tieri]], [[Franca Valeri]], [[Stefania Sandrelli]], [[Gastone Moschin]], [[Silvana Mangano]], [[Carla Gravina]], [[Adolfo Celi]], [[Carlo Giuffrè]], [[Aldo Giuffrè]] and [[Lando Buzzanca]]. 

Subsequently (from the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the following decade), [[Paolo Villaggio]], [[Gigi Proietti]], [[Giancarlo Giannini]], [[Michele Placido]], [[Laura Antonelli]], [[Stefano Satta Flores]], [[Mariangela Melato]], as well as an infinite number of excellent character actors and supporting actors, among which are [[Gianni Agus]], [[Tiberio Murgia]], [[Carlo Pisacane]] (better known as "Capannelle"), [[Renato Salvatori]], [[Mario Carotenuto]], [[Memmo Carotenuto]], [[Tina Pica]], [[Marisa Merlini]], [[Ave Ninchi]], [[Carlo Delle Piane]], [[Leopoldo Trieste]], [[Giacomo Furia]], [[Luigi Pavese]] and [[Raffaele Pisu]]. Even great actors who tend to be dramatic, such as [[Gian Maria Volonté]], [[Enrico Maria Salerno]] and [[Salvo Randone]], have sometimes successfully ventured into ''commedia all'italiana''. There are also many foreign performers who have often been protagonists or co-stars in films belonging to the ''commedia all'italiana'' genre, including [[Catherine Spaak]], [[Louis de Funès]], [[Fernandel]], [[Sylva Koscina]], [[Bernard Blier]], [[Mario Adorf]], [[Tomas Milian]], [[Philippe Noiret]], [[Senta Berger]], [[Jean-Louis Trintignant]], [[Claudine Auger]], [[Ann-Margret]] and [[Dustin Hoffman]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.longtake.it/movies/alfredo-alfredo|title=Alfredo, Alfredo|access-date=22 November 2022|language=it}}</ref>

== Settings ==
[[File:Ingressostorico cinecitta.jpg|thumb|left|Entrance to the [[Cinecittà]] in [[Rome]], the largest film studio in [[Europe]]<ref name="ciakmagazine">{{cite web|url=https://www.ciakmagazine.it/news/cinecitta-ce-laccordo-per-espandere-gli-studios-italiani/|title=Cinecittà, c'è l'accordo per espandere gli Studios italiani|access-date=10 September 2022|language=it}}</ref>]]

The ''commedia all'italiana'' was a creation of [[Cinecittà]] and initially was often set in [[Rome]], with Roman actors or, even more often, Roman by adoption (for example, [[Vittorio Gassman]], born in [[Genoa]], moved to Rome at a very young age, [[Ugo Tognazzi]], from [[Cremona]], took his first steps in the ''[[avanspettacolo]]'' of the capital, [[Marcello Mastroianni]] and [[Nino Manfredi]], both originally from the [[province of Frosinone]], trained artistically in Rome). After all, Italian public life of the time was mainly centered in the capital, where [[Via Veneto]], with its cafés frequented by artists, actors, adventurers and photographers (the so-called ''[[paparazzi]]''), who made the social life of the Capitoline beau monde famous throughout the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://radioascolta.it/t-Questa-era-Via%20-Veneto--la-strada-della-Dolce-Vita/|title=Questa era Via Veneto: la strada della Dolce Vita|access-date=24 November 2022|language=it}}</ref>

Although, even a large and busy city such as [[Milan]] throughout the 1950s seemed to remain almost on the sidelines, perceived more as a center of business and work than of worldly events, only to return to a leading role with the [[Italian economic miracle]] of the 1960s. Among the most genuinely Roman interpreters, [[Alberto Sordi]] participated in over 140 cinematographic works, ended up embodying, perhaps better than any other, his city of origin, giving life to a vast range of characters representing situations and issues of society weather.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.roma.com/gli-omaggi-piu-belli-ad-alberto-sordi-simbolo-di-roma/|title=Gli omaggi più belli ad Alberto Sordi, simbolo di Roma|access-date=24 November 2022|language=it}}</ref>
[[File:Il vedovo - Reder Lorenzon Sordi.png|thumb|''[[Il vedovo]]'' by [[Dino Risi]] (1959), set in [[Milan]]]]

However, although the Roman setting was very frequent, the genre always represented Italian society in its most different facets and many films attributable to the genre were therefore set in other important Italian urban realities (for example [[Naples]] in ''[[Seven Beauties]]'' and ''[[Treasure of San Gennaro]]'', [[Florence]] in ''[[My Friends (film)|My Friends]]'', [[Milan]] in ''[[Il vedovo]]'' and ''[[Come Home and Meet My Wife]]'') or in the microcosm of the small Italian province (for example [[Veneto]] in ''[[Police Chief Pepe]]'' and ''[[The Birds, the Bees and the Italians]]'', [[Sicily]] in ''[[Divorce Italian Style]]'', the Lombard town of [[Vigevano]] in ''[[The Teacher from Vigevano]]'' and the [[Marche]] village of Sacrofante Marche in ''[[Torture Me But Kill Me with Kisses]]'' and the [[Ascoli Piceno]] in ''[[Alfredo, Alfredo]]'').
[[File:Sordi-Cardinale-BelloOnesto.jpg|thumb|A scene from the film ''[[A Girl in Australia]]'' (1971) by [[Luigi Zampa]], focused on the [[Italian diaspora]]]]

Since the 1960s, there have also been numerous films portraying Italians struggling with the rest of the world, starting with the figures of emigrants abroad during the [[Italian diaspora]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.carmillaonline.com/2017/11/24/la-narrazione-delle-migrazioni-nel-cinema-italiano/|title=La narrazione delle migrazioni nel cinema italiano|access-date=24 November 2022|language=it}}</ref> Nino Manfredi played an immigrant to [[Switzerland]] in ''[[Bread and Chocolate]]'' and Alberto Sordi played an immigrant to [[Australia]] in ''[[A Girl in Australia]]''. Italians abroad find themselves, in the most diverse situations, also in ''[[The Girl with the Pistol]]'', ''[[Will Our Heroes Be Able to Find Their Friend Who Has Mysteriously Disappeared in Africa?]]'', ''[[To Bed or Not to Bed]]'', ''[[Fumo di Londra]]'', ''[[An Italian in America]]'', ''[[Run for Your Wife (1965 film)|Run for Your Wife]]'', ''[[My Brother Anastasia]]'', and many others.

Comedies in which the Italian setting is transposed into different historical contexts are also not infrequent. From the [[Middle Ages]] by [[Mario Monicelli]] in ''[[L'armata Brancaleone]]'' and ''[[Brancaleone at the Crusades]]'', to the papal Rome of the [[Risorgimento]] by [[Luigi Magni]] in ''[[The Conspirators (1969 film)|The Conspirators]]'' and ''[[In the Name of the Pope King]]'', to the numerous films that portray Italians grappling with the ups and downs over the years of the [[Italian fascism|fascist regime]] and [[World War II]], such as ''[[The Fascist]]'', ''[[Roaring Years]]'', ''[[We All Loved Each Other So Much]]'', ''[[The Two Marshals]]'', ''[[Everybody Go Home]]'', or even ''[[Polvere di stelle]]'', the story of a shabby [[avanspettacolo]] company struggling with the upheavals of the [[Badoglio Proclamation]], and many other films.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://derzweifel.com/2021/01/16/polvere-di-stelle-alberto-sordi-e-monica-vitti-avanspettacolo-film-recensione/|title=Polvere di stelle – Alberto Sordi, Monica Vitti e l'avanspettacolo|access-date=24 November 2022|language=it}}</ref>

== Success and decline ==
=== The rise of a successful genre ===
[[File:Il medico della mutua.png|thumb|left|''[[Be Sick... It's Free]]'' (1968) by [[Luigi Zampa]]]]

The genre had great success for over 20 years, from the end of the 1950s<ref>{{cite book|first=Carlo|last=Lizzani|title=Il cinema italiano. Dalle origini agli anni ottanta|publisher=Editori Riuniti|year=1994|page=249|language=it|isbn=978-8835936176}}</ref> to the end of the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nospoiler.it/posts/i-piu-famosi-attori-italiani-anni-80-ieri-e-oggi|title=I più famosi attori italiani anni '80: ieri e oggi|access-date=25 November 2022|language=it}}</ref> In its climax, especially around the second half of the 1960s, the best ''commedie all'italiana'' frequently found themselves at the top of the box office charts, not only in Italy, but also in various other European countries. The success in some cases was such that it allowed actors such as [[Sophia Loren]], [[Walter Chiari]], [[Vittorio Gassman]], [[Gina Lollobrigida]], [[Virna Lisi]] to attempt cinematic experiences in Hollywood as well. In fact, the genre, together with [[Italian neorealism|neorealism]] and [[Spaghetti Western|spaghetti Westerns]], was the only one that could be successfully exported and also appreciated abroad, despite the fact that the situations and contexts represented were sometimes so typically "Italian" as not to always be fully perceived by the foreign public.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cinefacts.it/cinefacts-top8-96/8-film-della-commedia-all-italiana-che-dovreste-riscoprire.html|title=8 film della Commedia all'italiana che dovreste riscoprire|access-date=25 November 2022|language=it}}</ref>
[[File:Agostina Belli.JPG|thumb|''[[Scent of a Woman (1974 film)|Scent of a Woman]]'' (1974) by [[Dino Risi]]. An American remake, ''[[Scent of a Woman (1992 film)|Scent of a Woman]]'', was released in 1992.]]

In some cases, due to the particular themes dealt with, even of significant social relevance, some ''commedie all'italiana'' not only caused a stir at the time, but even contributed to animating the debate on the proposed themes. This is the case, for example, of ''[[Be Sick... It's Free]]'', on the mechanisms of the Italian health system, or ''[[In Prison Awaiting Trial]]'', on the judicial and prison system, or ''[[Divorce Italian Style]]'', on the law concerning crimes of honour.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.studistorici.com/2020/06/29/palmieri_numero_42/|title=Il cinema precorre la storia. Il caso di Divorzio all'italiana (1961) nel dibattito sul divorzio in Italia|access-date=25 November 2022|language=it}}</ref>

Even after many years, even [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] has rediscovered some ''commedie all'italiana'', making more or less successful [[remake]]s of them. This is the case, for example, of ''[[Once upon a Crime (1992 film)|Once upon a Crime]]'' by [[Eugene Levy]], a remake of ''[[Crimen (film)|Crimen]]'' by [[Mario Camerini]], or ''[[Crackers (1984 film)|Crackers]]'' by [[Louis Malle]] and ''[[Welcome to Collinwood]]'' by [[Russo brothers]], with [[George Clooney]], both remakes of ''[[Big Deal on Madonna Street]]'', or ''[[Swept Away (2002 film)|Swept Away]]'' by [[Guy Ritchie]], remake of ''[[Swept Away (1974 film)|Swept Away]]'' by [[Lina Wertmüller]], as well as the more famous ''[[Scent of a Woman (1992 film)|Scent of a Woman]]'' by [[Martin Brest]], starring [[Al Pacino]], remake of ''[[Scent of a Woman (1974 film)|Scent of a Woman]]'' by [[Dino Risi]].

=== The decline ===
[[File:Amici miei 18.png|thumb|''[[My Friends (film)|My Friends]]'' by [[Mario Monicelli]] (1975)]]

After the great public successes and critical acknowledgments, the ''commedia all'italiana'' genre began to decline around the end of the 1970s, to run out almost completely at the beginning of the following decade. Due to the disappearance, in those years and in the immediate period precedent, of some of its most charismatic protagonists (this is the case, for example, of [[Vittorio De Sica]], [[Totò]], [[Peppino De Filippo]], [[Pietro Germi]], [[Antonio Pietrangeli]], [[Gino Cervi]], [[Tina Pica]], [[Camillo Mastrocinque]]), the inevitable aging of a whole generation of directors and actors who had been the architect in the first years and, above all, the changing socio-economic and political conditions of Italy at the time.

The progressive escalation of social and political conflict in Italy in the 1970s, with the eruption of terrorism, the economic crisis, and a widespread sense of insecurity, in fact ended up extinguishing that drive towards an ironic smile which had been the dominant feature of the ''commedia all'italiana'' in the best years, replaced little by little by an ever more crude and dramatic vision of reality.<ref name="italica"/>

Already in 1975, [[Mario Monicelli]], with his ''[[My Friends (film)|My Friends]]'', gave a fundamental turning point to comedy in this sense as the happy ending and the light ending definitively disappear, the characters remain comical but become bitter and pathetic, in an atmosphere of general bitterness and disenchantment. Even further, between 1977 and 1980, some of the best films of the period seem to go, such as ''[[An Average Little Man]]'' or ''[[La terrazza]]'', considered by many critics to be among the last fully attributable in the genre of ''commedia all'italiana'', which they mark a rather decisive inversion from the comic to the dramatic in the first case, and from the comic to a bitter historical-cultural reflection in the second. ''La terrazza'' in particular, from 1980, constitutes according to most of the critics last works still attributable to the ''commedia all'italiana''.<ref name="Brunetta"/><ref name="italica"/><ref name="Giacovelli"/>

==Aftermath==
{{See also|Cinema of Italy}}
[[File:Roberto Benigni-5765.jpg|thumb|[[Roberto Benigni]]]]

The genre of ''commedia all'italiana'' in a broad sense, albeit with characteristics that are by now profoundly different from those of the 1950s and 1970s, found its place in the Italian film scene in the early 1980s with filmmakers such as [[Carlo Verdone]], [[Nanni Moretti]], [[Maurizio Nichetti]], [[Roberto Benigni]], [[Francesco Nuti]], [[Alessandro Benvenuti]] and [[Massimo Troisi]]. Starting from the 1990s, feature films by [[Gabriele Salvatores]], [[Paolo Virzì]], [[Francesca Archibugi]], [[Daniele Luchetti]] and [[Silvio Soldini]], joined by more disengaged comedies such as those by [[Leonardo Pieraccioni]], [[Vincenzo Salemme]], [[Giovanni Veronesi]] and others. These artists represent the ideal heirs of the film genre, even if for the majority of critics the true and proper ''commedia all'italiana'' is to be considered by now definitively waned since the beginning of the 1980s, giving way, at most, to a ''commedia italiana'' ("Italian comedy").<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ilsorpassocinema.com/2021/03/21/le-migliori-50-commedie-italiane-degli-anni-80/|title=Le migliori 50 commedie italiane degli anni 80|access-date=25 November 2022|language=it}}</ref> The stylistic differences between the various filmmakers would be excessive, such as to be able to trace a common school, and the socio-cultural conditions with which current [[Cinema of Italy|Italian cinema]] is confronted are too different by now, for one to think to a continuity with the period in which this genre was born and developed (1958–1980). It is no coincidence that the very term ''commedia all'italiana'' now unanimously identifies an era which, with rare exceptions, does not go beyond the early 1980s, so much so that, from then on, it has almost never been used by critics and journalists to tag newly produced comedies.<ref name="italica"/>

==Notable films==
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Title||Year||Director||Notable actors
|-
|''[[Big Deal on Madonna Street]]''||1958|| [[Mario Monicelli]]||[[Marcello Mastroianni]], [[Vittorio Gassman]], [[Totò]]
|-
|[[The Great War (1959 film)|''The Great War'']]||1959|| [[Mario Monicelli]] ||[[Vittorio Gassman]], [[Alberto Sordi]], [[Silvana Mangano]]
|-
|''[[Il vedovo]]''|| 1959||[[Dino Risi]]||[[Alberto Sordi]], [[Franca Valeri]]
|-
|''[[Il Mattatore]]''||1959|| [[Dino Risi]]||[[Vittorio Gassman]]
|-
|''[[Everybody Go Home]]''||1960||[[Luigi Comencini]] ||[[Alberto Sordi]]
|-
|''[[Adua and Her Friends]]''||1960|| [[Antonio Pietrangeli]] ||[[Simone Signoret]], [[Marcello Mastroianni]], [[Sandra Milo]]
|-
|''[[A Difficult Life]]''|| 1961|| [[Dino Risi]]||[[Alberto Sordi]]
|-
|''[[Audace colpo dei soliti ignoti|Fiasco in Milan]]''|| 1961|| [[Nanni Loy]]||[[Vittorio Gassman]], [[Claudia Cardinale]], [[Nino Manfredi]]
|-|''[[Ghosts of Rome]]''||1965|| [[Antonio Pietrangeli]]||[[Marcello Mastroianni]], [[Vittorio Gassman]], [[Sandra Milo]]
|-
|''[[The Fascist]]''||1961|| [[Luciano Salce]]||[[Ugo Tognazzi]], [[Stefania Sandrelli]]
|-
|''[[Divorce, Italian Style]]''|| 1962|| [[Pietro Germi]] ||[[Marcello Mastroianni]], [[Stefania Sandrelli]]
|-
|''[[Boccaccio '70]]''||1962|| [[Mario Monicelli]],<br> [[Federico Fellini]],<br>[[Luchino Visconti]],<br>[[Vittorio De Sica]]||[[Sophia Loren]], [[Anita Ekberg]], [[Peppino De Filippo]], [[Marisa Solinas]], [[Romy Schneider]], [[Thomas Milian]], [[Romolo Valli]]
|-
|''[[The Easy Life]]''||1962|| [[Dino Risi]] ||[[Vittorio Gassman]], [[Catherine Spaak]]
|-
|''[[The Last Judgement (1961 film)|The Last Judgement]]''||1962|| [[Vittorio De Sica]]||[[Vittorio Gassman]], [[Nino Manfredi]]
|-
|''[[Mafioso (1962 film)|Mafioso]]''||1962|| [[Alberto Lattuada]] ||[[Alberto Sordi]]
|-
|''[[March on Rome (film)|March on Rome]]''||1962|| [[Dino Risi]]||[[Vittorio Gassman]], [[Ugo Tognazzi]]
|-
|''[[The Conjugal Bed (1963 film)|The Conjugal Bed]]''||1963||[[Marco Ferreri]] ||[[Ugo Tognazzi]], [[Marina Vlady]]
|-
|''[[I mostri]]''||1963||[[Dino Risi]]||[[Vittorio Gassman]], [[Ugo Tognazzi]]
|-
|''[[High Infidelity]]''||1965|| [[Mario Monicelli]], <br>[[Franco Rossi (director)|Franco Rossi]], <br>[[Elio Petri]], <br>[[Luciano Salce]]||[[Ugo Tognazzi]], [[Nino Manfredi]]
|-
|''[[To Bed or Not to Bed]]''||1963||[[Gian Luigi Polidoro]]||[[Alberto Sordi]]
|-
|''[[Il Boom]]''||1963||[[Vittorio De Sica]]||[[Alberto Sordi]]
|-
|''[[Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow]]''||1963||[[Vittorio De Sica]]||[[Marcello Mastroianni]], [[Sophia Loren]]
|-
|''[[The Reunion (1963 film)|The Reunion]]''||1963|| [[Damiano Damiani]]||
|-
|''[[Seduced and Abandoned (1964 film)|Seduced and Abandoned]]''||1964||[[Pietro Germi]] ||[[Stefania Sandrelli]]
|-
|''[[Let's Talk About Women]]''||1965||[[Ettore Scola]] ||[[Vittorio Gassman]]
|-
|''[[Il successo]]''||1965|| [[Mauro Morassi]], <br>[[Dino Risi]]||[[Vittorio Gassman]], [[Anouk Aimée]]
|-
|''[[Le bambole]]''||1965||[[Mauro Bolognini]], <br>[[Luigi Comencini]], <br>[[Dino Risi]], <br>[[Franco Rossi (director)|Franco Rossi]]|| [[Nino Manfredi]]
|-
|''[[Casanova 70]]''||1965||[[Mario Monicelli]] ||[[Marcello Mastroianni]], [[Virna Lisi]], [[Enrico Maria Salerno]]
|-
|''[[The Birds, the Bees and the Italians]]''||1965|| [[Pietro Germi]] ||[[Virna Lisi]]
|-
|''[[I complessi]]''||1965||[[Dino Risi]],<br> [[Luigi Filippo D'Amico]],<br> [[Franco Rossi (director)|Franco Rossi]]||[[Nino Manfredi]], [[Ugo Tognazzi]], [[Alberto Sordi]]
|-
|''[[Il Gaucho|The Gaucho]]''||1965||[[Dino Risi]]|| [[Vittorio Gassman]], [[Silvana Pampanini]], [[Nino Manfredi]]
|-
|''[[I Knew Her Well]]''||1965|| [[Antonio Pietrangeli]]||[[Stefania Sandrelli]], [[Ugo Tognazzi]], [[Nino Manfredi]], [[Enrico Maria Salerno]]
|-
|''[[The Man, the Woman and the Money]]''||1965||[[Eduardo De Filippo]],<br> [[Marco Ferreri]],<br> [[Luciano Salce]]||[[Marcello Mastroianni]]
|-
|''[[Me, Me, Me... and the Others]]''||1966|| [[Alessandro Blasetti]]||
|-
|''[[L'armata Brancaleone]]''||1966||[[Mario Monicelli]]||[[Vittorio Gassman]], [[Enrico Maria Salerno]], [[Gian Maria Volonté]]
|-
|''[[Weekend, Italian Style]]''||1966|| [[Dino Risi]]||[[Sandra Milo]], [[Enrico Maria Salerno]], [[Jean Sorel]]
|-
|''[[A Question of Honour (film)|A Question of Honour]]''||1966|| [[Luigi Zampa]]||[[Ugo Tognazzi]]
|-
|''[[The Tiger and the Pussycat]]''||1967|| [[Dino Risi]]||[[Vittorio Gassman]]
|-
|''[[The Witches (1967 film)|The Witches]]''||1967|| [[Luchino Visconti]],<br> [[Pier Paolo Pasolini]], <br>[[Vittorio De Sica]],<br> [[Franco Rossi (director)|Franco Rossi]], <br>[[Mauro Bolognini]]||[[Silvana Mangano]], [[Clint Eastwood]], [[Annie Girardot]], [[Totò]], [[Alberto Sordi]]
|-
|''[[The Girl with the Pistol]]''|| 1968|| [[Mario Monicelli]]||[[Monica Vitti]]
|-
|''[[Be Sick... It's Free]]''||1968||[[Luigi Zampa]]||[[Alberto Sordi]]
|-
|''[[The Libertine (1968 film)|The Libertine]]''||1968||[[Pasquale Festa Campanile]]|| [[Catherine Spaak]]
|-
|''[[Police Chief Pepe]]''||1969|| [[Ettore Scola]]||[[Ugo Tognazzi]]
|-
|''[[I See Naked]]''||1969|| [[Dino Risi]]||[[Nino Manfredi]], [[Sylva Koscina]]
|-
|-|''[[The Pizza Triangle]]''|| 1970|| [[Ettore Scola]]||[[Marcello Mastroianni]], [[Monica Vitti]], [[Giancarlo Giannini]]
|-
|''[[Brancaleone at the Crusades]]''||1970|| [[Mario Monicelli]]||[[Vittorio Gassman]]
|-
|''[[Between Miracles]]''||1971|| [[Nino Manfredi]] ||[[Nino Manfredi]], [[Mariangela Melato]]
|-
|''[[In the Name of the Italian People]]''||1971||[[Dino Risi]] || [[Ugo Tognazzi]], [[Vittorio Gassman]], [[Ugo Tognazzi]]
|-
|''[[Secret Fantasy]]''||1971||[[Pasquale Festa Campanile]] || [[Laura Antonelli]]
|-
|''[[A Girl in Australia]]''||1971||[[Luigi Zampa]]||[[Alberto Sordi]], [[Claudia Cardinale]]
|-
|''[[The Seduction of Mimi]]''||1972||[[Lina Wertmüller]]||[[Giancarlo Giannini]], [[Mariangela Melato]]
|-
|''[[The Scientific Cardplayer]]''||1972||[[Luigi Comencini]]||[[Alberto Sordi]], [[Silvana Mangano]]
|-
|''[[We Want the Colonels]]''||1973||[[Mario Monicelli]] ||[[Ugo Tognazzi]]
|-
|''[[Bread and Chocolate]]''||1973||[[Franco Brusati]] ||[[Nino Manfredi]]
|-
|''[[We All Loved Each Other So Much]]''||1974|| [[Ettore Scola]]||[[Vittorio Gassman]], [[Nino Manfredi]], [[Stefania Sandrelli]]
|-
|''[[Swept Away (1974 film)|Swept Away]]''||1974||[[Lina Wertmüller]]||[[Giancarlo Giannini]], [[Mariangela Melato]]
|-
|''[[Scent of a Woman (1974 film)|Scent of a Woman]]''||1974|| [[Dino Risi]]||[[Vittorio Gassman]]
|-
|''[[Come Home and Meet My Wife]]''||1974|| [[Mario Monicelli]]||[[Ugo Tognazzi]], [[Ornella Muti]]
|-
|''[[My Friends (film)|My Friends]]''||1975|| [[Mario Monicelli]]||[[Ugo Tognazzi]], [[Adolfo Celi]]
|-
|''[[Ugly, Dirty and Bad]]''||1976|| [[Ettore Scola]]||[[Nino Manfredi]]
|-
|''[[The Career of a Chambermaid]]''||1976|| [[Dino Risi]]|| [[Vittorio Gassman]], [[Ugo Tognazzi]]
|-
|''[[The Bishop's Bedroom]]''||1977|| [[Dino Risi]]||[[Ugo Tognazzi]]
|-
|''[[An Average Little Man]]''||1977|| [[Mario Monicelli]]||[[Alberto Sordi]]
|-
|''[[Traffic Jam (film)|Traffic Jam]]''||1977|| [[Luigi Comencini]]||[[Alberto Sordi]], [[Marcello Mastroianni]], [[Ugo Tognazzi]], [[Stefania Sandrelli]]
|-
|''[[Goodnight, Ladies and Gentlemen]]''||1976|| [[Luigi Comencini]], <br>[[Nanni Loy]], <br>[[Mario Monicelli]], <br>[[Ettore Scola]], <br>[[Luigi Magni]] || [[Vittorio Gassman]], [[Ugo Tognazzi]], [[Nino Manfredi]], [[Marcello Mastroianni]]
|-
|''[[Dear Father (1979 film)|Dear Father]]''||1979|| [[Dino Risi]]|| [[Vittorio Gassman]]
|-
|''[[Café Express (film)|Café Express]]''||1980|| [[Nanni Loy]]|| [[Nino Manfredi]]
|-
|''[[La terrazza]]''||1980|| [[Ettore Scola]]|| [[Marcello Mastroianni]], [[Vittorio Gassman]], [[Ugo Tognazzi]]
|}

==See also==
{{portal|Film|Italy}}
* [[Cinema of Italy]]
* [[Commedia sexy all'italiana]]
* [[Italian neorealism]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book | last=Lanzoni | first=Rémi Fournier | year=2009 | title=Comedy Italian Style: The Golden Age of Italian Film Comedies | publisher=Continuum | isbn=978-0-8264-1822-7 }}
*{{cite book | last=Bini | first=Andrea | year=2015 | title=Male Anxiety and Psychopathology in Film: Comedy Italian Style | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan | isbn=978-1137516886 }}

==External links==
* {{in lang|it|cap=yes}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20070430072648/http://www.italica.rai.it/cinema/commedia/index.htm The Commedia all'italiana on the RAI's site]
* {{in lang|it|cap=yes}} [http://www.commediaallitaliana.it/ Centro Studi Commedia all'italiana]
* {{in lang|fr|cap=yes}} [http://www.comedieitalienne.com La Comédie à l'italienne sur le site Comedie Italienne]
* {{in lang|fr|cap=yes}} [http://www.cineclubdecaen.com/analyse/comedieitalienne.htm La Comédie à l'italienne sur le site du ciné-club de Caen]

{{Comedy footer}}
{{film genres}}
{{Italian film genres}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Commedia All'italiana}}
[[Category:Commedia all'italiana| ]]
[[Category:Italian comedy films|*]]
[[Category:Italian films by genre]]