Vittorio De Sica (7 July 1901 - 13 November 1974) was an Italian director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement.

Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: Sciuscià and Bicycle Thieves were awarded honorary Oscars, while Ieri, oggi, domani and Il giardino dei Finzi Contini won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. 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 Oscar. These two films generally are considered part of the canon of classic cinema. Bicycle Thieves was cited by Turner Classic Movies as one of the 15 most influential films in cinema history.

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.

Life and career

Born into poverty in Sora, Lazio (1901), he 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 his wife Giuditta Rissone and Sergio Tofano. The company performed mostly light comedies, but they also staged plays by Beaumarchais and worked with famous directors like Luchino Visconti.

His meeting with 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.

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

Private life

His passion for gambling was well known. 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.

In 1937 Vittorio De Sica married Giuditta Rissone the actress of Turin, (Piedmont) in Asti in the Montferrat, whom he met ten years before and who gave birth to their daughter, Emi. In 1942, on the set of Un garibaldino al convento, he met Spanish actress Maria Mercader (sister of Ramon Mercader, Trotsky's assassin), with whom he started a relationship.

He was a Roman Catholic.

After divorcing Rissone in France in 1954, he married Mercader in 1959, again 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.

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 a surgery at the Neuilly-sur-Seine hospital in Paris.

Filmography as director

Filmography as actor

• Il processo Clemenceau, by Alfredo De Antoni (1917)
• La bellezza del mondo, by Mario Almirante (1927)
• La compagnia dei matti, by Mario Almirante (1928)
• Due cuori felici, by Baldassarre Negroni (1932)
• Gli uomini, che mascalzoni!, by Mario Camerini (1932)
• La vecchia signora, by Amleto Palermi (1932)
• La segretaria per tutti, by Amleto Palermi (1933)
• Un cattivo soggetto, by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia (1933)
• Paprika by Carl Boese (1933)
• La canzone del sole, by Max Neufeld (he stars too the German version titles Das lied der sonne) (1934)
• Lisetta, by Carl Boese (1934)
• Il signore desidera?, by Gennaro Righelli (1934)
• Tempo massimo, by Mario Mattoli (1934)
• Amo te sola, by Mario Mattoli (1935)
• Darò un milione, by Mario Camerini (1935)
• Non ti conosco più, by Nunzio Malasomma (1936)
• Ma non è una cosa seria, by Mario Camerini (1936)
• Lohengrin, by Nunzio Malasomma (1936)
• L'uomo che sorride, by Mario Mattoli (1936)
• Questi ragazzi, by Mario Mattoli (1937)
• Il signor Max, by Mario Camerini (1937)
• Naples of Olden Times, by Amleto Palermi (1938)
• La mazurka di papà, by Oreste Biancoli (1938)
• Partire, by Amleto Palermi (1938)
• Il Trionfo dell'amore, by Mario Mattoli (1938)
• Hanno rapito un uomo, by Gennaro Righelli (1938)
• L'orologio a cucù, by Camillo Mastrocinque (1938)
• Le due madri, by Amleto Palermi (1938)
• Castles in the Air,by Augusto Genina (He stars too the German version Ins blaue leben) (1939)
• Ai vostri ordini, signora!, by Mario Mattoli (1939)
• Department Store, by Mario Camerini (1939)
• It Always Ends That Way, by Enrique Telémaco Susini (1939)
• Red Roses, by Giuseppe Amato and Vittorio De Sica (1940)
• Manon Lescaut, by Carmine Gallone (1940)
• Pazza di gioia, by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia (1940)
• Maddalena, Zero for Conduct, by Vittorio De Sica (1940)
• La peccatrice, by Amleto Palermi (1940)
• The Adventuress from the Floor Above, by Raffaello Matarazzo (script too, not credited) (1941)
• Teresa Venerdì, by Vittorio De Sica (1941)
• Un garibaldino al convento, by Vittorio De Sica (1942)
• La guardia del corpo, by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia (script too) (1942)
• Se io fossi onesto, by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia (script too) (1942)
• I nostri sogni, by Vittorio Cottafavi (script too) (1943)
• Nessuno torna indietro, by Alessandro Blasetti (1943)
• L'ippocampo, by Gian Paolo Rosmino (script too, and assistant to director, not credited) (1943)
• Non sono superstizioso... ma!, by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia (script too) (1943)
• Lo sbaglio di essere vivo, by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia (1945)
• Il mondo vuole così, by Giorgio Bianchi (1946)
• Roma città libera, by Marcello Pagliero (1946)
• Abbasso la ricchezza!, by Gennaro Righelli (story and script too) (1946)
• Lo Sconosciuto di San Marino, by Michal Waszynski and Vittorio Cottafavi (1947)
• Cuore, by Duilio Coletti (procucer and script too) (1947)
• Natale al campo 119, regia di Pietro Francisci (script too and supervision director, not credited) (1947)
• Sperduti nel buio, by Camillo Mastrocinque (1947)
• Domani è troppo tardi, by Léonide Moguy (consulting director too, not credited) (1949)
• Buongiorno, elefante!, by Gianni Franciolini (producer too) (1951)
• Cameriera bella presenza offresi..., by Giorgio Pàstina (1951)
• Il processo di Frine, episode of Altri tempi, by Alessandro Blasetti (1952)
• L'orso, episodio de Il matrimonio, by Antonio Petrucci (1953)
• Incidente a Villa Borghese, episode of Villa Borghese, by Gianni Franciolini (1953)
• Il fine dicitore, episode of Gran Varietà, by Domenico Paolella (1953)
• Pendolin, episode of Cento anni d'amore, by Lionello De Felice (1953)
• The Earrings of Madame de..., by Max Ophüls (1953)
• Pane, amore e fantasia, by Luigi Comencini (1953)
• Peccato che sia una canaglia, by Alessandro Blasetti (1954)
• Pane, amore e gelosia, by Luigi Comencini (1954)
• Il divorzio (Le divorce), episode of Il letto (Secrets d'alcove), by Gianni Franciolini (1954)
• Allegro squadrone, by Paolo Moffa (1954)
• Vergine moderna, by Marcello Pagliero (1954)
• Scena all'aperto and Don Corradino, episodes of Tempi nostri, by Alessandro Blasetti (1954)
• I giocatori, episode of L'oro di Napoli, by Vittorio De Sica (1954)
• La bella mugnaia, by Mario Camerini (1955)
• Gli ultimi cinque minuti, by Giuseppe Amato (1955)
• Il segno di Venere, by Dino Risi (1955)
• Pane, amore e..., by Dino Risi (1955)
• Racconti romani, by Gianni Franciolini (1955)
• Il bigamo, by Luciano Emmer (1955)
• I giorni più belli, by Mario Mattoli (1955)
• Mio figlio Nerone, by Steno (1956)
• I colpevoli, by Turi Vasile (1956)
• Souvenir d'Italie, by Antonio Pietrangeli (1956)
• Noi siamo le colonne, by Luigi Filippo D'Amico (1956)
• Padri e figli, by Mario Monicelli (1956)
• Tempo di villeggiatura, by Antonio Racioppi (1956)
• Montecarlo, by Samuel Taylor and Giulio Macchi (director's assistant too) (1956)
• Casinò de Paris, by André Hunebelle (1957)
• Pane, amore e Andalusia, by Javier Setó (director's assistant too) (1957)
• Count Max, by Giorgio Bianchi (1957)
• La donna che venne dal mare, by Francesco De Robertis (1957)
• Il medico e lo stregone, by Mario Monicelli (1957)
• Vacanze a Ischia, by Mario Camerini (1957)
• Totò, Vittorio e la dottoressa, by Camillo Mastrocinque (1957)
• A Farewell to Arms (1957), directed by Charles Vidor (Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor)
• Amore e chiacchiere, by Alessandro Blasetti (1957)
• Ballerina e buon Dio, by Antonio Leonviola (1958)
• Gli zitelloni, by Giorgio Bianchi (1958)
• Pezzo, capopezzo e capitano (it), by Wolfgang Staudte (1958)
• Anna of Brooklyn, by Reginald Denham and Carlo Lastricati (director's assistant too) (1958)
• Domenica è sempre domenica, by Camillo Mastrocinque (1958)
• Uomini e nobiluomini, by Giorgio Bianchi (1958)
• La ragazza di Piazza San Pietro, by Piero Costa (1958)
• Nel blu dipinto di blu, by Piero Tellini (1958)
• Policarpo, ufficiale di scrittura, by Mario Soldati (1958)
• La prima notte, by Alberto Cavalcanti (1958)
• Ferdinando I, re di Napoli, by Gianni Franciolini (1959)
• Gastone, by Mario Bonnard (1959)
• Il generale della Rovere, by Roberto Rossellini (1959)
• Il mondo dei miracoli, by Luigi Capuano (1959)
• Il moralista, by Giorgio Bianchi (1959)
• Il nemico di mia moglie, by Gianni Puccini (1959)
• Vacanze d'inverno, by Camillo Mastrocinque (1959)
• Austerlitz, by Abel Gance (1960)
• La sposa bella, by Nunnally Johnson and Mario Russo (1960)
• Le tre eccetera del colonnello, by Claude Boissol (1960)
• Le pillole di Ercole, by Luciano Salce (1960)
• Un amore a Roma, by Dino Risi (1960)
• Il vigile, by Luigi Zampa (1960)
• It Started in Naples, by Melville Shavelson (1960)
• The Millionairess, by Anthony Asquith (1960)
• Gli attendenti, by Giorgio Bianchi (1961)
• L'onorata società, by Riccardo Pazzaglia (1961)
• The Wonders of Aladdin, by Mario Bava and Henry Levin (1961)
• Vive Henri IV, vive l'amour, by Claude Autant-Lara (1961)
• La Fayette, by Jean Dréville (1961)
• I due marescialli, by Sergio Corbucci (1961)
• Gli incensurati, by Francesco Giaculli (1961)
• Eva, by Joseph Losey and Guidarino Guidi (1962)
• The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders, by Terence Young (1965)
• Io, io, io... e gli altri, by Alessandro Blasetti (1966)
• Gli altri, gli altri e noi, by Maurizio Arena (1966)
• Un italiano in America, by Alberto Sordi (1967)
• The Biggest Bundle of Them All, by Ken Annakin (1968)
• The Shoes of the Fisherman, by Michael Anderson, from the novel by Morris L. West (1968)
• Caroline chérie (fr), by Denys de la Patellière (1968)
• The Shoes of the Fisherman, by Michael Anderson (1968)
• If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium, by Mel Stuart (1969)
• The Thirteen Chairs, by Nicolas Gessner and Luciano Lucignani (1969)
• Cose di Cosa Nostra, by Steno (1970)
• Trastevere, by Fausto Tozzi (1971)
• Io non-vedo, tu non-parli, lui non-sente, by Mario Camerini (1971)
• L'odeur des fauves,by Richard Balducci (1972)
• Siamo tutti in libertà provvisoria, by Manlio Scarpelli (1972)
• Snow Job, by George Englund (1972)
• Le avventure di Pinocchio, by Luigi Comencini (both Film and TV versions) (1972)
• Ettore lo fusto, by Enzo G. Castellari (1972)
• The Small Miracle, TV movie, by Jeannot Szwarc (1973)
• Storia de fratelli e de cortelli, by Mario Amendola (1973)
• Il delitto Matteotti, by Florestano Vancini (1973)
• Viaggia, ragazza, viaggia, hai la musica nelle vene, by Pasquale Squitieri (1973)
• Blood for Dracula, by Paul Morrissey and Antonio Margheriti (1974)
• C'eravamo tanto amati, by Ettore Scola (1974)
• Intorno, short film directed by Manuel De Sica (1974)
• L'eroe, TV movie, by Manuel De Sica (1974)

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 as actor

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

Awards and nominations

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

• Miracolo a Milano
  • Cannes Film Festival Palme D'Or Winner
• Umberto D.
  • Cannes Film Festival Official Selection
• Stazione Termini
  • Cannes Film Festival Official Selection
• L'oro di Napoli
  • Cannes Film Festival Official Selection
• Il Tetto
  • Cannes Film Festival OCIC Award Winner
• Anna di Brooklyn
  • Berlin International Film Festival Official Selection
• La Ciociara
  • Cannes Film Festival Official Selection
• Matrimonio all'italiana
  • Moscow International Film Festival Official Selection
• Il Giardino dei Finzi-Contini
  • Berlin International Film Festival Golden Bear Winner
  • Berlin International Film Festival Interfilm Award Winner - Otto Dibelius Film Award
• Nastro d'Argento for Best Director 1946 for Sciuscià
• Academy Award 1947 Honorary Award to the Italian production for Sciuscià (Shoeshine), 1946
• Academy Award 1949 Special Foreign Language Film Award for Bicycle Thieves
• BAFTA (British Academy Award) 1950 Best film Bicycle Thieves
• Academy Award 1965 Best Foreign Language film for Ieri, oggi, domani (Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow)
• Academy Award 1972 Best Foreign Language film for Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini

Quotations

"There is no crisis in cinema. There are negative periods. There are times when some films are received well and others aren't. The past teaches us that some films were received badly, while others go sailing on. There are two films doing very well right now in the Italian market: One is Il gattopardo, which earns seven million lire a day, and the other is Il diavolo, starring Sordi, which earns 3 1/2 million. So there are films that are doing very well. What I notice is that producers have been known to make errors in judgment, which have caused them to be overly daring. For example, I've been told many millions were spent, somewhere around half a billion, for a film entrusted to a young person. We must make room for young people, but with half a billion we could have made eight of Bicycle Thieves. Experimental cinema should be inexpensive cinema. Half a billion lire should be entrusted to those professionals who we can be sure will bring home the half billion spent. We should be cautious with new initiatives. Producers should be cautious. As for television as a competitor, yes, there I see a danger. Let television do television, let them do documentaries, but cinema as such should be shown on screens, because there's no one more lazy than the public. When people don't have to leave their homes, they're very happy. A film shown in the home encourages the audience not to budge."

[ Source: Wikipedia ]