Americans In Italy: 8 Great Movies

Americans In Italy: 8 Great Movies

Diane Lane Glows “Under The Tuscan Sun”

I love movies. I love Italy! So Wwhen a client recently asked me to put together a movie series I decided that I thought I’d put together a list of my favorite films about Americans falling in love in Italy.  The list – Americans In Italy: 8 Great Movies – does not include films by Italian filmmakers, nor is it intended to be comprehensive.   To make my list, the films had to have the following four characteristics:

1: Be a truly memorable, well made movie (Thus I left off “When In Rome” with Kristen Bell, although I enjoy it!)

2: Be filmed in Italy/Sicily in large measure (I made an exception for the Godfather, mostly set in the USA)

3. Be a film that features at least one American actor falling in love (Since Italy is so romantic!)

4. Be an American made film in English. (I will do another post sometime about the best Italian movies filmed there!)

PLEASE leave your additions to my list of Americans In Italy: 8 Great Movies below!

 Americans In Italy: 8 Great Movie

8. Under The Tuscan Sun (2003)

The Tuscany Villa From “Under The Tuscan Sun”

Have you ever wished you could just chuck it all and start all over again? The lead character in the pretty movie does just that – with some pretty unpredictable results. Diane Lane is a fabulously under appreciated actress. This is one of her most luminous roles, a glowing story of a middle-aged woman from San Francisco Opera  uprooting her life and buying a rundown villa in Italy. Her performance is superb and the cinematographer masterfully brings the depth of color in Tuscany  to the forefront. The story is involving and the supporting performances consistently interesting. It is a perfect place to begin my list of Americans In Italy: 8 Great Movies! If you are looking for a great “chick flick” but without a predictable love story, this is a lovely film.

7. Summertime (1955)

The Wonder Of Venice Reflected In “Summertime”

Before David lean began making huge epics like “Lawrence of Arabia” he directed this small and quite  pretty film about a lonely middle-aged American woman who has saved for years to take a holiday in Venice. Katharine Hepburn stars as a woman struggling with her reaction to the changes in her life brought on by living in a completely different culture. Venice looks beautiful, although many audiences are lukewarm about the film, due to the seeming coldness of its central character. The fish out of water angle set against a magnificent ancient city is quite engaging to me. Click here to learn more about the movie.

6. Avanti (1972)

Every Route You Choose In Italy Can Take You Someplace Unepected in “Avanti”

This is a movie that has really grown on me over the years. (Click here to read my review) It is one of Billy Wilder’s last films. When I first saw it, I was quite young, and I remember thinking it was too long and parts of it too obvious. Today, I find the movie plays much better. It carries a deeply moving home of regret and reflection that is much more understandable to me today. Jack Lemmon plays an uptight American businessman who goes to Italy to claim the body of his dead father. The father had been a pillar of the community wealthy industrialist. Unbeknownst to everyone, he had been carrying on an affair for many years each summer with a free-spirited woman from Britain. When his son meets her daughter, they come to understand how parents are often different from what their children believe them to be. They struggle with the Italian bureaucracy, with their feelings for one another, and most importantly, they struggle to reconcile their memories and their lives in the face of very changed realities. The tone of the film is quite unique and, despite its flaws, Avanti produces many laughs  but will also cause you to do a lot of reflection. Click here to read more about the film.

5. To Rome With Love (2012)

Quiet Neighborhood Streets Shimmer in “To Rome With Love”

 Woody Allen’s name above the title will already probably tell you whether or not you want to see this film. The plot consists of  four unconnected stories about Americans and Italians finding romance, mischief and adventure in Rome.  The cinematography is just mesmerizing as we see see Rome from many different angles.  Despite knowing all the surprises in the plot, I actually enjoyed this film more on the second viewing the naked on the first. Allow the beauty of Rome to create magic and, if you’re inclined to like Woody Allen movies, you will enjoy this lightweight effort. Click here for more information on the film.

4. A Little Romance (1979)

The Bridge of Sighs Is The Lovers’ Destination In “a Little Romance”

And I watch it at least once every 10 years and seem to enjoy it more. It was Diane Lane’s first movie and one of the last by Laurence Olivier.  On the DVD extras, her warm memories of him are very moving.  The plot centers around a 13-year-old American girl living in Paris falling in love for the very first time. 13-year-old French boy and she share a warm, innocent love that is threatened when her stepfather announces that they will be moving back to America. A charming old man tells them a mystical story of his own love and the fable that says if two lovers kiss in a gondola under the Bridge of sighs in Venice at sunset that their love will remain forever. They immediately decide that they need to run away and do just that. The script is intelligent and knowing. It captures the feeling of falling in love for the first time and the power of believing in your dreams. It is a very unique film and an unforgettable one. Click here for more information about this unique film.

3.  The Godfather (1972)

Michael Corleone Finds Sicily Treacherous & Beautiful When He Spots His True Love In “the Godfather”

The Godfather must be considered as one of the greatest films ever made.  The films contain many powerfully evocative scenes set in Sicily. Rarely has a poor and isolated area looked so fascinating in a film. Of course, the film should not be be considered as a story of Americans falling in love in Italy, although the story of Michael and Apollonia would qualify. Rather, I included the film on my list because it shows a side of Italy that has rarely been filmed. There are no monuments, no tourist attractions, no canals to be seen. Instead,  Michael’s sojourn in Sicily takes us deep inside of what it feels like to be an American coming home to a place you’ve never been, living deep within a culture that is in some ways very familial and familiar and in other ways completely foreign. I assume you know all about the film. Click here to read about taking the tour on the Sicilian locations.

2. Roman Holiday

Simple Pleasures in Rome Are Enjoyed In the Shadow Of Great Beauty In “Roman Holiday”

Probably the most beautiful romantic comedy ever set in Rome, this fairytale concoction of runaway Princess Audrey Hepburn finding a day of freedom and love with American journalist Gregory Peck is superb on every level. The lush, gorgeous, cinematography shows the familiar parts of Rome as beautifully as any movie has ever captured them. When I asked famed Italian author Allesandro Ghebreigziabiher  “Which American film do you think really capture the way Italy looks to you?” he responded,  “Roman Holiday, no doubt. It’s old but still the most realistic.” This movie is filled with delights from beginning to end. It is very romantic and rather touching without being cloying.  Click here to read a fabulous reviews/analysis of the movie.

1. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

The Bright Colors Of Positano Contrast with the Dark Intentions of “The Talented Mr. Ripley”

Re-creating Italy in the 1950s was a huge task, and the end result is a film of such overwhelming physical beauty set against a story of dark and unlikeable murderous protagonist, that The Talented Mr. Ripley is simply unforgettable. Anthony Minghella and cinematographer John Seale consistently dazzled the audience with magnificently composed shots of the  indescribably beautiful Amalfi coast, Positano, Naples and Rome. the beauty of the film makes a fascinating contrast with the dark and unsettling story lines. Each time I’ve watched this film I picked up on more and more; nuances in the script, visual clues, incredible editing. It is a dynamic film to top my list of Americans In Italy: 8 Great Movies! Click here to learn more about The Talented Mr. Ripley