Pope Francis is a Fellini fan – and Visconti, and Rossellini
Pope Francis reveals affection for classics of neo-realist cinema including Rome, Open City, The Leopard and La Strada, which he first watched with his parents
• Pope Francis film greenlit
After a hard day at the Vatican, the pontiff likes little better than watching films in which a resolute priest battles the Nazis and a circus strongman takes a waif as his slave. Or to put it another way, Pope Francis has revealed himself as a longtime fan of Italian neo-realist cinema.
In an interview with Rome's La Republicca newspaper, the Pope discussed his love of post-war Italian movies with veteran journalist Eugenio Scalfari. His favourites, he said, included Roberto Rossellini's landmark wartime drama Rome, Open City and Federico Fellini's operatic circus saga La Strada. Pope Francis also praised The Leopard, Luchino Visconti's 1963 epic about the Italian risorgimento, starring the Hollywood actor Burt Lancaster as the prince of Salina.
• Pope Francis film greenlit
After a hard day at the Vatican, the pontiff likes little better than watching films in which a resolute priest battles the Nazis and a circus strongman takes a waif as his slave. Or to put it another way, Pope Francis has revealed himself as a longtime fan of Italian neo-realist cinema.
In an interview with Rome's La Republicca newspaper, the Pope discussed his love of post-war Italian movies with veteran journalist Eugenio Scalfari. His favourites, he said, included Roberto Rossellini's landmark wartime drama Rome, Open City and Federico Fellini's operatic circus saga La Strada. Pope Francis also praised The Leopard, Luchino Visconti's 1963 epic about the Italian risorgimento, starring the Hollywood actor Burt Lancaster as the prince of Salina.
- 10/3/2013
- by Xan Brooks
- The Guardian - Film News
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