Vittorio De Sica Explained
Vittorio De Sica (pronounced as /it/; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement.
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 1952,[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 Academy Award 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]
Early life and family
De Sica was born on 7 July 1901 in Sora, Lazio.[5] His father Umberto De Sica was from Giffoni Valle Piana, he was a journalist, and in the later years he worked for the Bank of Italy. Teresa Manfredi, his mother, had Neapolitan origins. De Sica was baptised in the church of San Giovanni Battista in Sora under the name Vittorio Domenico Stanislao Gaetano Sorano De Sica. He had a very close relationship with his father and later dedicated to him the film Umberto D. The first interest in cinema sparked in Vittorio due to his father's occasional performances in silent movies: he filled in for the pianists. As an adult, Vittorio De Sica described their family state in his early years as the 'tragic and aristocratic poverty'.[6]
In 1914, the family moved to Naples. Upon the outbreak of the First World War, they moved to Florence. Eventually, they settled down in Rome. At the age of 15, De Sica started performing as an actor in amateur plays staged in hospitals for the recovering soldiers. He started studying to become an accountant when in 1917 through a family friend Edoardo Bencivenga he got a small part in the Alfredo De Antoni film The Clemenceau Affair.[7]
Career
Theater
De Sica laureated in 1923. Described as strikingly handsome, already in the early 1920s he began his career as a theatre actor and joined Tatiana Pavlova's theatre company in 1923. With Pavlova he worked for two years and toured South America. In 1925, he joined the company of Italia Almirante Manzini and was soon referred to as the second best in her troupe. Two years later he joined the company of Luigi Almirante, Sergio Tofano and Giuditta Rissone. De Sica debuted as a romantic protagonist in Ferenc Molnár's Gli occhi azzurri dell'imperatore. During that period he met Umberto Melnati, an actor from Livorno, with whom formed a successful comic duo and collaborated in many films and theater plays.[8] [9] On 3 October 1930, they premiered in Teatro Manzoni with L'isola meravigliosa based on Ugo Betti's play. They were soon spotted by Mario Mattoli who was then an impresario in Teatro Mazoni. Mattoli was impressed by the quality of their rehearsals and offered to join his company Za-Bum. With Za-Bum, De Sica, Rissone and Melnati played in Una segretaria per tutti, Un cattivo soggetto, Il signore desidera?, Lisetta, and many other revues written by Mattoli and Luciano Ramo. The duo became famous on the national level after the success of radio-sketch Düra minga, dura no and a popular song Lodovico sei dolce come un fico sang by De Sica.
In 1933, De Sica, Rissone, and Tofano founded their own company.[10] The period of Tofano-Rissone-De Sica was notable also due to De Sica's acquaintance to Aldo De Benedetti and Gherardo Gherardi, the screenwriters with whom he had a long and fruitful collaboration. Tofano-Rissone-De Sica performed mostly light comedies, but they also staged plays by Beaumarchais and worked with famous directors like Luchino Visconti. In 1936, the company was reformed into Rissone-De Sica-Melnati, and eventually disbanded in 1939. The play Due dozzine di rose scarlatte, written by Aldo De Benedetti, premiered on 11 March 1936, in Teatro Argentina. It is considered the best Italian comedy of the 1930s.
In 1937, De Sica married Giuditta Rissone, around that time the duo with Melnati was ended. In 1940, the spouses reconciled with Tofano and founded the mutual company again, where all the management tasks were taken over by Tofano. Together they released a series of successful plays: La scuola della maldicenza (based on Richard Brinsley Sheridan), Ma non è una cosa seria written by Luigi Pirandello, Il paese delle vacanze by Ugo Betti, Liolà, etc.
In 1945-46, he played in two spectacles directed by Alessandro Blasetti: Il tempo e la famiglia Conway written by John Boynton Priestley and Ma non è una cosa seria by Luigi Pirandello. The season 1945-46 he spent playing in The Marriage of Figaro and collaborated with Luchino Visconti, Vivi Gioi and Nino Besozzi. In 1948-49 he acted in two new plays: The Time of Your Life and The Magnificent Cuckold written by Fernand Crommelynck and adapted by Mario Chiari. The Magnificent Cuckold became De Sica's last theatre performance after which he concentrated fully on cinema and TV projects. Between 1923 and 1949 De Sica took part in over 120 theatre performances.[11]
Cinema
In the early years, De Sica combined his theatre and cinema careers: in the summer months he was engaged in filmmaking and spent the winters performing on stage. In cinema, his first notable role was in 1932 Gli uomini, che mascalzoni directed by Mario Camerini. The song became a hit and remained his signature song for many years.[10] In the 1930s his credits included many notable performances such as in I'll Give a Million (1935), Il signor Max (1937), Department Store (1939), Manon Lescaut. Between 1931 and 1940, he starred in and directed 23 productions.
During 1934 in Verona, De Sica first met screenwriter Cesare Zavattini, for many years they would become the inseparable collaborators and 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 directed by De Sica.
In 1940, supported by producer Giuseppe Amato, De Sica debuted as a director and created Rose scarlatte.[10]
In 1944, De Sica received an invitation from Goebbels to make a film in Prague, but refused, using an offer from the Catholic Film Centre in Rome as an excuse.
De Sica's 1946 drama Sciuscià won the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film in 1947. Despite the film's critical success, it failed in the Italian box office because the public craved easier films and mostly went to comedies. It was also heavily criticized by the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Correction. This alienation by the Italian authorities made it difficult for De Sica to finance his subsequent projects. To produce Bicycle Thieves, De Sica had to invest own money and rely on the support of several Italian businessmen. The film brought De Sica his second Oscar as well as multiple other awards and accolades, however, again the success in Italian box office was tepid. The relationship with the government remained bad, after the release of Umberto D. prime minister Giulio Andreotti sent De Sica a letter accusing him of 'rendering bad service for the country'.
In 1951, De Sica co-authored (with Alberto Sordi) and played in Mamma Mia, What an Impression![12] In 1952, he played along Gina Lollobrigida in In Olden Days and then again in 1953 in the comedy Bread, Love and Dreams. De Sica's character, Marshal Antonio Carotenuto, immediately became the public's favourite. The film was an enormous success, it was nominated for Academy Awards and won the Silver Bear at Berlinale. It was followed with three sequels: Bread, Love and Jealousy (1954), Scandal in Sorrento (1955), and Bread, Love and Andalusia (1958).[13] [14]
In 1959, De Sica appeared in the British television series The Four Just Men. In 1961, he starred in The Two Marshals alongside Totò.
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, as well as in General Della Rovere, a film directed by Rossellini in which De Sica played the title role.[15]
In 1937 Vittorio De Sica married the actress Giuditta Rissone, who gave birth to their daughter, Emilia (1938-2021).[16] 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. 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. Rissone agreed to keep up the facade of a marriage so as not to leave her daughter without a father. After finally 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 (1949-2014), a musician and a composer, and Christian (b. 1951), who would follow his father's path as an actor and director. Only when Christian was 18, the siblings found out about each other and started communication.[17] Christian's son and Vittorio's grandson Brando De Sica continued the dynasty and became an actor and film director.[18]
He was a Roman Catholic[19] and a communist.[20] [21]
Death
Vittorio De Sica died at 73 after surgery due to lung cancer at the Neuilly-sur-Seine hospital in Paris.[22]
Awards and nominations
Vittorio De Sica was given the Interfilm Grand Prix in 1971 by the Berlin International Film Festival.[23] [24]
Filmography
Directing credits
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
- Everybody's Secretary (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
- No Turning Back (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
- (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 Movie, 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
Bibliography
External links
Notes and References
- News: Ebert. Roger. The Bicycle Thief / Bicycle Thieves (1949). Chicago Sun-Times. 8 September 2011. 5 November 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111105164545/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19990319%2FREVIEWS08%2F903190306%2F1023. dead.
- News: The Bicycle Thief / Bicycle Thieves (1949) review . Roger . Ebert . Roger Ebert . . 19 March 1999 . 20 July 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090227023704/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19990319%2FREVIEWS08%2F903190306%2F1023 . 27 February 2009 . dead .
- News: Ebert. Roger. TCM's 15 most influential films of all time, and 10 from me. Chicago Sun-Times. 8 September 2011.
- Web site: A Farewell To Arms - TV Guide . TVGuide.com . 8 September 2011.
- News: Lambiase . Sergio . 20 February 2013 . Foto e lettere inedite di De Sica, il ciociaro cosmopolita che voleva essere napoletano . . it . 22 June 2016.
- De Siza - Actor Director . Continental Film Review . 14 . July 1965 . 7 December 2021.
- Web site: 7 luglio 1901: nasce Vittorio De Sica. RAI Cultura. 2024-05-14.
- Web site: Era figlio di un attore, Umberto Melnati famoso per i duetti con Vittorio De Sica. 2015-07-22. La Nuova. 2024-05-14.
- Web site: Brani da 'Suicidio di un poeta maledetto' di Achille Campanile. 6 July 2015. RAI. 2024-05-14.
- Web site: Vittorio De Sica story. Ieri, oggi e domani. Morosi. Silvia. 2021-06-02. Corriere. 2024-05-14.
- Web site: Vittorio De Sica, il sogno e la realtà del grande Cinema. Il Mamilio. 2024-05-16.
- Web site: Mamma mia, che impressione!. Rai Play. 2024-05-16.
- Web site: Bread, Love and dreams. Titanus. 2024-05-16.
- Web site: Bread, Love and Dreams. Film at Lincoln Center. 2024-05-16.
- Book: Bondanella, Peter . Peter Bondanella . 1993 . The Films of Roberto Rossellini . Cambridge . . 119 . 0-521-39236-5.
- Web site: Addio a Emi De Sica, primogenita di Vittorio. Christian De Sica: "Mi mancherai, dai un bacio a papà". 2021-03-24. La Stampa. 2024-05-16.
- Web site: I De Sica e la saga famigliare: il padre Vittorio, le due famiglie, Christian e il cognato Verdone. Volpe. Maria. 2023-01-05. Corriere della sera. 2024-05-16.
- Web site: I De Sica e la saga famigliare: il padre Vittorio, le due famiglie, Christian e il cognato Verdone. Volpe. Maria. May 2023. Corriere della sera. 2024-04-27.
- Web site: Famous Catholics . www.adherents.com . 21 February 2012 . usurped . https://web.archive.org/web/20120214144248/http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_catholic.html . 14 February 2012.
- Web site: Ariela Bankier . All About My Father . Haaretz . Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd. . 26 June 2021 . 22 April 2010 . "They were both communists, both Cesare and De Sica," his son says..
- Book: Gino Moliterno . Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture . 2000 . Routledge . 9780415145848 . 409.
- News: Kaufman . Michael T. . Michael T. Kaufman . 14 November 1974 . Vittorio De Sica, 73, Dies; Neorealist Movie Director . . 8 September 2011.
- Web site: Berlinale - International Film Festival Berlin. Interfilm. 2024-05-17.
- Web site: Otto Dibelius Film Award, Berlin 1971. Interfilm. 2024-05-17.
- Web site: IMDB.com: Awards for Anna di Brooklyn. 31 December 2009. imdb.com.
- Web site: 4th Moscow International Film Festival (1965). 2 December 2012. MIFF. https://web.archive.org/web/20130116145645/http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1965. 16 January 2013. dead.
- Web site: Berlinale 1971: Prize Winners. 14 March 2010. berlinale.de.
- Web site: The 37th Academy Awards (1965) Nominees and Winners. 5 November 2011. oscars.org.
- Web site: The 38th Academy Awards (1966) Nominees and Winners. 6 November 2011. oscars.org.
- Web site: The 44th Academy Awards (1972) Nominees and Winners. 27 November 2011. oscars.org.
