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The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius: Selections Annotated and Explained Russell McNeil, PhD Editor, Malaspina Great Books In 1862 the English literary critic and poet Matthew Arnold described Marcus Aurelius as "the most beautiful figure in history." The Stoicism of Aurelius is grounded in rationality and rests solidly on an ethical approach rooted in nature. Stoicism promises real happiness and joy in this life and a serenity that can never be soured by personal misfortune. This philosophy has universal appeal with practical implications on problems ranging from climate change and terrorism to the personal management of sickness, aging, depression and addiction. I truly believe that the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius has much to offer us now...(Click on book cover for more)

Category:	Cinema
Name:	Roberto Rossellini
Birth Year:	1906
Death Year:	1977
Representative Image:
Biography, Lectures, and Research Links:	Biography Blog Roberto Rossellini Search: Books DVD Classical Music DVD Popular Music Software Video magazines Toys & Games Baby Computer & Video Games Electronics Wireless Phones Tools & Hardware Outdoor Living Kitchen & Housewares Camera & Photo All Products Keywords: Roberto Rossellini (May 8, 1906 - June 3, 1977), was an Italian film director. Rossellini was one of the most important directors of Italian neorealist cinema, contributing films such as Roma citta aperta to the movement. Life and Work Born in a bourgeois family living in Rome, he lived in via Ludovisi, where Mussolini had his first Roman hotel in 1922 when Fascism obtained power on Italy. Young Rossellini's fascination for "black shirts" has been repeatedly denied, but never completely. Rossellini's father built the first Roman "cinema" (a theatre in which films could be shown), granting Roberto an unlimited free pass; Roberto started frequenting the cinema at an early age. When his father died, he worked as a soundmaker for films, and for a certain time he experienced all the accessory jobs related to the creation of a film, gaining competence in each field. In 1938 he made his first documentary, Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune. After this essay, he was called to assist Goffredo Alessandrini in making Luciano Serra pilota, one of most successful Italian films of the first half of century. Then in 1940 he was called to assist Francesco De Robertis on Uomini sul Fondo. His close friendship with Vittorio Mussolini, son of Il Duce and responsible for cinema, has been interpreted as a possible reason for having been preferred to other apprentices. Early Career Some authors describe the first part of his career as a sequence of trilogies. His first feature film, La Nave Bianca (1941) was sponsored by the audiovisual propaganda centre of Navy Department and is the first work in Rossellini's so-called Fascist Trilogy, together with Un pilota ritorna (1942) and Uomo dalla Croce (1943). To this period belongs his friendship and cooperation with Federico Fellini and Aldo Fabrizi. When the Fascist regime ended in 1943, just two months after the liberation of Rome, Rossellini was already preparing Roma citta aperta (with Fellini assisting on the script and Fabrizi playing the role of the priest), which he self-produced (most of the money came from credits and loans). This dramatic film was an immediate success. Rossellini had started now his so-called Neorealistic Trilogy, the second title of which was Paisa, produced with non-professional actors, and the third Germania anno zero (1946), sponsored by a French producer and filmed in Berlin's French sector. In Berlin too Rossellini preferred non-actors, but he was unable to find a face he found "interesting"; he placed his camera in the center of a town square, as he did for Paisa, but was surprised when nobody came to watch. As he declared in an interview, in order to really create the character that one has in mind, it is necessary for the director to engage in a battle with his actor which usually ends with submitting to the actor's wish. Since I do not have the desire to waste my energy in a battle like this, I only use professional actors occasionally. One of the reasons of success has been supposed to be the fact that Rossellini rewrote the scripts according to the non-professional actors' feelings and histories. Regional accent, dialect, and costumes were shown in the film how they were in real life. Transition and later career After his Neorealist Trilogy, Rossellini produced two films now classified as the Transitional films: L'Amore (with Anna Magnani) and La macchina ammazzacattivi, on the capability of cinema to portray reality and truth (with recalls of Commedia del Arte). The year 1948 is the year of love: Rossellini receives a letter from a foreign actress proposing herself for working with him: Dear Mr. Rossellini, I saw your films Open City and Paisan, and enjoyed them very much. If you need a Swedish actress who speaks English very well, who has not forgotten her German, who is not very understandable in French, and who in Italian knows only "ti amo", I am ready to come and make a film with you. Ingrid Bergman By this famous letter begins one of most popular love stories in cinema lore, with Ingrid Bergman and Rossellini both at the peak of their popularity and influence. They started working together the following year in Stromboli terra di Dio (in the island of Stromboli, whose volcano quite conveniently erupted during filming), and in 1950 Europa '51. In 1953 Viaggio in Italia completes the so-called Ingrid's Trilogy. This affair caused a great scandal in some countries (Bergman and Rossellini were both married to other people); the scandal intensified when the two started having children (one of whom is Isabella Rossellini). In 1971, the Houston Rice University (Texas) invited Rossellini to help establish a Media Center. Filmography Francesco, giullare di Dio - 1950 about Francis of Assisi Otello - 1952 I sette peccati capitali (episode: Invidia) - 1952 La Gioconda (translation: Mona Lisa, the painting that inspired the film) - 1953 Siamo donne (episode: Una voce umana. Il miracolo) - 1953 Dov'e la liberta? - 1953 La figlia di Iorio - 1954 La paura - 1954 Giovanna d'Arco al rogo - 1954 Viaggio in Italia - 1954 Amori di mezzo secolo (episode: Napoli '43) - 1954 India senza limiti - 1958 Il generale Della Rovere - 1959 Viva l'Italia - 1960 Uno sguardo dal ponte - 1961 Torino nei cent'anni - 1961 Vanina Vanini - 1961 Erra Notte a Roma - 1961 I carabinieri - 1962 Benito Mussolini - 1962 Anima nera - 1962 Rogopag (episode: Illibatezza) - 1963 L'eta del ferro - 1964 La presa del potere da parte di Luigi XIV - 1967 Idea di un'isola. Sicilia - 1967 Atti degli apostoli - 1968 Socrate - 1970 La forza e la ragione: interview with Salvador Allende - 1971 Rice University - 1971 Blaise Pascal - 1971 Agostino d'Ippona - 1972 Cartesius - 1973 L'eta di Cosimo de' Medici - 1973 Concerto per Michelangelo - 1974 The World Population - 1974 Anno uno - 1974 Il messia - 1976 Beaubourg - 1977 [This article in part is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License and uses material adapted in whole or in part from the Wikipedia article on Roberto Rossellini.] The Great Books: Roberto Rossellini Please browse our Amazon list of titles about Roberto Rossellini. For rare and hard to find works we recommend our Alibris list of titles about Roberto Rossellini. Post Comments, Questions or Suggestions! This database is maintained by Malaspina Great Books.
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Best Choice Books, Music, Art:	Book: The Adventures of Roberto Rossellini DVD: The Flowers of St Francis - Criterion Collection
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Records from Related Period and Category:	Modern Cinema

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