FILM DIRECTOR

Vittorio De Sica

1901 - 1974

Photo of Vittorio De Sica

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Vittorio De Sica ( də SEE-kə, Italian: [vitˈtɔːrjo de ˈsiːka]; 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. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Vittorio De Sica has received more than 1,338,851 page views. His biography is available in 75 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 69 in 2019). Vittorio De Sica is the 44th most popular film director (down from 37th in 2019), the 418th most popular biography from Italy (down from 383rd in 2019) and the 8th most popular Italian Film Director.

Vittorio De Sica is most famous for his use of neorealism in his films. Neorealism is a style of filmmaking that seeks to represent the reality of life.

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.3M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 69.97

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 75

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 5.86

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.77

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among FILM DIRECTORS

Among film directors, Vittorio De Sica ranks 44 out of 2,041. Before him are John Ford, Krzysztof Kieślowski, James Cameron, David Lynch, Lars von Trier, and Billy Wilder. After him are Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Yasujirō Ozu, Roberto Rossellini, Isao Takahata, Emir Kusturica, and Alan Parker.

Most Popular Film Directors in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1901, Vittorio De Sica ranks 22. Before him are Alberto Giacometti, Princess Märtha of Sweden, Magda Goebbels, Paul of Greece, Ernest Lawrence, and Gary Cooper. After him are Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, André Malraux, Mohamed Naguib, Jean Dubuffet, Joaquín Rodrigo, and Simon Kuznets. Among people deceased in 1974, Vittorio De Sica ranks 9. Before him are Georgy Zhukov, Juan Perón, Georges Pompidou, Amin al-Husseini, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, and James Chadwick. After him are Pär Lagerkvist, U Thant, Baldur von Schirach, Duke Ellington, Virginia Apgar, and Imre Lakatos.

Others Born in 1901

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Others Deceased in 1974

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In Italy

Among people born in Italy, Vittorio De Sica ranks 418 out of 5,161. Before him are Pope Leo VII (900), Charles I of Hungary (1288), Pope Anastasius I (340), Giovanni Falcone (1939), Pope Soter (120), and Pope Clement III (1130). After him are Pope Sergius I (650), Philolaus (-470), Josephine of Leuchtenberg (1807), Geta (189), Ludovico Ariosto (1474), and Arturo Toscanini (1867).

Others born in Italy

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Among FILM DIRECTORS In Italy

Among film directors born in Italy, Vittorio De Sica ranks 8. Before him are Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922), Luchino Visconti (1906), Sergio Leone (1929), Bernardo Bertolucci (1941), Michelangelo Antonioni (1912), and Tinto Brass (1933). After him are Roberto Rossellini (1906), Frank Capra (1897), Franco Zeffirelli (1923), Dario Argento (1940), Giuseppe Tornatore (1956), and Ettore Scola (1931).

Italian born Film Directors

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Filmography

Bicycle Thieves
Director
Unemployed Antonio is elated when he finally finds work hanging posters around war-torn Rome. However on his first day, his bicycle—essential to his work—gets stolen. His job is doomed unless he can find the thief. With the help of his son, Antonio combs the city, becoming desperate for justice.
Jul 21st 19488.195 / 10
Umberto D.
Director
When elderly pensioner Umberto Domenico Ferrari returns to his boarding house from a protest calling for a hike in old-age pensions, his landlady demands her 15,000-lire rent by the end of the month or he and his small dog will be turned out onto the street. Unable to get the money in time, Umberto fakes illness to get sent to a hospital, giving his beloved dog to the landlady's pregnant and abandoned maid for temporary safekeeping.
Jan 20th 19527.871 / 10
Two Women
Director
A young widow flees from Rome during WWII and takes her lonely twelve-year-old-daughter to her rural hometown but the horrors of war soon catch up with them.
Dec 22nd 19607.8 / 10