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Films from Italy

Best Movies from Italy

Italy's catalogue on Celluloid runs to 19 films spanning 1960–2026 across 2 languages — chiefly Italian and English —, led by The Leopard (92%) and 8½ (91%). Every title is ranked by our four-input Celluloid Score with critic consensus and expert reviews on each film page.

Quick Answer

The highest-rated Italy film on Celluloid is The Leopard (1963) with a 92% Celluloid Score — Celluloid Pick.

19
Films indexed
73%
Avg. Celluloid Score
2
Languages
13
Critic reviews

Guide to Italy Movies on Celluloid

Each film from Italy in our catalogue includes a Celluloid Score from up to four verified inputs, original verdict text, and linked editorial reviews where available. Audience sentiment is separate.

Titles are indexed by original language and country of production for easier discovery.

Essential Italy Picks

Top 5 by Celluloid Score
The Leopard 1963 · Luchino Visconti · Italian

Visconti's opulent epic of decline features one of cinema's greatest ballroom sequences.

92%
Celluloid Score Celluloid Pick
8½ 1963 · Federico Fellini · Italian

Fellini's most personal film turned creative paralysis into surrealist autobiography for the ages.

91%
Celluloid Score Celluloid Pick
La Dolce Vita 1960 · Federico Fellini · Italian

Fellini's portrait of modern fame invented the paparazzi era and still defines Italian cinema abroad.

91%
Celluloid Score Celluloid Pick
Call Me by Your Name 2017 · Luca Guadagnino · English

Guadagnino's sensual coming-of-age romance became a global phenomenon and awards-season staple.

87%
Celluloid Score Recommended
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966 · Sergio Leone · Italian

IMDb Top 250 #10 (8.8/10) — The Good, the Bad and the Ugly remains one of the most highly rated films of all time.

87%
Celluloid Score Recommended

Italy Movie Reviews

All reviews →

Full critic reviews with answer-engine summaries — each review answers whether the film is worth watching, what it is about, and where to stream it.

The Leopard (1963) ★★★★½

The Leopard (1963) Review: An Aristocracy's Slow Farewell

The Leopard is Luchino Visconti's sumptuous Sicilian epic of a prince facing Italian unification, a film about decline as graceful as it is clear-eyed.

Yes. It is one of the great historical dramas, best suited to patient viewers who can give three hours to a film that rewards attention with rare beauty.
8½ (1963) ★★★★½

8½ (1963) Review: A Masterpiece About Being Stuck

8½ is Federico Fellini's dazzling film about a director who cannot make his next film, a funny, dreamlike self-portrait and cinema's great study of creative block.

Yes. It is one of the most inventive films ever made and rewards anyone curious about classic cinema, though its dream logic and self-absorption take some adjusting to.
La Dolce Vita (1960) ★★★★½

La Dolce Vita (1960) Review: Rome's Glittering Emptiness

La Dolce Vita is Federico Fellini's Palme d'Or-winning portrait of a Roman gossip columnist adrift among celebrities and parties, still dazzling and unsettling.

Yes. It is one of the essential films of modern cinema, best for patient viewers ready to drift with an episodic, nearly three-hour tour of glamour and despair.
Call Me by Your Name (2017) ★★★★½

Call Me by Your Name (2017) Review: First Love, Fully Felt

Call Me by Your Name is Luca Guadagnino's sun-soaked 1980s romance about a teenager's first love, lifted by Timothée Chalamet's breakthrough performance.

Yes. It is one of the most tender and sensual romances of its decade, best for patient viewers who like slow, atmospheric love stories rather than plot-driven drama.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) ★★★★½

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Review: Greed in Widescreen

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is Sergio Leone's sprawling 1966 spaghetti western about three gunmen chasing buried gold through a Civil War landscape of ruin.

Yes. It is the grandest of the spaghetti westerns and a landmark of film style; allow for its length and leisurely middle and it rewards every minute.
Cinema Paradiso (1988) ★★★★★

Cinema Paradiso (1988) Review: Cinema as Memory and Home

Cinema Paradiso is Giuseppe Tornatore's Oscar-winning Sicilian memory film about a boy, a projectionist and a village cinema, and it remains overwhelmingly moving.

Yes. It is one of the most beloved films ever made about the movies, essential for anyone who has ever fallen in love with cinema or felt pulled back to home.
Gomorrah (2008) ★★★★½

Gomorrah (2008) Review: The Mafia Without Myth

Gomorrah is Matteo Garrone's unflinching Naples crime drama, five interwoven stories that strip every trace of glamour from the Camorra and the lives it controls.

Yes. It is one of the essential crime films of the century, best for patient viewers who want the reality of organised crime rather than gangster-movie thrills.
The Great Beauty (2013) ★★★★½

The Great Beauty (2013) Review: Rome's Glittering Emptiness

The Great Beauty is Paolo Sorrentino's dazzling, melancholy portrait of an ageing Roman socialite, a Fellini-inspired drama that finds grief beneath the party.

Yes. It is a lush, witty and moving modern Italian classic for viewers who enjoy mood, image and ideas more than plot; impatient viewers may find it indulgent.
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) ★★★★½

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) Review: Leone's Elegy

Once Upon a Time in the West is Sergio Leone's monumental western about a widow, a railroad and three gunmen, an operatic farewell to the frontier myth.

Yes. It is one of the great westerns, a slow, majestic and unforgettable film for anyone willing to settle into its epic rhythm and Morricone's score.
Nowhere Special (2020) ★★★★★

Nowhere Special (2020) Review: A Father's Last Task

Nowhere Special is Uberto Pasolini's restrained drama about a dying single father choosing a new family for his small son, with James Norton at his very best.

Yes. It is a quietly shattering father-and-son drama that earns its tears honestly, for anyone who values understatement; have tissues nearby.
Life Is Beautiful (1997) ★★★★★

Life Is Beautiful (1997) Review: Laughter Against the Dark

Life Is Beautiful is Roberto Benigni's Oscar-winning fable of a Jewish Italian father who shields his son from a Nazi camp through humour. Daring and devastating.

Yes. It is a unique, deeply moving film that pairs comedy with tragedy to unforgettable effect, essential for almost any adult or older teenage viewer.
Suspiria (1977) ★★★★☆

Suspiria (1977) Review: Colour and Sound as Terror

Suspiria is Dario Argento's 1977 horror landmark about an American dancer at a sinister German ballet school, a nightmare built from saturated colour and noise.

Yes. It is essential for horror fans and lovers of bold visual style, provided you can accept a flimsy plot, stilted dubbing and some very graphic violence.
Perfect Strangers (2016) ★★★★½

Perfect Strangers (2016) Review: Seven Phones on the Table

Perfect Strangers is Paolo Genovese's sharp Italian chamber comedy in which friends at a dinner party read every phone message aloud, with painfully funny results.

Yes. It is a tightly built, very funny and quietly cruel comedy of manners, ideal for anyone who likes ensemble dramas that unfold around a single table.

Popular Genres

Drama 16 Romance 4 Comedy 3 History 2 Western 2 Crime 1

All Italy Movies

Ranked by Celluloid Score

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best movies from Italy?

Browse our Italy catalogue sorted by Celluloid Score — the highest-rated films appear first with critic and audience ratings on every card.

How does Celluloid rate films from Italy?

Celluloid Score combines Celluloid editorial, Metascore, Letterboxd and IMDb inputs into a single percentage; audience sentiment is displayed separately alongside the written verdict and review.