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The Cinema of Italy
Cinecittà and the monopoly (1937-1939)
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At the same time the fascist party created the "Ministero della Cultura Popolare" (known as Min.Cul.Pop.) which, after a catastrophic fire in 1935 in the old cinema studios of Cines (this fire is still surrounded by mystery and still puzzles historians and scholars) suggested the creation of a more important structure to re-launch the cinema of Italy, otherwise destined to languish. Mussolini approved the project and an area South-East of Rome was selected and after two years of building, on April 21st 1937, he participated at the inauguration of Cinecitt?, with a new slogan "Cinematography is the strongest weapon". Cinecitt? was conceived like Hollywood, with everything a film maker could desire to make movies: sound stages, technical services, and the famous "Center for Experimental Cinematography", who became a real cradle of famous masters, along with the adjacent Cineteca Nazionale. Two years later, January 1st 1939, a new law called Monopoly was created, a law that almost blocked the import of foreign movies (especially from USA, seen as smoke in the eyes) favoring a more ample production of Italian movies. Two major genre are then developed, the comedies of the "white telephones" and the more intellectual "calligrafismo".
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