John M. Kelly Library Documentaries: Italian Studies

The Kelly Library collects resources to support the University of Toronto Department of Italian Studies.

See also the list of Italian cinema.

Assisi: Home of St. Francis

BX4700 .F6 A875 2004 DVD
50 minutes
A tour of the major sites in Assisi which played a significant role in the life of Saint Francis.

Dante Alighieri

PQ4335 .D32 1996 DVD
24 minutes
A documentary about the medieval Italian writer, focusing on the religious aspects of his work. Part of the Pioneers of the Spirit series.

Dante's Divine Comedy

PQ4390 .C67 2001 DVD
4 discs; 24 (30 minute) lectures
Course description.

Dante's Inferno

PQ4315.21 .D36 2004 DVD
88 minutes
Radical, new visual techniques are used to bring the first eight cantos of Dante's Inferno to the screen. Starring Sir John Gielgud.

The Divine Comedy: Visions of Violence and Beauty

PQ4391 .B688 D58 2004 DVD
60 minutes
A documentary about the 92 illustrations produced by Sandro Botticelli to accompany an edition of Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy.

Fellini: I'm a Born Liar

PN 1998.3 .F45 S6 2003 DVD
105 minutes; released 2002.
Portrait of Fellini with contribution by Italo Calvino, Donald Sutherland and others.

Florence: The Power of the Past

DG737.26 .P694 2008 DVD
90 minutes
Journalist Bill Moyers travels to Florence to explore how the city's rich Reniassance legacy affects the way people think and feel today. Features the frescoes of Massaccio and Masolino, the sculpture of Donatello, Ghiberti and Michaelangelo, and the architecture of Brunelleschi.

Inferno

PQ4315.2 .I54 2004 DVD
51 minutes
This program tracks Dante's journey through the underworld while providing background on the poet, life in the Middle Ages, and the Inferno's influence on the arts and pop culture.

Inside the Vatican

DG794 .I57 2002 DVD
90 minutes
A documentary about Vatican City narrated by Martin Sheen.

The Italian Americans

E184 .I8 I83 2005 DVD pt. 1
164 minutes; TV release 2004.
The personal stories of prominent Italian Americans from all walks of life are featured in this exploration of what it means to be Italian in America. The stories are told with vintage film footage, family photos, and personal interviews. Consists of 2 parts: The Italian Americans and The Italian Americans II: A Beautiful Song. Narrated by Jack Luceno, Julius La Rosa and Stanley Tucci.

The Italian Passion for Life

E184 .I8 I83 2005 DVD pt. 2
78 minutes; TV release 2004.
Companion to The Italian Americans, this episode explores Italian artistry in the performing arts, culinary arts and within Italian craftsmanship.

The Italian Renaissance

DG445 .B378 2005 DVD
6 discs; 36 (30 minute) lectures
Course description.

Teaching Company

The Italians before Italy

DG417 .B32 2007 DVD
4 discs; 24 (30 minute) lectures
Course description.

Luigi Pirandello: In Search of an Author

PQ4835 .A48 Z58 2004 DVD
59 minutes; released 1987.
This programme re-creates one day in London as the 19th-Century Italian author Luigi Pirandello watches his plays and, away from the footlights, confronts the paradoxical nature of his life. Narrated by Julian Mitchell. From the series Ten great writers of the modern world.

Machiavelli in Context

JC143 .M4 2006 DVD
4 discs; 24 (30 minute) lectures
Course description.

The Medici

DG737.42 .M43 2003 DVD
220 minutes
A documentary about the Florentine family who helped ignite the Renaissance in Italy.

The Vatican Revealed

DG796 .V38 2005 DVD
100 minutes
A comprehensive history of the origins of the Vatican - from the Roman "Old St. Peter's" to the papacy's temporary move to Avignon to today's tourist mecca - through interviews with historians, reconstructions of crucial events, and on-site artifacts.