Wholesale Italian-Americans On Screen, From Scarface To The Sopranos

Frank Capra, Vincente Minnelli, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Michael Cimino, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Sylvester Stallone, John Travolta, Quentin Tarantino... It is an understatement to say that Italian-Americans have greatly contributed to the greatness of Hollywood cinema. To be convinced, one only has to think of these cult films such as The Godfather (1972), Rocky (1976), Saturday Night Fever (1977), or Goodfellas (1990). Not to mention, of course, the series The Sopranos (1999-2007). And yet, the rise of these children of immigrants to the pantheon of the seventh art was a path strewn with obstacles. Many are unaware, but Italians in the United States suffered from racism almost as virulent as that faced by African-Americans, an ostracism doubled on screen by a long tradition of stereotypes ranging from the mafioso to the guido, including the Latin lover or the bimbo. This book accounts for this long history of Italian-American presence on screens, both as caricatured characters and as artists in front of and behind the camera, a fascinating story that takes us from the beginnings of silent cinema (Rudolph Valentino) to the success of 21st-century series (The Sopranos), through the golden age of studios (Scarface) and the thunderous years of New Hollywood (The Godfather).