Neorealismo

I have only seen the first hour segment of this TV documentary, which covers the intellectual background from which the neorealist movement emerged during Fascism and key ways in which the resulting work broke with the past. Lizzani analyzes the use of more individualized and active crowds, landscapes set on the periphery of towns and along roads and and rivers stressing horizontal rather than vertical lines, and reversed roles for characters: children behaving like adults, women taking on male roles, civilians including priests turning into fighters. He also mentions a wider representation for different social classes. These points are illustrated through longish clips from 7 features two of which are from the pre neo realist era. I would like to see the rest of the program which discusses how neo realism was challenged by critics in the early 50s with commercial pressures affecting such movies as La Strada, seen as a turning point away from what neo realism had been understood to mean. The documentary will be useful for those learning about Italian film for the first time and for those who think they already know enough about it.