| Italianamerican | |
|---|---|
 2000 VHS cover, coupled with Scorsese's 1967 short filmThe Big Shave | |
| Directed by | Martin Scorsese |
| Written by | Lawrence D. Cohen Mardik Martin |
| Produced by | Elaine Attias Bert Lovitt Saul Rubin |
| Starring | Catherine Scorsese Charles Scorsese Martin Scorsese (uncredited) |
| Cinematography | Alec Hirschfeld |
| Edited by | Bert Lovitt |
Running time | 49 mins |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Italianamerican is a 1974 Americandocumentary film directed byMartin Scorsese and featuring his parentsCatherine andCharles, who reflect on their experiences as thechildren of Italian immigrants toNew York City.
Over dinner at their New York apartment onElizabeth Street, Martin engages his parents in a lively and candid discussion about their lives, discussing such topics as their upbringing, family, religion, marriage, their Italian ancestors, post-war life inItaly, and the hardships of poorSicilian immigrants striving to succeed in America.[1][2] Catherine also demonstrates her technique for cookingmeatballs, a recipe later printed in the end credits of the film.[3]
Martin Scorsese came up with the idea forItalianamerican after returning from his presentation ofMean Streets at theCannes Film Festival. A script was written byLarry Cohen in order to receive funding from theNational Endowment for the Humanities, but it was not used for the actual film. Six hours of footage was shot, three hours on two days.[4]
Scorsese editedItalianamerican alongsideAlice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.[4]
Italianamerican was received positively after its screening at the 1974New York Film Festival, with theNew York Daily News reporting the film "completely charmed" the "usually blase festival audience."[5]
On May 26, 2020,the Criterion Collection releasedScorsese Shorts, a compilation of five early short films directed by Scorsese:Italianamerican,American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince,The Big Shave,What's a Nice Girl like You Doing in a Place like This? andIt's Not Just You, Murray![6]