Telephone Bianchi films for propaganda and entertainment shot under the influence of the Mussolini regime, films imported from America and Italian films similar to American films were set between the realities of the country and the cinema audience. With the fall of Mussolini and the end of World War II, Italian film directors took to the streets to bring the realities of Italy to the cinema. These directors shot innovative films with non-professional actors in line with the economic, sociological, technical and financial opportunities of the period. These films, which would later affect many directors and film movements in the world, were categorized within the Italian neorealism movement.

The term neorealism refers to a new definition of reality in different art disciplines or a new methodology developed to convey reality. The concept of neorealism has found a place in Italy since the 1920s in literature and in cinema since the 1940s.

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini, named after two Italian socialists (Andrea Costa and Amilcare Cipriani) by his blacksmith father, was raised with revolutionary and leftist views from his childhood. Even at a young age, Mussolini was violent, had personality disorders, and described himself as the chosen one. He was highly motivated to change Italy by overthrowing the feudal order. He was imprisoned for rioting at a young age. He was skilled at writing. He increased the circulation of the socialist newspaper socialist Avanti!, for which he was appointed editor, up to 5 times. Before the First World War, he was expelled from the Socialist Party due to his articles on the necessity of Italy's entry into the World War. Thereupon, Mussolini left Avanti and founded Il Popolo, which would later become his fascist newspaper. He continued to constantly call for War through his writings. In World War I, he enlisted in the army and fought at the front. Although Italy was on the side that won the World War I, the economic problems continued to deepen. Like other European countries, the Italian people thought that the rising communist revolution in Russia would change the entire economic structure and social life styles. Mussolini dictated to the people through his newspaper and people around him that only he could save Italy from these threats.

Mussolini saw the ability of the concept of nationalism to mobilize people quickly and effectively on the front lines during the first world war. He was highly influenced by Italian futurists. Futurists argued that development and a new world would come only through destruction and war. Mussolini was highly committed to these views. He was in close contact with the futurists. The founder of futurism, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, would contribute to Mussolini in the Italian Fascist Manifesto, which would be written later.

Against the threat of high inflation, economic destruction, and spreading communism, Mussolini, combining futurism, nationalism, capitalism, the dream of a great Italy with the vision of revolution he took from leftist views, established his own system of government: Fascism. Mussolini later established the fascist party, declaring his dictatorship and ensuring the implementation of the fascist regime in Italy until his assassination in 1943. During this period, many fascist practices were carried out that would trigger the emergence of realism and neorealism movements: Terrorism, propaganda, monotony in the press, use of violence, assassination, controlling the elite, creating enemies, a phenomenal administrator elected at the head of the administration.

Since the 1920s, many works against the fascist regime were written in the literary discipline in Italy. With these works, the neo-realism movement emerged in literature. The neo-realism movement contained many references to the realism movement that emerged before it, called Verismo. However, neorealism was shaped in a harsher style than Verizmo, under the influence of intense emotions, experiences, economic collapse and resistance to fascism brought on by the war. Authors such as Alberto Moravia, Ignazio Silone, Carlo Levi, Vasco Pratolini, Carlo Bernari, Cesare Pavese, Elio Vittorini, Carlo Cassola, Italo Calvino, Curzio Malaparte, and Carlo Emilio Gadda made significant contributions to Italian neorealism in literature.

While these developments were taking place in literature, neo-realistic ideas could not find a place in the cinema. It was almost impossible to shoot any film that did not benefit the fascist regime, finance it or bring it to the audience in the cinema. However, with the end of the fascist regime in 1943, new realism films were started to be made.

From the 1920s until the end of World War II, the ideal lifestyle was presented to the Italian people by the fascist regime through films imported from America. The fascist regime also led the people to show loyalty to authority and capital with films called Telefoni Bianchi. What was tried to be explained with the films of Telefoni Bianchi was that one could be a part of a prosperous life by showing commitment to power and capital. Subjects such as family values, class hierarchy, respect for authority and conservatism were glorified in the films.

While Italian cinema remained artistically stagnant, trends that would affect the history of cinema emerged in the cinemas of countries under other authoritarian regimes: German Expressionism, Soviet Montage.

Italian neorealism took as a reference the techniques in films such as newsreels and the British documentary movement. Italian directors discovered that they do not need large sets, expensive decors, master actors, and classical methods and approaches, which are already difficult to reach, in order to shoot films.

In a time like 1935, when the conditions were not very favorable, anti-fascist journalist Leo Longanesi urged directors to go to the streets, barracks and train stations to shoot films, arguing that a new cinema could only emerge in this way.

After the death of Mussolini in 1943, with the effects of the fascist regime diminishing rapidly, Italian filmmakers landed on the field. The directors created the Italian neorealism movement by using the techniques of news reels, British Documentary, Soviet Montage, French Poetic Realism and neorealism in Italian literature in their films. Italian directors started making films about the economic collapse, the fascist regime and the effects of World War I.

In 1943, Luchino Visconti's Ossessione (1943), which will be known as the first neorealist film, met with the audience.

Visconti's Ossessione was a groundbreaking film, especially in approach. The story of the movie, the passion of the characters, the use of camera and framing, the compositions were quite innovative for cinema. The distorted relationship featured in the film caused the film to be targeted by the authorities. Some copies of the film were burned. With the onset of the "Italian Spring" in 1945, many Italian directors developed and expanded Visconti's approach and started making similar films. Among these directors were those who made films for power during the fascist period, and there were also Marxist directors who had never worked for the fascist administration. Some of the neorealistic directors were film critics. Nearly a hundred films were shot in a period of about 10 years, which can be described as neo-realistic. Among these films, only a few films by a few directors came to the fore and helped to define the boundaries of the neorealistic movement.

Neorealistic films were made to create contrast. This opposition was not only against the authority in the country's administration, but also all the pro-authority films that were screened in Italy. The most obvious aim of neorealism was to differ in content and technique from Telefoni Bianchi and Hollywood films released during and after the fascist period.

Approaches towards neo-realistic films began to consolidate as the number of films increased and the characteristics of the movement formed. Films began to be evaluated differently by the Italian government and the Italian people, and differently by the world cinema community and audiences.

The new government in Italy did not want the situation they were in to be told by neo-realistic films. The films both told the truth and drew a rather pessimistic picture and ended with unhappy stories. This situation was quite challenging for the government, which was trying to create an outlet in the post-fascist era. The approach of the Italian public to neorealistic films was not much different from the government. The public wanted to see the cinema as a point of relaxation and motivation in their difficulties. When audiences went to the movies to escape their own lives, what they encountered was neo-realistic films about economic, political and social collapse.

Even in the period when neorealism was most effective, the audience preferred to go to American films or Italian productions that tried to prove the existence of a good life as in American films. This resulted in the inability to finance neorealistic films that were not supported by the government. In a short time, neorealism ended up inspiring too many current directors and films behind it.

Neo-realistic films were also shot, which suited the approach of the government and the public. These films became known as Pink Neorealistic films.

In the movies, the cities of Italy, which were destroyed after the Second World War, hunger, poverty and deprivation were the subjects. No effort was made to increase the motivation of the audience or to leave the theater with a happy ending.

Neorealism has frequently resorted to documentary filming methods. Storytelling did not come to the fore much in the movies. The classic story structure was often broken. The public and the working class were often featured in the films. The people included in these classes were made heroic.

Technically speaking, the films were shot outdoors, in real environments, with amateur actors, under natural light. Innovative camera angles, cuts, and framing were commonplace. The use of negative space and post synchronized sound were frequently featured in the films. Neorealism had no manifesto or rule set.

Cesare Zavattini, an Italian journalist and scriptwriter for Italian neorealist cinema, has worked particularly productively with director Vittorio De Sica. Zavattini has completed 126 scripts, 26 of which are as De Sica. He has written screenplays for names such as Alessandro Blasetti, Giuseppe De Santis, Luchino Visconti and Alberto Lattuada. Zavattini became one of the most important figures of Italian neorealism in the decade following the end of World War II.

Italian neorealism was not widely accepted in Italy and within 10 years the main wave was over. Despite this, it had a very significant impact on world cinema. The Italian neorealism movement influenced German Rubble film, Free Cinema, British social Realism, Cinema Vertie, French Nouvelle Vague, and Latin American and Indian cinemas.

Italian neorealism continued in Italy, with a secondary wave that followed the main wave. Directors such as Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica became the carriers of the second wave.

The pink neo-realistic films that put aside the pessimistic approach and made beautifications about Italy were also films that made reference to neorealism.