After the First World War, Italy was going through a very frustrating time. Everything was shattered in a place otherwise so rich in culture. Films were not any exception. Italian neo realistic films emerged as an after effect of this social and political unrest.

The Italian film industry was going through a very tough time. All of the studios were broken and damaged and they did not have sufficient money to spend on films. The renowned and crafty directors started to relocate themselves in Hollywood. In such a predicament Italian neo realistic films emerged.

In the post World War One period, people of Italy were searching for a medium through which they could raise their voices. There is a proven theory that art movement can unite people more than any other type of protest. Italy proved this fact once again.

Directors like Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio De Sica emerged and they showed their new weapon not only to Italy but also to the whole world. It was their new films.

The first among the Italian neo realistic films was Quattro passi tra le nuvole, translatable as 'Four steps in the clouds', by Alessandro Blasetti in the year 1942. But this was just the beginning. Italian neo realistic films started to become popular with directors like Vittorio De Sica and Roberto Rossellini.

Rossellini made Rome Open City or Roma Citta Aperta in the year 1945, which became one of the milestones of neo realism. He also made two more world-class neo realistic films, Paisa and Germania Anno Zero. These three films are called the 'Trilogy of Rossellini'. But the most famous neo realistic film was 'Bicycle Thief' or 'Ladri di Biciclette' by Vittorio De Sica. This film was released in the year 1948. Most of this film was shot on outdoor locations. The most interesting thing was that no professional actor was used in this film and surprisingly, the lead character, Ricci, was played by Lamberto Maggiorani, who was not at all a professional actor.

This film throws a question to the society: 'who is responsible for giving birth to a criminal?' Actually, most of Italian neo realistic films dealt with such social issues.

Some other very famous Italian neo realistic films are Sciuscia a.k.a. shoeshine, 1946, Miracolo a Milano a.k.a Miracle in Milan, 1950, Umberto D, 1952. Umberto D was the last film of the Italian neo realistic films genre.