Stromboli

"Raging Island... Raging Passions!"

1950 1h 47m IT

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 235

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After the end of WWII, a young Lithuanian woman and a young Italian man from Stromboli impulsively marry, but married life on the island is more demanding than she can accept.

“Raging Island... Raging Passions!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Ingrid Bergman
Karin Bjornsen
Mario Vitale
Antonio Mastrostefano
Renzo Cesana
The Priest
Mario Sponzo
The Man from the Lighthouse
Gaetano Famularo
Man with Guitar (uncredited)
Angelo Molino
Child (uncredited)
Roberto Onorati
Man (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Roberto Rossellini
Writers: Gian Paolo Callegari, Renzo Cesana, Roberto Rossellini
Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
Countries: Italy, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.9M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

76 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 5 languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Italy, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Roberto Rossellini, shot by Otello Martelli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Renzo Rossellini. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jolanda Benvenuti shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Roberto Rossellini directs. Otello Martelli behind the camera. Renzo Rossellini scores. Jolanda Benvenuti cuts. Produced in Italy, United States of America. Dialogue in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.9M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
276 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 5 languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish.
4International production across 2 countries: Italy, United States of America.
5Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
6Directed by Roberto Rossellini, shot by Otello Martelli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Renzo Rossellini. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Jolanda Benvenuti shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Ingrid Bergman and Mario Vitale and Renzo Cesana carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Raging Island... Raging Passions!".
11IMDB entry: tt0041931 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 9 themes, including "fisherman", "marriage of convenience", "rural area", "post world war ii".

The technical file

Cinematography: Otello Martelli
Original score: Renzo Rossellini
Editing: Jolanda Benvenuti
Makeup / hair: Mel Berns
Runtime: 107 min · 1h 47m
Status: Released
Budget: $900,000
Original language: IT
IMDB: Stromboli (1950)

Also by

Roberto Rossellini

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-12-27
★ 6/10
Ingrid Bergman is "Karin" desperate to escape from post-war austerity, so she alights on the young Italian "Antonio" (Mario Vitale) and relocates to his somewhat barren home near the eponymous volcano. Once there, though, she struggles with the mundanity, the routine and the harshness of life in his village - one that is also suffering the lasting effects of the recently ended war, and is now largely devoid of any population. It turns out that her new husband isn't quite the catch she anticipated either - indeed he is somewhat of a brute. What can she do now? First thing I would say is make sure you watch the original version with subtitles (if you need them) - it adds so much more to the authenticity of this film, and oddly enough, that is really all the film has going for it. The pace here is just about as downbeat and pedestrian as the life she depicts on her island. It plods along without much headway before an ending that seemed to take much more than 90 minutes to get to. As you'd expect from Rossellini, the film has a certain class to it and the bleakness of the volcanic environment works well to create the mood for the film - it is just a fairly dialogue heavy one that isn't very cheery.

Production companies