The Unione Cinematografica Italiana (UCI) was an Italian

film production Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

and

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations * Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...

consortium of the

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

. Following the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, a group of eleven leading Italian companies joined forces in a single conglomerate which would be better able to compete with rival films from America, Britain, France and Germany. The driving force behind UCI was Baron Alberto Fassini, who had previously headed the

Cines The Società Italiana Cines (''Italian Cines Company'') is a film company specializing in production and distribution of films. The company was founded on 1 April 1906. A major force in the European film industry before the First World War, the c ...

studio. UCI was formed in January 1919. Many of the company's productions were historical films which attempted to re-capture the success of pre-war films which were often set in

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

. The company suffered a major blow in 1921 when its leading financial backer the

Banca Italiana di Sconto The Banca Italiana di Sconto (BIS) was a leading Italian bank that went bust in 1921. One firm hit by its collapse was the giant film production conglomerate Unione Cinematografica Italiana The Unione Cinematografica Italiana (UCI) was an Ita ...

went bust. UCI was already facing bankruptcy during the production of the big-budget epic ''

Quo Vadis ''Quō vādis?'' (, ) is a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you marching?". It is also commonly translated as "Where are you going?" or, poetically, "Whither goest thou?" The phrase originates from the Christian tradition regarding Saint Pete ...

'' (1924), the financial failure of which led to the collapse of the company by 1926. Most of its assets were acquired by

Stefano Pittaluga Stefano Pittaluga (2 February 1887 – 26 April 1932) was an Italian film producer, one of several figures who helped revive Italian film production in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Originally a Genoa-based owner of cinemas, Pittaluga began to ...

. The collapse of UCI was part of a general crisis in the Italian film industry that saw production levels fall to very low levels until a revival began with the support of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

Fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

government in the 1930s.Ricci p.4

References

Bibliography

* Moliterno, Gino. ''Historical Dictionary of Italian Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2009. * Ricci, Steven. ''Cinema and Fascism: Italian Film and Society, 1922–1943''. University of California Press, 2008. Film production companies of Italy Film distributors of Italy Mass media companies established in 1919 {{IT-film-company-stub