Ambrosio Film was an Italian film production 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 ...

company which played a leading role in

Italian cinema The cinema of Italy (, ) comprises the films made within Italy or by Italian directors. Since its beginning, Italian cinema has influenced film movements worldwide. Italy is one of the birthplaces of art cinema and the stylistic aspect of film ha ...

during the silent era. Established in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

in 1906 by the pioneering filmmaker

Arturo Ambrosio Arturo Ambrosio (1870–1960) was an Italian film producer who was a pioneering and influential figure in the early years of Italian cinema. Biography Ambrosio was a photographer who owned a shop in Turin. In 1904, after returning from a visit ...

, assisted by

cinematographers The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

Giovanni Vitrotti Giovanni Vitrotti (1874–1966) was an Italian cinematographer and film director who worked prolifically in Italian films from the silent era onwards. He made films in a number of other countries like Germany, Russia and Poland. Selected filmo ...

and

Roberto Omegna Roberto Omegna (27 May 1876 – 29 November 1948) was an Italian cinematographer and film director. Biography Omegna assisted Arturo Ambrosio is setting up the Turin-based company Ambrosio Film, which became one of the leading Italian studios ...

, the company initially produced large numbers of documentary and fictional short films, but its output quickly grew more ambitious. In 1908 the company made ''

The Last Days of Pompeii ''The Last Days of Pompeii'' is a novel written by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1834. The novel was inspired by the painting ''The Last Day of Pompeii'' by the Russian painter Karl Briullov, which Bulwer-Lytton had seen in Milan. It culminates in ...

'' (directed by Ambrosio and

Luigi Maggi Luigi Maggi (21 December 1867 – 22 August 1946) was an Italian actor and film director who worked prolifically during the silent era. Working for Ambrosio Film he co-directed the 1908 hit film '' The Last Days of Pompeii'', which launched the h ...

). The film was a major success, further enhancing the company's status and creating a fashion for Italian historical epics which other studios copied. In the wake of this, Ambrosio oversaw the production of a series of literary adaptations. The company built a large studio and picture house in Turin, and the city emerged as a major centre of the early Italian film industry. In February 1909 Ambrosio took part in the Paris Film Congress, an attempt by leading European producers to form a cartel similar to that operated by the MPPC in the United States. However this plan fell through when

Pathe Pathe or Pathé may refer to: * Pathé, a French company established in 1896 * Pathé Exchange, U.S. division of the French film company that was spun off into an independent entity * Pathé News, a French and British distributor of cinema news ...

, then the largest film company in the world, withdrew from the group. The same year one of his employees

Ernesto Maria Pasquali Ernesto Maria Pasquali (1883–1919) was an Italian pioneering film producer and director. Originally a journalist he was employed by Ambrosio Film before he set up the Turin-based Pasquali Film, one of Italy's leading production companies. Shor ...

left to form his own

Pasquali Film Pasquali Film was an Italian film production company of the silent era. Founded in 1909 in Turin by Ernesto Maria Pasquali, it was later merged into the Unione Cinematografica Italiana in 1919, before closing completely in 1924. It enjoyed its g ...

. The company enjoyed success exporting its films to lucrative foreign markets such as Britain and America (Ambrosio opened an affiliate in New York). Ambrosio struck co-production deals with Russian and Germany companies. It remained a leading producer during the 1910s, but was hit by the slump that overcame the Italian film industry after 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 ...

. Arturo Ambrosio sold his share in the studio to a

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

businessmen Armando Zanotto. The company reduced its production programmes, and in 1924 was

liquidated Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistr ...

.Moliterno p.8

References

Bibliography

* Moliterno, Gino. ''The A to Z of Italian Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2009. Italian companies established in 1906 Italian film studios Film production companies of Italy Film distributors of Italy Mass media companies established in 1906 Mass media in Turin {{IT-film-company-stub