It is the practice in this volume to provide English film titles, normally in parentheses, only when films have formally acquired such titles, for purposes of exhibition, distribution, and so on. The goal is to indicate to the reader the existence of an English version. To avoid misleading the reader in this regard, when there is only an Italian title, no parenthetical translation is provided. There is one group of exceptions, in an instance in which the meaning of several Italian titles is crucial, and the exceptions are signaled and explained.
Translations, unless otherwise noted, are the authors’ with the exception of the chapters by Aprà, Corsi, Lischi, Parigi, Uva, and Vanelli. They have been translated in their entirety by Emilia Griffin.
For English titles of films, I follow recent Criterion Collection releases when they represent an improvement over previous titling. For example, Vittorio de Sica’s Ladri di biciclette (1948) had usually been translated into English in the singular—The Bicycle Thief—despite the significantly plural Italian. Criterion has chosen the more appropriate Bicycle Thieves. Similarly, though less significantly, Roberto Rossellini’s Roma città aperta (1945) has been referred to as just Open City or as Rome, Open City. Criterion has kept “Rome” and deleted the unnecessary comma: Rome Open City. My sense is that these recent alterations will soon become standard.