page_title: Hollywood on the Tiber
section_title: Height
hierarchical_section_title: Hollywood on the Tiber / Height
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Le Pont Victor Emmanuel II sur le Tibre, San Spirito in Sassia et Saint-Pierre à Rome, Italie. English: The Vittorio Emanuele II bridge on the Tiber, San Spirito in Sassia and Saint Peter in Romes, Italy Italiano: Il Vittorio Emanuele II ponte sul Tevere, San Spirito in Sassia e San Pietro a Roma, Italia.
context_page_description: Hollywood on the Tiber is a phrase used to describe the period in the 1950s and 1960s when the Italian capital of Rome emerged as a major location for international filmmaking attracting many foreign productions to the Cinecittà studios. By contrast to the native Italian film industry, these movies were made in English for global release. Although the primary markets for such films were American and British audiences, they enjoyed widespread popularity in other countries, including Italy.
  The commercial success of Quo Vadis led to a stream of blockbusters produced in Italy by Hollywood studios, which reached its height with 20th Century Fox's Cleopatra in 1963. The phrase "Hollywood on Tiber", a reference to the river that runs through Rome, was coined in 1950 by Time Magazine during the making of Quo Vadis.
context_section_description: Although American companies had shot in Italy before (such as Fox's 1922 silent Nero and MGM's 1925 Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ), the scale of the post-war investment was unprecedented. Many of the films were sword and sandal epics, often set in Ancient Rome which required large film sets and location filming. Other films included contemporary-set romances Roman Holiday (1953) and Three Coins in the Fountain (1954). The companies imported actors from a variety of countries (particularly Britain and the United States), who appeared alongside Italians who generally played smaller, supporting roles or extras. Sophia Loren was a notable Italian star with sufficient international appeal to be cast in a leading role.
  In 1962, the lengthy and troubled production of Cleopatra brought further media attention to the city. The delays led to a spiraling budget, making it the most expensive film ever made at the time.
  Far from leading to a decline in Italian cinema, the native industry boomed during the era. In 1960, Italian films outperformed American imports to Italy for the first time since 1946. However, there was a growing influence of Hollywood-style productions, as popular Italian genres such as the Sword-and-sandal and Spaghetti Western attempted to imitate successful Hollywood productions. Italian actors and directors often adopted English-sounding names.
caption: The expression refers to the Tiber which runs through Rome.
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