10 Best Italian Arthouse Movies

By Vlad Zakh · January 30, 2026

Italy Arthouse slow and atmospheric thought provoking

Italian arthouse cinema essentially invented postwar neorealism and then spent decades pulling the other way, towards alienation, ambiguity and the slow disintegration Antonioni built a style on. Blow-Up has a photographer convinced he has photographed a murder, L’Avventura has a woman vanishing on a yacht trip as the search turns into something else, and Mamma Roma follows a former prostitute trying to give her son a respectable life. Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, Bicycle Thieves, Rome, Open City, The Conformist, Amarcord and The Great Beauty round out the list.

Blow-Up (1966)

TMDB ★ 7.2

A fashion photographer becomes convinced he has accidentally captured a murder in the background of his photos.

Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni · 1h 51m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Mamma Roma (1962)

TMDB ★ 7.5

A former prostitute tries to build a respectable new life for herself and her son, who resists.

Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini · 1h 50m

Where to watch

Stream: Criterion Channel

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970)

TMDB ★ 7.5

A powerful police chief murders his mistress and deliberately plants evidence to see if anyone dares accuse him.

Directed by Elio Petri · 1h 51m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

L'Avventura (1960)

TMDB ★ 7.6

A woman vanishes on a yachting trip, and the search quietly turns into something else entirely.

Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni · 2h 24m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

L'Eclisse (1962)

TMDB ★ 7.6

A young woman drifts between relationships, unable to settle into feeling anything at all.

Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni · 2h 06m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: Criterion Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Amarcord (1973)

TMDB ★ 7.6

A nostalgic, comic portrait of life in a small Italian coastal town under fascism.

Directed by Federico Fellini · 2h 03m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, YouTube TV, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Great Beauty (2013)

TMDB ★ 7.6

An ageing writer drifts through Rome's decadent high society, searching for the beauty he once felt.

Directed by Paolo Sorrentino · 2h 22m

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Conformist (1970)

TMDB ★ 7.7

A man's desperate need to seem ordinary leads him to accept a fascist assassination assignment.

Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci · 1h 48m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Kino Film Collection · Rent: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, MovieMe · Buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Rome, Open City (1945)

TMDB ★ 7.8

Resistance fighters and ordinary Romans defy Nazi occupation in the final days of the war.

Directed by Roberto Rossellini · 1h 44m

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max, Artiflix · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Bicycle Thieves (1948)

IMDb ★ 8.2 RT 99%

A poor father and his young son search desperately through Rome for his stolen bicycle.

Directed by Vittorio De Sica · 1h 29m · Rated NR

Nominated for 1 Oscar18 wins & 1 nomination

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

10 Best Italian Arthouse Movies

Blow-Up (1966)

Mamma Roma (1962)

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970)

L'Avventura (1960)

L'Eclisse (1962)

Amarcord (1973)

The Great Beauty (2013)

The Conformist (1970)

Rome, Open City (1945)

Bicycle Thieves (1948)

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