10 Best Italian Arthouse Movies

By Vlad Zakh · January 30, 2026

Italy Arthouse slow and atmospheric thought provoking

Italian arthouse cinema effectively invented postwar neorealism and then spent the following decades pulling in the opposite direction, toward alienation, ambiguity, and the kind of slow disintegration Antonioni built an entire style around. In Bicycle Thieves (1948): A father and son search all of Rome for the stolen bicycle he needs to keep his job. Another standout is Rome, Open City (1945): Resistance fighters and ordinary Romans defy Nazi occupation in the final days of the war.

Blow-Up (1966)

TMDB ★ 7.2

A fashion photographer becomes convinced he's 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 her teenage son.

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 police chief murders his mistress and openly dares his own department to catch 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, episodic portrait of small-town Italian life under looming 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 aging writer drifts through Rome's decadent high society, searching for the beauty he used to find easily.

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 father and son search all of Rome for the stolen bicycle he needs to keep his job.

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, built to fix a specific annoyance: most recommendation sites are just algorithm-driven noise. Our lists are researched and organized by who's in a film, where it's from, and the mood you're actually 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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