Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month

Two Women
Sophia Loren won an Oscar® for her performance as a mother trying to protect her daughter in wartime Italy, in Vittorio De Sica's neorealist classic.
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Overview
Sophia Loren an Oscar® for ‘Best Actress’ – the first ever in a foreign-language film – for her performance in Vittorio De Sica's neorealist masterpiece. Two Women tells the story of a young widow, Cesira (Sophia Loren) and her 12 year old daughter who flee war-ravaged Rome to Cesira’s native village in Ciociaria. Yet, as the allied forces push back the German occupation, the two women fall victim to a devastatingly brutal act at the very hand of the country’s liberators.
Related

Sophia Loren: Reshaping Femininity Sophia Loren: Reshaping Femininity
Short documentary 2025 18 mins Director: Maha Albadrawi
Exclusive to BFI Player, a video essay exploring Sophia Loren’s 60s and 70s filmography, and how her work shook up Italian gender roles.

84 Charlie MoPic 84 Charlie MoPic
War 1989 91 mins Director: Patrick Duncan
Cult 'found footage' war film following a Vietnam patrol unit from the perspective of an embedded combat cameraman.

Kajaki: The True Story Kajaki: The True Story
War 2014 108 mins Director: Paul Katis
A unit of British paratroopers in Afghanistan become caught in a minefield, unable to move or help their injured colleagues, in this unbearably tense thriller.

Eastern Condors Eastern Condors
Crime 1987 98 mins Director: Sammo Hung Kam-bo
A high-kicking tribute to The Dirty Dozen, which sees ten convicts offered amnesty if they undertake a deadly mission behind enemy lines.

The Last Metro The Last Metro
Romance 1979 132 mins Director: François Truffaut
Catherine Deneuve shines as the director and lead actor of a Parisian theatre struggling to survive under the Nazi occupation in Truffaut's wartime drama.

Germany, Year Zero Germany, Year Zero
War 1948 73 mins Director: Roberto Rossellini
The concluding part of Roberto Rossellini’s celebrated War Trilogy, set amid the war-torn ruins of Berlin.

Rome, Open City Rome, Open City
Drama 1945 103 mins Director: Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Rossellini’s landmark of Italian neorealism often cited as one of the greatest films ever made.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Comedy 1963 118 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Irrepressible Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves) directs this Oscar-winning film of three comic tales of love and sex in three cities.

Boccaccio '70 Boccaccio '70
Anthology 1962 204 mins Director: Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, Vittorio De Sica and Mario Monicelli
Four of the greatest Italian directors – Fellini, Visconti, De Sica and Monicelli – join forces with show-stoppers Sophia Loren, Anita Ekberg and Romy Schneider in a carousel of sex and satire mocking the mores of Italian '60s society.

Marriage Italian Style Marriage Italian Style
Comedy 1964 97 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni are irrepressible as a long-married couple in this exquisite and timeless comedy of our all-too-human foibles.

A Special Day A Special Day
Drama 1977 106 mins Director: Ettore Scola
Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni deliver the finest and most nuanced performances of their careers in this understated masterpiece from director Ettore Scola.

Sophia Loren: Reshaping Femininity Sophia Loren: Reshaping Femininity
Short documentary 2025 18 mins Director: Maha Albadrawi
Exclusive to BFI Player, a video essay exploring Sophia Loren’s 60s and 70s filmography, and how her work shook up Italian gender roles.

Marriage Italian Style Marriage Italian Style
Comedy 1964 97 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni are irrepressible as a long-married couple in this exquisite and timeless comedy of our all-too-human foibles.

A Special Day A Special Day
Drama 1977 106 mins Director: Ettore Scola
Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni deliver the finest and most nuanced performances of their careers in this understated masterpiece from director Ettore Scola.

Boccaccio '70 Boccaccio '70
Anthology 1962 204 mins Director: Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, Vittorio De Sica and Mario Monicelli
Four of the greatest Italian directors – Fellini, Visconti, De Sica and Monicelli – join forces with show-stoppers Sophia Loren, Anita Ekberg and Romy Schneider in a carousel of sex and satire mocking the mores of Italian '60s society.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Comedy 1963 118 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Irrepressible Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves) directs this Oscar-winning film of three comic tales of love and sex in three cities.

Marriage Italian Style Marriage Italian Style
Comedy 1964 97 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni are irrepressible as a long-married couple in this exquisite and timeless comedy of our all-too-human foibles.

Boccaccio '70 Boccaccio '70
Anthology 1962 204 mins Director: Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, Vittorio De Sica and Mario Monicelli
Four of the greatest Italian directors – Fellini, Visconti, De Sica and Monicelli – join forces with show-stoppers Sophia Loren, Anita Ekberg and Romy Schneider in a carousel of sex and satire mocking the mores of Italian '60s society.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Comedy 1963 118 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Irrepressible Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves) directs this Oscar-winning film of three comic tales of love and sex in three cities.

The Marching Band The Marching Band
Drama 2023 103 mins Director: Emmanuel Courcol
An acclaimed conductor strikes up a relationship with a brother he never knew he had in this touching French drama with echoes of Brassed Off.

Eclipse Eclipse
Drama 1976 85 mins Director: Simon Perry
Unsettling, little-seen 1970s psychological thriller – a story of sibling rivalry set on the lonely Scottish coast, with Tom Conti and Gay Hamilton.

Vampyros Lesbos Vampyros Lesbos
Horror 1971 89 mins Director: Jesús Franco
Jesús Franco’s dreamily seductive, sun-kissed take on Dracula is one of his most famous works; famed for its hip, psychedelic-loungecore soundtrack.

84 Charlie MoPic 84 Charlie MoPic
War 1989 91 mins Director: Patrick Duncan
Cult 'found footage' war film following a Vietnam patrol unit from the perspective of an embedded combat cameraman.

War and Peace War and Peace
Documentary 2002 134 mins Director: Anand Patwardhan
The rise of nuclear nationalism in 1990s India is explored in a powerful and personal documentary from Anand Patwardhan.

Traffic Traffic
Crime 2000 147 mins Director: Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh’s Oscar-winning ensemble drama explores America’s war on drugs at the start of the 21st century.