Italy’s less lauded directors

Ermanno Olmi?
I have his Tree of a wooden Clogs saved on Criterion for a future watch.

If you haven't cleared the basics, don't go for the advanced stuff.

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

How about I watch what I decide to, eh? Thanks.

Il Posto is my favorite.

Sure, but this way you risk exposing your illiteracy in Cinema 101, and no amount of expertise in the obscurities is going to help you then. I see this trend even among the most veritable cinephiles: unbelievable omissions in basic films coupled with an unnatural number of watched weirdo novelties. I think a well-rounded cinephile needs to have extensive knowledge of both Cinema 101 and the rare stuff. Think of somebody who's seen 5,000 movies but still hasn't seen 2001: A Space Odyssey and 8½.

But of course, do whatever you decide to do. There's no one given way of moving around in the vast world of cinema.

The greats have all been mentioned, so I'll nominate a modern one:

Nanni Moretti

Has anyone seen any movies by Marco Tullio Giordana they would recommend? His The Best of Youth is one of my very favorites.

I have plenty of time to fill in the gaps of the “basics”. It’s not like I suddenly stopped watching them. Besides, you’re always throwing out directors people should be watching without regard if they have seen the “basics” or not in the past, so this “advice” seems somewhat condescending and strange.

I’m at a point where I can handle watching “basics” and “advanced” (whatever that means) anyways.

That being said, is there anyone you’d like to suggest in the spirit of this thread?

Fair.
I throw out a lot of basics. Not my fault some people haven't even heard about these basics.
Oh come on, stop behaving as if you didn't know me!
How many films have you seen? After you've watched almost all the basics and advanced stuff, there's a plateau and you revert back to being a total normie because whatever's left from the basics and advanced stuff is some normie crap. But of course, you can get deeper into obscurities, elitist canon, etc.
Oh man, I hate it when you make me work!

From what hasn't been mentioned yet, these are the "essential" Italian directors:

• Michelangelo Frammartino (especially The Four Times and The Gift)
• Paolo Benvenuti (especially Consolatory and Gostanza da Libbiano)
• Carmelo Bene (especially Our Lady of the Turks and Salome)
• Ruggero Deodato (especially The House on the Edge of the Park and Cannibal Holocaust)
• Fernando Di Leo (especially Milano calibro 9 and The Boss)
• Roberto Rossellini (he might be popular and lauded but his late stuff is rather obscure even though it inspired European arthouse a lot; try The Age of the Medici and The Messiah)
• Pietro Germi (extremely mainstream at the time but seems to be somewhat forgotten now (?) - especially Divorce Italian Style and Seduced and Abandoned)
  

Other "essential" Italian films:

• The House With Laughing Windows dir. Pupi Avati
• Bitter Rice dir. Giuseppe De Santis
• I Knew Her Wel dir. Antonio Pietrangeli

There are probably many more but I can't remember them atm. Vittorio De Seta, Valerio Zurlini, etc.

I’ve seen a decent bit, but am continuing on because I sincerely enjoy Italian cinema (just behind Japan, which is always my #1) I don’t care about reverting to “a total normie” because I’m uninterested in such terms. But there’s so many films still out there for me anyways, I may never reach that point.

Going by this list I’ve started on Germi, Rossellini (love his work) De Leo, and Frammartino.

Deodato has always been on known to me, but I haven’t gotten to any of his films as of yet. I recently watched a De Seta short Doc that was decent. island of Fire. Will look for more of his stuff eventually.

Good Reccs! Thanks.

Update.
Went through several of Di Lieo films last year, and went through a couple of Soavi films. I have 3 films saved from Petri ready to watch. Several from Lenzi and Martino as well.
Not diving into Italy much this year, as I’m very focused on Japan and France lately. I’ll still hit a few here and there, but I’ll probably look to dive more into the country next year.

I haven't seen that much, but going by specific films more than directors, I'm a fan of Elio Petri's The 10th Victim. Little weird 60's scifi.

I've also seen Sergio Martino's Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key, which is another interesting, weird film.

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I have The 10th Victim, along with We Still Kill the Old Way and one other I forget saved on Amazon to watch.

Of Martino, I’ve seen that and a handful of others. My favorite is The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh

If you're looking for lower-budget fare in action and horror, look no further than these:

Fabrizio de Angelis (Karate Warrior, Karate Rock, Killer Crocodile). He's produced Fulci and Castellari but has done directing of his own. He went by a pseudonym, "Larry Ludman".

Antonio Margheriti (Death Rage, Yor: The Hunter from the Future, Jungle Raiders, Code Name: Wild Geese). He used the pseudonym "Anthony M. Dawson"

Luigi Montefori (Metamorphosis), also known as George Eastman.

Vittorio Rambaldi (Primal Rage, Decoy)

Bruno Mattei (Robowar, Terminator 2 (No NOT that one!), Cop Game). Used pseudonyms like "Vincent Dawn" and "Michael Cardoso" and even "David Graham" for a softcore rom-com "Three for One".

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I’ve watched a few from Margheriti, not a big fan really.
I’ve heard of Mattei, but haven’t gotten into his films quite yet. Rambaldi looks familiar, but I don’t think I’ve seen any of his films yet.