(Includes spoilers) VILLA BORGHESE is a film consisting of six vignettes (cut to five in its U.S. release) that are all set in the Roman park that bears that name. All the episodes take place within one day. The first episode, taking place early in the day, is called "Servant Girls and Soldiers" and is a trifle about a couple of guys trying to put the makes on a couple of young girls. The second piece is called "The Greek Letter Pi" and is a poignant little anecdote about a schoolgirl (Anna Maria Ferrrero) who is urged by her classmates to approach their Greek professor (François Perrier), so that they can photograph them kissing and perhaps blackmail the prof for a passing grade. It turns out the professor has a sad story to tell the girl…that he is going blind. The tearful girl cannot go though with the plan. The third episode is the funniest and probably the best in the film. It's called "Incident at Villa Borghese" and features tour-guide Vittorio De Sica as an incorrigible over-cologned woman-chaser who comes between Giovanna Ralli and her furiously jealous boyfriend Maurizio Arena. The dramatics that ensue among the three…and others…is absolutely hilarious. In one delicious moment, De Sica sits in the car with the boy on one side of him, screaming at the girl, and the girl's breasts on the other side, pressed against De Sica's face as he barely conceals his lust. In "The Marriage Arranger" Eduardo De Filippo is the father of a girl he is trying to marry off. The discussions between the relatives center on rather selfish interest…money, dowry. Then the increasingly ill-at-ease girl is revealed to have a handicap, involving her foot, and the young suitor comes to the emotionally distraught girl's side and, through simple humanity and kindness, saves the day in a way the crude relatives were not capable of doing. Of all the relationships we witness in the film, this is the only one that seems to have a future. "The Lovers" is a bittersweet episode about a man breaking up his affair with a married woman…as the woman's small children play in the park with their nurse and call out to their adulterous mommy. It is nicely acted by two great stars of the French cinema, Micheline Presle and Gérard Philippe. The final racy episode, "Beauty Contest," is a Felliniesque dissertation about two rival Roman street–prostitutes, who as they are about to be rounded up by the police, wind up at a Miss Cinema beauty contest taking place in the park. The younger of the women (Eloisa Cianni) eludes the police by going off with an older man in his car. The other and older one (Franca Valeri) is not so lucky and the episode and the film end as she is driven off in a police vehicle. It is late at night.
The movie was released in the United States in 1957, inexplicably, in a French-language version, which didn't match the content, despite the presence of some French performers. It was retitled IT HAPPENED IN THE PARK. Furthermore, the first decent-enough episode was shorn, also inexplicably, because the film was already a short one. The direction by Gianni Franciolini is subtle and finely-tuned throughout, and the ensemble of actors in the production makes, of itself, a worthwhile experience of the movie, which should not remain as forgotten as it is.

The charming Adriana gets sick after her husband's death. Her brother-in-law takes her on a journey to meet a doctor, while love overwhelms them.

"The Witch Burnt Alive"
After a very long, but visually arresting animated opening credits sequence, Luchino Visconti (Death in Venice) directs the first story, which is the longest of the five, taking approximately a third of the film's running length. Mangano plays a superstar actress and model who travels to a mountain resort, only to find the well-to-do inhabitants have prejudices and preconceived notions about her based on her public persona. The women are all jealous and the men all want to sleep with her, but all Mangano wants is to be left alone. It's a mostly somber satirical piece, but story-wise, it languishes in its modest idea a bit long, becoming inconsequential to all but those fascinated by the realities of being famous.
"Community Spirit"
Bolognini's piece isn't really a story. It's more of a visual gag, in a short segment that features Mangano offering to take an injured man to a hospital, driving him at breakneck speed throughout the city, but not stopping at locations where he might find aid. I won't give away the punchline here, but it succeeds in being amusing, even if it's the kind of thing that only is interesting the first time through.
"The Earth Seen from the Moon"
The esteemed writer/director, Pier Paolo Pasolini (Salo), crafts the middle segment, which is the most artistic and memorable of the five. Reminiscent in style to "Don Quixote", a recently widowed father and his son travel around the country in search of a new wife and mother, and after a long period, they discover the literally speechless Mangano. She brings joy into their lives, but they are poor, and in order to find a better life for themselves, they concoct a scheme to try to make some quick cash. The story is contrived, and not completely interesting, but the outlandish performances, artwork, and costumes does evoke great charm and likeability. Although mute, it's probably the most appealing of Mangano's five performances, and Toto is terrific.
"The Sicilian"
Franco Rossi directs the fourth an shortest piece, a straight-forward revenge story that comes and goes before it ever has a chance of becoming interesting. It's violent, but easily the least satisfying of the five stories.
"A Night Like Any Other"
Eastwood's appearance is clearly the biggest attraction here, which was filmed in between the Sergio Leone "Dollars" trilogy. It's an enjoyable departure from his normal roles, playing a comedic romantic lead, and he is affably fun to watch. Famed Italian director, Vittorio de Sica (The Bicycle Thief, Umberto D.) does a masterful job with the story, which perfectly blends the mundane and the fantasy in a visually satisfying way. The story is about a bored housewife (Mangano, of course), who tries in vain to get her husband to realize that he is not as romantic as he used to be. The scene is interspersed with comedic romance sequences revolving around the couple's past romantic interludes, and dreams of how their lives should be.

德西卡作品，此片秉承了意大利现实主义精髓，关注战后普通民生，剧情一波三折，演员演技精湛，镜头也十分讲究；一对相爱的小夫妻苦于无地可住（说明蜗居之苦，全世界各年代通用），在遭遇家庭排挤、投奔朋友无解、租房无望后，急中生智，充分利用丈夫的手艺行当，意欲在一夜之间令“江山大改”，虽最后紧急关头屋顶尚留一方空白，但结尾处警察的高抬贵手，给本片留下温馨余味；片名《屋顶》乃本片泉眼，处处着眼，并担当了屋子和家庭的象征。

A comedy of errors in which the sweetly incompetent Dr. Pietro Vignali (de Sica) has been run deep into debt by his girlfriend, Loletta Prima (Magnani). After his creditors threaten to sell his belongings, he takes a job as an orphanage health inspector to pay his debts and ends up engaged to wealthy Lilli, daughter of a mattress tycoon, and chased after by the orphan Teresa Venerdí, while trying to keep his life in order.

In Naples, a voice from the skies announces one morning that the final judgment will be at 6 p.m. on that day. What follows is a series of vignettes depicting various people's reactions (or lack there of) to the announcement.

发疯的德国战犯（马克西米连·谢尔饰）被富商父亲（弗雷德里克·马奇饰）关在家中，后者使其相信站在在15年后还在继续。

一位深陷债务危机的小地产商乔瓦尼，他不断地向亲朋好友借钱度日，因此落下了差名声。他深爱着他的妻子西尔维娅，破产使两人几乎分道扬镳。为了偿还债务，重新赢得尊严，乔瓦尼决定出售自己的一只眼睛换取现金。同时，他还希望能借此挽救他们的婚姻……

喜剧大师彼得·塞勒斯有千面笑匠之誉，能在各种不同类型的影片中扮演各种差异性甚大的角色，本片就是一例。塞勒斯饰演一个意大利骗子，为了寻找一批黄金，假扮电影导演来到意大利的小村镇，一方面游说村民参加拍片，另一方面则假装成各种身份寻找真正的目标。

本片是由7组关于“通奸"的短篇故事所构成：
"Funeral Possession"（葬礼拥有）讲述一名刚刚丧夫的寡妇在丈夫的葬礼上还不时钓金龟的故事；
"Amateur Night"（业余艺术家之夜）讲述愤怒的妻子变成拉客妓女发泄的故事；
"Two Against One"（二对一）讲述表面上正经的姑娘实际上却有另外的一面；
"Super Simone"（超级西蒙）妻子西蒙用进各种方法使他的书呆子作家丈夫能从书堆中爬出来，可他始终无动于衷；
"At the Opera"（一场歌剧）一场歌剧；
"Suicides"（自毁）讲述一件死亡合同；
"Snow"（斯诺）一个疑心病的丈夫雇侦探去查他的妻子。

本片讲述的意大利的劳动妇女在男权社会中初尝自由滋味的故事，在一个橡胶厂工作的科洛拉由于工作原因，得了肺结核，医生把她送到一个疗养院，在那里，她不仅养好了病，而且学到了很多知识，结识了一个男人，她很爱他，但是由于社会的原因，她还是非常不情愿的回家了。

茱莉亚（费·唐纳薇 Faye Dunaway 饰）刚刚结束了一段失败的婚姻，为了排解心中的郁闷，她决定前往威尼斯，和朋友们待在一起。一次偶然中，茱莉亚在电视上看到了一位名叫瓦利瑞恩（马塞洛·马斯楚安尼 Marcello Mastroianni 饰）的工程师接受采访，茱莉亚回想起这正是曾经和自己有过一面之缘的那个男人。
怀着激动之情，茱莉亚主动联络了瓦利瑞恩，和茱莉亚所想的一样，瓦利瑞恩是一位温文尔雅的绅士，随着接触的增加，两人之间燃起了热烈的爱情火花。然而，这段幸福时光并没有持续多久，在感情受到伤害的同时，茱莉亚惊闻自己换上了不治之症，绝望之中，她想到了自我了断。

维斯康提那段讲罗密·施奈德扮演的美丽少妇设计向丈夫报仇，冒充他情妇，让他花钱才能得到她；德西卡的那段讲一个胆小的人赢得一个奖，奖品是跟一个女孩的约会；莫尼切里那段在很多海外版本中均被删除，其风格比较偏传统喜剧，较低调，容易消失在同行的阴影里；但最为出彩的还是费里尼的那段，名为《安东尼博士的诱惑》，讲一个波霸美女从海报上“活”过来，取笑一个道貌岸然的禁欲男子。
幕后制作：
四位重量级意大利导演用各自的手法捕捉薄伽丘的精神，以罗马为舞台呈现大型世像图。虽然只是部短片，但费里尼却以轻松嘲讽但不失沉重的语气来讲述这个揭露上层阶级虚伪道德观的故事。安东尼博士是个值得探讨的人物，他面对价值崩溃、道德沦丧感到无能为力，妄图以虚伪的面具来掩盖自己内心的欲望，但当巨大的女郎形象从广告中走出与他同乐时，他的本性终于显露。费里尼用梦幻与现实交错的手法同时制造出荒诞与沉重两种调子，极具表现力，在本片中给人印象最为深刻。

　　全片由六个独立的小品组成，这六个故事反映了那不勒斯人民的热情、乐观精神，这种精神，在这座有着厚重历史、灿烂艺术文化、美丽风景、宜人气候的名城里，就是最珍贵的黄金。

玛丽（珍妮弗·琼斯 Jennifer Jones 饰）在意大利度假时邂逅了名为乔班尼（蒙哥马利·克利夫特 Montgomery Clift 饰）的男子，两人之间相互吸引，很快就走到了一起，相互陪伴度过了快乐的两天。然而，快乐的日子都是短暂的，玛丽即将离开意大利前往巴黎，乔班尼劝说玛丽留下来，留在他的身边，可是固执的玛丽却去意已决，这让乔班尼非常的愤怒，他失手打了玛丽。
悲伤的玛丽准备搭上前往巴黎的火车，就在火车快要开动的时候，乔班尼出现了，他不顾危险穿越轨道来到玛丽的身边，他的举动感动了玛丽，两人重修旧好。虽然错过了这一班火车，但下一班火车很快就来了，留给两人的时间越来越短了。

名导演维托里奥·德·西卡所导演的本片是一部群星喜剧戏，它可以分为三部。第一部讲述的是，一个在黑市里专门卖外国香烟的女人从未尝过铁窗的滋味，因为当时法律规定不逮捕怀孕的妇女和产后六个月的妇女。所以在产后，就催丈夫作爱，因此逃过了入狱的命运，不过最后因怀孕失败还是走进了监狱。第二部讲述一位富婆迷恋比她年轻的作家，二人一次开着高级轿车兜风，因二人气氛热烈而导致撞车，富婆顿觉索然无味，遂拦车扬长而去。第三部讲述一位高级妓女与一位神学院的学生相恋，妓女摆脱了恩客的纠缠，但经不住神学院学生的老父母恳求而不得不与学生分手。学生走后，其恩客仍被打入冷宫。本片分别以三个都市的风格为代表，充分地刻划出意大利人的气质，男女主角都有精湛的演出。

在二次世界大战期间，一名意大利男子应征入伍，从此音讯全无，他的爱人一直等待着他的归来。战争结束后，他的爱人不远千里到苏联去找他，当她经过千辛万苦终于找到他的时候，发现他已经和一名苏联女子同居了。

墨索里尼时期的意大利，一个四岁男孩目睹了人生的种种惨剧：母亲红杏出墙，父亲自杀，家庭破裂。本片的戏剧性强烈，跟《风烛泪》对晚年惨景的描写有异曲同工之妙，把童真的毁灭刻画得淋漓尽致，是德西卡这位新现实主义大师又一部感人之作。
影片注视着一个四岁的小孩皮里科在母亲尼娜为了情人罗贝特离开丈夫安德烈之后陷入苦恼之中的故事。皮里科先是被送到阿姨家，再到祖母那边。当他生病时母亲尼娜赶回来，在情人罗贝特还是要坚持见她的情况下，发誓要与他一刀两断。家庭情况逐渐好转，直到全家人前往意大利里维埃拉胜地度假时，事情才出现变故

第二次世界大战前夕，意大利在德国纳粹的影响下，国内掀起了一股敌视犹太人的政治气氛。在非非拉的费尼兹.康提尼的犹太家族也受波及，为了躲避外面的政治风波，家族成员，特别是家族中两个年轻孩子米科与埃伯特整天躲在破败的庄园中，他们无忧无虑的生活已不复存在，唯有空幻的祈祷上苍，法西斯的悲剧不要降临到他们身上，但厄运最终还是袭来……