leads her to commit suicide. As the other rice workers depart, they pay tribute to her by sprinkling rice upon her body. Cast Vittorio Gassman as Walter Doris Dowling as Francesca (Italian voice: Andreina Pagnani) Silvana Mangano as Silvana (Italian voice: Lydia Simoneschi; English dubbing: Bettina Dickson) Raf Vallone as Marco Checco Rissone as Aristide Nico Pepe as Beppe Adriana Sivieri as Celeste Lia Corelli as Amelia Maria Grazia Francia as Gabriella Dedi Ristori as Anna Anna Maestri as Irene Mariemma Bardi as Gianna Maria Capuzzo as Giulia Isabella Zennaro as Rosa Carlo Mazzarella as Gianetto Themes In the film, the character Silvana represents the allure of behavior modeled in American films, such as chewing gum and boogie-woogie dancing. Her downfall illustrates director Giuseppe De Santis's condemnation of these products of American capitalism. In addition, Silvana was considered by many audiences to be overly sexualized. This sexualization and the melodramatic presence of death and suicide in the film cause it to diverge from typical Italian neorealism. Awards and honors Bitter Rice was entered into the 1949 Cannes Film Festival. The film was nominated for Best Story in the 1950 Academy Awards. The film was also selected as one of 100 Italian films to be saved, a collection of films that "changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978". The collection was established by the Venice Film Festival in collaboration with Cinecittà and curated by Fabio Ferzetti, with input from Gianni Amelio and other Italian film critics. Many of the films selected represent the "Golden Age" of Italian cinema, which was manifested in the neorealist movement. References Bibliography External links Bitter Rice: A Field in Italy an essay by Pasquale Iannone at the Criterion Collection 1949 films 1949 drama films 1940s Italian-language films Italian black-and-white films Italian neorealist films Italian drama films Films about agriculture Films about the labor movement Films produced by Dino De Laurentiis Films directed by Giuseppe De Santis Films set in Piedmont Films set in 1948 Lux Film films 1940s Italian films