Abstract

The present essay aims to open new avenues of inquiry concerning Francesco De Robertis’ production, examining the material donated by his family to the Luigi Chiarini Library in 2019. Specifically, we analyze the scripts, included in the archive, of a number of unrealized projects. This unmapped material provides the starting point for a new aspect of research regarding a key figure of Italian cinema. As well as revealing the common traits and characteristics between realized and unproduced projects, by looking at these scripts it is possible to make a series of new reflections on the director’s conception of combat films, especially regarding the relationship between realism and spectacle.