Stromboli, Terra di Dio

In Rossellini's first film with Bergman, the overpowering symbol of the volcanic island almost overwhelms its delicate story: a World War II refugee (Bergman) marries a young fisherman to escape from an internment camp. Brutalised by war, but coming to loathe the terrifying savagery of the island, her drama is a conflict between self-pity and acceptance of Something Greater. Praised as an example of cinema devoid of the excesses of formal artifice, a 'lesson in humility', its achievement is less modest: a sequence of tunny-fishing remains one of the most amazing ever filmed. (The English-language version distributed by RKO was cut to 82 minutes.)