Martin Scorsese directs and narrates this personal documentary about Italian film and select Italian filmmakers and the influence they had on him. It begins with an overview of Scorsese's family history including their Sicilian roots, life in Little Italy, and the filmmaker's recollections of watching neorealist and epic Italian films on television and how those movies acted as a lifeline for the older members of his family, maintaining their connection to the old country. Scorsese discusses director Roberto Rossellini, focusing on the films: Open city (Roma, Citt ̉Aperta), Paisan (Paisà (both 1946), The miracle (Il miracolo, 1947), Stromboli (1949), Flowers of Saint Francis (Francesco, giullare di Dio, 1950), Europa '51 (1952), and Voyage to Italy (Viaggio in Italia, 1953). He then discusses director Vittorio De Sica, and his films: Shoeshine (Sciuscià, 1946), The bicycle thief (Ladri di biciclette, 1947), and Umberto D. (1952). Scorsese explores the career of Luchino Visconti, his apprenticeship as a crewmember under Jean Renoir, and his films: Ossessione (1943), La terra trema (1948), and Senso (1954). Scorsese then moves on to Federico Fellini and examines his films: I Vitelloni (1953), La dolce vita (1960), and 8 1/2 (1963) as examples of the evolution of Fellini's style. Scorsese concludes the documentary with the cinema of Michelangelo Antonioni and close readings of The adventure (L'avventura, 1960) and The eclipse (L'eclisse, 1962).