This film is currently unavailable

Sunflower
Sophia Loren searches for the husband she lost at the Russian Front (Marcello Mastroianni) in this sweeping romance epic with echoes of Doctor Zhivago.
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Overview
Oscar® winner, Sophia Loren (Two Women) and award- winning Marcello Mastroianni (La Dolce Vita 8 ½) are newlyweds separated by war who never give up on one another despite almost impossible odds. Mastroianni is the soldier left to die in the snow at the Russian front as of WWII ends. Loren is his bride who, refusing to believe that her ‘Missing In Action’ husband is dead, travels to the sunflower plains of Ukraine – seemingly to the ends of the earth – to search for the man she vowed she would never abandon.
Produced by Loren’s husband, Carlo Ponti, Sunflower recalls the veteran producer's Doctor Zhivago with its rich, wide-vista production of this heartfelt drama of war-torn lovers. Underpinned by Henry Mancini’s Oscar®-nominated rousing score and magnificently directed by one of Italy’s greatest filmmaker, Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves), who taps into his Neorealist roots to depict the human tragedy of war-displaced persons, as seen through the heroic determination of Loren’s character.
At Ponti's insistence, both Loren and Mastroianni spoke English on set to enable the film's wider audience appeal. It's this English-language version that's presented here, as opposed to the Italian-language version in which both stars re-dubbed their dialogue.
Related

Alma's Rainbow Alma's Rainbow
Comedy 1993 89 mins Director: Ayoka Chenzira
Ayoka Chenzira’s vital coming-of-age comedy about three Black women living in Brooklyn learning to embrace life and exercise their agency.

Losing Ground Losing Ground
Drama 1982 86 mins Director: Kathleen Collins
A philosophy professor and an artist reach a crisis point in their marriage, in Kathleen Collins’ groundbreaking masterpiece.

Welcome II the Terrordome Welcome II the Terrordome
Drama 1995 94 mins Director: Ngozi Onwurah
A ferocious dystopian nightmare, this was the first film directed by a Black British woman to receive a UK theatrical release.

Naked Acts Naked Acts
Drama 1996 88 mins Director: Bridgett M. Davis
Bridgett M. Davis’s comedy about an aspiring young Black actress who lands her first major role, but there’s a big problem: it requires a nude scene.

The Cruz Brothers and Miss Malloy The Cruz Brothers and Miss Malloy
Drama 1979 49 mins Director: Kathleen Collins
Kathleen Collins’ debut feature about three brothers tasked with renovating an elderly woman’s mansion so she can host one last party before she dies.

Long Day's Journey Into Night Long Day's Journey Into Night
Drama 2018 138 mins Director: Bi Gan
Bi Gan's ‘destroyed film noir' is a dazzling dive into an immersive dreamscape.

Power in Our Hands Power in Our Hands
Documentary 2016 75 mins Director: Angela Spielsinger
Ground-breaking documentary that uses archive film to tell the story of the British Deaf community’s fight for civil rights.

Daisies Daisies
Comedy 1966 73 mins Director: Věra Chytilová
Two self-confessed hedonists wreak wanton havoc in Věra Chytilová's visually spectacular neo-dadaist farce.

The Frightened Woman The Frightened Woman
Drama 1969 86 mins Director: Piero Schivazappa
A rich sadist kidnaps a woman to subject to his elaborate S&M games, but she soon turns the tables... Piero Schivazappa's erotic thriller explodes with eye-popping psychedelic production design.

Heathers Heathers
Comedy 1989 103 mins Director: Michael Lehmann
Winona Ryder and Christian Slater star in the endlessly quotable cult black comedy that subverted expectations of teen movies forever.

Something Different Something Different
Drama 1963 81 mins Director: Věra Chytilová
Věra Chytilová's first feature is an important work of women's cinema, which contrasts the parallel stories of a gymnast (filmed as documentary) and a housewife (told as fiction).

Traps Traps
Comedy 1998 116 mins Director: Věra Chytilová
Věra Chytilová's dark, post-communist comedy. After a veterinary surgeon is sexually assaulted by two men, she uses her particular expertise in castraton to exact her revenge…

Boccaccio '70 Boccaccio '70
Anthology 1962 204 mins Director: Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, Vittorio De Sica and Mario Monicelli
Four of the greatest Italian directors – Fellini, Visconti, De Sica and Monicelli – join forces with show-stoppers Sophia Loren, Anita Ekberg and Romy Schneider in a carousel of sex and satire mocking the mores of Italian '60s society.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Comedy 1963 118 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Irrepressible Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves) directs this Oscar-winning film of three comic tales of love and sex in three cities.

8½ 8½
Drama 1963 138 mins Director: Federico Fellini
Fellini triumphantly conjured himself out of writer's block with this magnum opus about a film director experiencing his own creative crisis.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Comedy 1963 118 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Irrepressible Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves) directs this Oscar-winning film of three comic tales of love and sex in three cities.

Boccaccio '70 Boccaccio '70
Anthology 1962 204 mins Director: Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, Vittorio De Sica and Mario Monicelli
Four of the greatest Italian directors – Fellini, Visconti, De Sica and Monicelli – join forces with show-stoppers Sophia Loren, Anita Ekberg and Romy Schneider in a carousel of sex and satire mocking the mores of Italian '60s society.

Bicycle Thieves Bicycle Thieves
Drama 1948 89 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio De Sica’s story of a father and son searching for a stolen bicycle on the streets of Rome is a classic of post-war Italian cinema.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Comedy 1963 118 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Irrepressible Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves) directs this Oscar-winning film of three comic tales of love and sex in three cities.

Alma's Rainbow Alma's Rainbow
Comedy 1993 89 mins Director: Ayoka Chenzira
Ayoka Chenzira’s vital coming-of-age comedy about three Black women living in Brooklyn learning to embrace life and exercise their agency.

Losing Ground Losing Ground
Drama 1982 86 mins Director: Kathleen Collins
A philosophy professor and an artist reach a crisis point in their marriage, in Kathleen Collins’ groundbreaking masterpiece.

Welcome II the Terrordome Welcome II the Terrordome
Drama 1995 94 mins Director: Ngozi Onwurah
A ferocious dystopian nightmare, this was the first film directed by a Black British woman to receive a UK theatrical release.

Naked Acts Naked Acts
Drama 1996 88 mins Director: Bridgett M. Davis
Bridgett M. Davis’s comedy about an aspiring young Black actress who lands her first major role, but there’s a big problem: it requires a nude scene.

The Cruz Brothers and Miss Malloy The Cruz Brothers and Miss Malloy
Drama 1979 49 mins Director: Kathleen Collins
Kathleen Collins’ debut feature about three brothers tasked with renovating an elderly woman’s mansion so she can host one last party before she dies.

Long Day's Journey Into Night Long Day's Journey Into Night
Drama 2018 138 mins Director: Bi Gan
Bi Gan's ‘destroyed film noir' is a dazzling dive into an immersive dreamscape.