Abandoning earlier studies in architecture and engineering, Luigi Zampa learned screenwriting and directing at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, between 1932 and 1937. He went on to make military training films for the Italian army during World War II, as well as collaborating on film scripts. He began to direct in 1941, initially 'rom-coms' (romantic comedies), though his subsequent work became increasingly influenced by his wartime experiences. This was particularly the case with his acclaimed anti-war film In Frieden leben (1947) ("Vivere in Pace"). His next success, Kritische Jahre (1948), examined Italy's recent history under the influence, first of the Nazis, and, subsequently, the Allies. Noted as one of the first Italian neo-realist film makers, he injected satire and political criticism into his studies of bourgeois mores and corruption. Zampa's post-1960 films again reverted to becoming more escapist, commercially oriented.
