Although made before the term “neo-realism” was coined, Luchino Visconti's first film is also the first true neo-realist film, and is without doubt one of the greatest works of the Italian Cinema. Based loosely on James Cain's novel “The Postman Always Rings Twice,” the grim tale of seduction and murder is transposed from the original setting, a California lunchstand, to a squalid trattoria in the Po Valley.