Based on real events that took place in Nazi-occupied Italy in 1944 Rome Open City examines the choices that people are forced to make in wartime. Centering on the Resistance and its members this is a tragic and emotional exploration of human spirit and the effects of war. One of the greatest foreign language films in cinema history Roberto Rossellini's Rome Open City was filmed in the aftermath of World War II on the ravaged streets of Italy. Due to the scarcities of War scraps of film from photographers were added to hand held camerawork natural lighting and a cast... of non-actors to create this frank and gritty tale of war torn Italy in a perfect example of a neo-realist film. [show more]
In the tradition of Gillo Pontecorvo's classic 'The Battle Of Algiers', Italian auteur Roberto Rossellini brings us the impressive 'Rome, Open City' a sparse and engaging portrait of resistance in Fascist Italy during World War II. Freedom fighter Giorgio Manfredi (Marcello Pagliero) attempts to evade Gestapo troops with the help of comrade Francesco (Francesco Grandjacquet), his feisty fiancée Pina (Anna Magnani) and partisan priest Don Pietro Pellegrini (Aldo Fabrizi). 'Rome, Open City' was the first film in Rossellini's wartime trilogy along with 'Paisà' and 'Germania Anno Zero', it also restored and set a course for the Italian neo-realist movement, which began in 1943 with director Luchino Visconti's controversial 'Ossessione'. Respected film critic Andre Bazin once defined neo-realism as a genre that "...portrays truth, authenticity and is the cinema of duration" and in that regard, Rosselini's picture ticks all three boxes, though at the same time; there's no denying the experimental nature of the thematic elements being put into place: for Renzo Rossellini's score along with good, but intentionally exaggerated, performances from Harry Feist, Giovanna Galetti and Maria Michi are still firmly rooted in the melodramatic style of the 1930s. 'Rome, Open City' began filming two months after the end of the second world war, so shots of bombed out / bullet ridden buildings, shrapnel littered streets and ramshackle structures give this movie an authentic look that would later inform the documentary visuals of films like 'The Bicycle Thief', 'La Terra Trema' and 'Army Of Shadows'. And though 'The Battle Of Algiers' is the last word on neo-realism, 'Rome, Open City' is an equalling compelling look at how the genre was revived and reinvigorated in post-war Europe.
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Roberto Rossellini directs this 1940s drama about the last days of the Nazi occupation of Italy during World War II. Resistance leader Giorgio Manfredi (Marcello Pagliero) flees the Gestapo and seeks a place to hide with the help of his friend Francesco (Francesco Grandjacquet), his pregnant fiancée Pina (Anna Magnani) and the priest who is due to marry them, Don Pietro Pellegrini (Aldo Fabrizi). Giorgio's ex-girlfriend Marina (Maria Michi) betrays him and his fellow fighters to the Gestapo in order to get her hands on some luxury items and it's not long before the Nazis and the local police find him and Don Pietro. They are captured and tortured but will they crack under the pain or be executed for their silence?
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