Roma, città aperta

original title:
Roma, città aperta
other titles:
(Rom, offene Stadt), Rome, open City
country / year of production:
Italy / 1945
original length:
100 min. , black/white
premiere:
27 September 1945
genre:
melodrama
based on:
director:
Roberto Rossellini
film script:
Sergio Amidei , Federico Fellini , Roberto Rossellini
producer:
Roberto Rossellini
cinematographer:
Ubaldo Arata
editor:
Eraldo Da Roma
composer:
Renzo Rossellini
cast (role):
Aldo Fabrizi (Don Pietro Pellegrini) , Anna Magnani (Pina) , Vito Annichiarico (Marcello, Pina's Son ) , Nando Bruno (Agostino, the sexton ) , Harry Feist (Major Bergmann ) , Aldo Fabrizi , Anna Magnani , Vito Annichiarico , Nando Bruno , Harry Feist
more:
plot synopsis:
Rome, 1944: The Germans have declared Rome an "open city". Giorgio Manfredi, one of the leaders of the Resistance, is tracked down by the Nazis. He goes to his friend Francesco's, and asks Pina, Francesco's fiancée, for help.
Pina agrees to help him thus risking not only her own life, but also that of her unborn child. She must warn a priest, Don Pietro Pellegrini, who aids the anti-Nazi cause. Giorgio who is an outspoken communist needs to leave the town as soon as possible.
keywords:
partisans , resistance, opposition , expulsion , occupation
war:
Second World War (1939-1945)
literature:
Ugo Pirro. Celluloide. Milano: Rizzoli, 1983.

Adriano Apra (Ed.). Il dopoguerra di Rossellini. Roma: Cinecitta international, 1995.
remarks:
On several levels Roberto Rossellini's "Roma, Città Aperta" (known in English as "Open City") was one of the most remarkable films of the 1940s:
Aesthetically, it was one of the first major works of Italian neorealist filmmaking and perhaps the single most influential example of the style. Historically, it was among the first postwar European films to gain a significant audience in the United States, opening the door for a greater appreciation of international filmmaking in America. And politically, it was a work of tremendous bravery. The screenplay was written by Roberto Rossellini in association with Federico Fellini and Sergio Amidei while Rome was still occupied by German forces in 1943-44. Rossellini began filming in secret, using scavenged film stock without sound equipment, shortly before the city was liberated in June of 1944. Several key members of his creative team had been active in the Italian resistance movement.

Was awarded as best foreign language film at New York Film Critics Circle Awards in 1946 and received the Grand Prize of the Festival at Cannes the same year.
availability:
VHS, DVD