Rome, Open City

Mixing fact and fiction, ROME, OPEN CITY is a story of life and death, depicting the struggles of four Roman partisans during the German occupation. 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).

Rossellini and collaborators (including a young Federico Fellini who served as a co-writer) created a choral story of a city dominated by fear, violence, moral degradation and the raw courage of its inhabitants.

ROME, OPEN CITY has inspired and influenced countless filmmakers. Almost 80 years since it was made, Roberto Rossellini's landmark portrayal of life under German occupation remains an extraordinary achievement.

"Much is devastating -- but Rossellini found room, too, for the humour and warmth of everyday life." Dave Calhoun, Time Out

Italy, 1945

Italian language with English subtitles