1001 Club - Rome, Open City (1945)

#192. Rome, Open City [Roma, Città Aperta] (1945)

Why It's In The Book: “Considered the initiator of an aesthetic revolution in film, Roberto Rossellini’s Open City was the first major work of Italian Neorealism, and it managed to explode the conventions of the Mussolinian 'cinema of white telephones' that was fashionable in Italy at the beginning of the 1940s...

The scarcity of technical and financial resources available to Rossellini proved to be a virtue of Open City, which was shot in a documentary style. Showing real people in real locations, the film brought some fresh air to the existing Western cinema. The freedom of the camera movements and the authenticity of the characters, allied to a new way of storytelling, were among the qualities that made Open City the revelation of the 1946 Cannes Film Festival, where it was awarded the Palme d’Or. Neorealism quickly became an aesthetic model for directors interested in a vivid description of history and society.

One of the most amazing things about Open City is the approach Rossellini takes to each character’s drama. Some of the film’s heroes will forever remain in the hearts of viewers.

Although it may veer toward the melodramatic, the story is just as moving today as it was then. And it should come as no surprise to learn that, after this role, Magnani became one of the greatest actresses of the Italian screen.” -1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Member Ratings

marie_dressler - 9/10
"This is must-see viewing for its unforgettable images, outstanding acting, and poetic dialogue…not so much for the rather heavy-handed plot."
READ MORE

Movie Guy Steve - 9/10
"Our imagination works overtime thinking of what might be going on, and when we see the end results, they are every bit as bad as we thought they would be."
READ MORE

TSorensen - 9/10
"I must admit that before watching this film I was not entirely sure what that label [neorealism] covered and I feared for something boring. No need to fear though. Italian neorealism in the incarnation of Roma, Città Aperta has a nerve that comes from an unprecedented, almost documentary nakedness."
READ MORE

nicolas krizan - 7.5/10
"technical flaws only serve to heighten the newsreel style"
READ MORE

Adolytsi - 6/10
"I understand its importance in how it revolutionized Italian cinema at the time and became a new standard thus for historically contexted films, but it was just too stagnant for me."
READ MORE

Squish - 6/10
"Much like my opinion of Open City, the film is split into two parts."
READ MORE

Overall Rating: 7.5/10