Rome, Open City details
| Format: | 12 DVD |
|---|---|
| Starring: | Aldo Fabrizi, Anna Magnani/Aldo Fabrizi, Anna Magnani |
| Director: | Roberto Rossellini |
| Genres: | Drama, World Cinema - Italian |
| Studio: | AMAZON WEB |
| Name | Discs | |
|---|---|---|
Rome, Open City |
12 Feature |
DVD Information
| Run time: | 1 hour 37 minutes |
|---|---|
| Rental release: | 28 Mar 2005 |
| Main languages: | Italian |
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Most helpful review
Essential
By Nostromo from Reading, England , 30 Apr 2005[Highly rated reviewer]
I came to this film pretty damn eagerly as according to myth and legend its the film where Rosselini single handedly invents my beloved Italian cinema (OK Fellini helped with the script - You can actually spot bits and go 'I bet that was Fellini'). It does not dissappoint and remains fresh as a daisy after all these years. Its one of those films that brings home to you how little the art of film making has changed over the decades. Again and again you sit there watching the old mise en scene thinking that if you were to film it tomorrow, you'd probably want to do something pretty similar. Essential viewing for film fans, then.
As for the film itself, a based-on-fact drama about war-time oppression in Rome it remains gripping and moving. Anna Magnani and Aldo Fabrizi, comic actors (at the time) were cast against type, a bold decision but one that invests the characters they play with a sense of everyday people caught up in tragic events. Rosselini keeps himself from portraying the doomed resistance leaders as victims, instead showing their refusal to submit to torture as a herioc act of rebellion, and even gives the Nazi's a conscience in the voice of a drunken officer who's seen too much.
The major pay-off though, is the portrait of the city itself. Rome is an amazing place, no less in the glum backstreets Roma, Citta Aperta, than at the Fontana Trevi. Taking his camera and crew onto the streets was Rosselini's great stroke of genius, and the influence on later film makers, from Mike Leigh to Martin Scorcese is incalculable. Essential viewing.- Was this review helpful to you?
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(31)A Classico
By a customer , 31 Mar 2012Amazing film for its time. Made when these events were fresh at the time and it seems to capture nazi occupation just after the fall of italian fascism and then end of the war. Acting is pretty good with some sinister looking baddies. The subtitles aren't brill as you seem to be getting the context as oppossed to the literal translation sometimes. Worth watching if you lke an old classic.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Poor subtitles & video, but four & a half stars
By blahblahblah (46 reviews) from Sandy , 11 Jan 2012Made in 1945, but impressively realist & fresh, 'Open City' needs a new edition with FULL subtitles. All the characters were credible, the buildings & settings atmospheric, & the story was gripping through to the finish.- Was this review helpful to you?
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mesmerised and inspired
By a customer , 29 May 2011I would have given this a 5 star rating except the sub-titles were, as noted by others, too few for an English speaker. I speak a fair bit of Italian and so was able to fill in most of the gaps.
After a slow start the film became gripping and so brutally realistic, yet beautifully done, that I was immersed in the story. I felt deeply moved and yet not manipulated in any way.- Was this review helpful to you?
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subtitles let this down so badly!
By kartum (210 reviews) from west lothian , 13 Sep 2010I can't really review this as a film. I was so very frustrated with the subtitles (only appear occassionaly on screen and you are left guessing what they are saying) that I had to turn the film off.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Terrible subtitles!
By blackpoolmatt (12 reviews) from Manchester , 17 Mar 2010The film itself seems a bit dated these days, which I guess is an indication of how influential it was. I also found the religious theme a little dubious.
The DVD was difficult to watch, as half of the dialogue wasn't translated in the subtitles - I had to use my French and Spanish to figure out what the characters were saying. Really poor.- Was this review helpful to you?
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