Customer Reviews

Open City (Enhanced) 1945

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I believe the ratings are and should be for the PRODUCT shown on this page, (Triad Productions) and NOT for the artistic value of the film it self which would receive 5 stars! This is a cheap DVD-R "transfer" it doesn't even fill up the screen and looks like someone held a video camera up to the TV! The old Video Yesteryear VHS from the 80's is FAR superior! The new Criterion release Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy (Rome Open City/Paisan/Germany Year Zero) (Criterion Collection) is wonderful! Worth every penny! Don't be duped by the claim "Enhanced"! Wish I had waited a few months before spending $[...] on this piece of crap.

I had to return this and ask for my money back, the transfer is so terrible. Don't waste your money. Perhaps someday, this masterpiece will get the kind of release on dvd it truly deserves.

Doing a great beginning to a movie is easy. But to make a great ending is the trick. This movie has one of the most poignant and powerful endings in cinema history. I don't want to spoil it for you. But the boys whistling that song is screenwriting at its best. And guess who helped write it? Federico Fellini.

It is 60 years since I first saw this film in my teens, and its images have haunted me ever since. I have never had the chance to see it again commercially, or at the several film societies of which I have been a member. I welcomed this DVD opportunity with open arms but the experience was somewhat mixed. The main downside is the picture quality that, far from being "enhanced" actually leaves a great deal to be desired. Another disappointment was Anna Magnani's performance. This was far less compeling than I recall, and her exit from the movie is ham-acting in the extreme. But these flaws are compensated by the gritty honesty of Rossellini's film-making, so different from the Hollywood kitsch with which most of my generation grew up and that, sadly, has not improved all that much since these days. More impressive, even, than Rossellini's camera work and directorial style, that were surpassed by many film-makers a decade later, are the magnetism of Aldo Fabrizi as the priest, and the rock-solid acting of Marcello Paglieri and his companions of the Resistance. The themes of loyalty and betrayal are played out with superb drama, and the film reminds us of a time that, for the Western World at least, has passed and one hopes will never be repeated.

This movie is remarkable for several reasons...

1. It is based on a true story and was made immediately following the Nazi occupation of Rome. It was written by Roberto Rossellini while he was in hiding and was filmed in the locations written about.
2. In is another shining example of the marriage that can be made between Cinema and Historical Accuracy.

Warning!!! This movie is not for the faint of heart....

A prominent Italian Resistance Fighter, Manfredi (Marcello Pagliero) is captured by the German's along with Priest Don Peitro (Aldo Fabrizi) his collaborator. A graphic torture scene ensues which has been called one of the most disturbing ever put on film...

Rossellini uses this film to show you the strength and resolve that Patriot's have in the face of extreme adversity. Italian Neorealism at its best, Open City is classic German Cinema and belongs in everyone's Top 100.

Roma, citta aperta or Open City is another great movie about Nazi Germany. I have recommended this along with Olympia, Triumph of the Will, Night and Fog, Metropolis and The Power of Nightmares.

This one takes place in Nazi occupied Rome. The film was made only months after the Allied Forces had pushed the Nazis out. Roberto Rossellini began writing it just two months after the Nazis evacuated and was filmed in the actual locations. It is probably the most moving part of the film, it is ALL REAL! It's more of a documentary in that respect.