Customer Reviews

Paisan

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4 star:		(2)
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Wow, a week after this has been released there's still no reviews. I'd like to think that's because this set is jammed with such great content--movies and extras--that even the early adopters are still absorbing it.

It seems that Criterion thought long and hard about release #500. And it shows. These are three extraordinary movies. They're all over 60 years old, but they still pack an emotional and cinematic wallop.

"Open City" is the most familiar and revered title here. It has lost little of it's power or immediacy. Maybe the melodrama is a bit more obvious to our jaded 21st century sensibilities, but that doesn't mean you won't get caught up in the story. Short, plump Aldo Fabrizi plays one of the least unlikely resistance heroes imaginable, and Anna Magnani is nothing short of iconic. This may not be the birth of Italian Neo-realism, but it's certainly a precocious infancy.

"Paisan," here in its first US DVD release, was Rossellini's follow-up to "Open City." It seems to beg the question, how imperfect can a movie be and still be great? The acting is uneven to say the least (arguably the amateurs are more convincing that the professionals), not all of the six short story-like episodes are equally compelling, and most of them end with an unsatisfying abruptness. But on some very basic level, these imperfections just don't matter. In one of the special features, Martin Scorcese makes a very telling distinction between "realism" and "authenticity" and this film never feels less than authentic, often chillingly so.

"Germany Year Zero" is the most problematic of the films, if only because it's so heartbreaking, few people will want to sit through it more than once. It's nonetheless an amazng feat of sympathetic imagination, as Rossellini brings neo-realism to the ravaged streets of post-war Berlin. It's almost as if he's apologizing for depicting the Germans in "Open City" as so single-mindedly villianous.

I've blathered on and on yet I've barely scratched the surface. Virtually all the extra features are worthwhile, especially Adriano Apra's comments on each film. Picture quality, though imperfect, is far superior to the previous releases of "Open City" and "Germany Year Zero." Sadly, only "Open City" includes a commentary track, but more so than a lot of great movies, these films speak for themselves. An essential purchase for film buffs.

Two of these three Rossellini films made at the very end of WWll are considered classics: Rome, Open City, and Paisan. The third film, the disturbing Germany Year Zero has always been controversial and was a failure, though it is loved dearly by some.

The copies of the films are fantastic, especially Rome, Open City and Germany Year Zero, pristine, sharply focused black and white and Rossellini's great mastery of light, shadow and intensity and contrast of that palette is astoundingly captured. Paisan is a very good copy, though some shots are a little dim or faded looking. For those who know Rome and Paisan from VHS copies that circulated there is no comparison in any sense -- these are tremendously vivid, absolutely complete (the VHS copies I owned clipped small sections and had jumpy cuts), with superb sound tracks (that means tolerating Rossellini's brother's music which can be intrusive, especially in Paisan though one must assume auteur Rossellini wanted this since he was notoriously a complete control freak.)

Most people with any interest in film will know that Rome, Open City stunned Europe and was credited with creating a movement called 'neo-realism', though one of the late interviews with Rossellini included in the many invaluable extras shows him mocking the term. Whatever one calls it, much that happened in European film in the late forties and early 50's was influenced by both this film and Paisan -- Godard and Truffaut not to mention Fellini (who had his first serious film jobs assisting Rossellini on Rome and Paisan), De Sica and a host of others all traced their choices back to Rossellini's courage and vision.

Rossellini in that interview is a little defensive about Rome, Open City and the extras include the flamboyant stories of its making -- not all true (electricity was stolen -- true -- film stock had to be begged, borrowed or stolen and there was very little available, much of it of poor quality -- true; the film, contrary to standard claims, was not improvised at all, there was a completely written script shot precisely as written. Only a few of the prominent actors were amateurs, the great Anna Magnani was a well known film and stage actress and Aldo Fabrizi, the priest, was a big movie star though as a comic -- it was on his fame that Rossellini was able to raise his tiny budget). All the interiors were shot in a small film studio, not on location; the few exterior shots included serious risks though the one where Magnani chases after her finance who the Germans have seized and herded into a truck along with other men only to be shot as he screams at her to go back has to be one of the most memorable scenes in all of movie history even if her performance is a little operatic. Fabrizi is clearly more comfortable and convincing in the mildly quirky or funny scenes (probably written by Fellini)than when he needs to be very serious or righteous in facing the Nazi villain (glycerine tears are clearly used for him in one scene). But the scenes of his execution are very moving and the final image of his pupils, they've sneaked out of the city to see him die, slowly roaming off back to Rome is another unforgettable image.

Paisan is a different matter. This was entirely improvised though Klaus Mann (son of Thomas) had written a detailed scenario and another American, Alfred Hayes, had written a script. Rossellini discarded both except for a sequence in Rome written by Hayes -- the weakest stretch of the movie. It is six episodes, all short stories, though only a few have a neat beginning, middle and end. All but one of the performers was an amateur, the Italians were found in the different locations. The best of these are the story in Naples where a black G.I. meets up with a street urchin who is not to be trusted. The ruins of Naples, the drunk G.I. stumbling into a traditional Neapolitan puppet show (I suspect a Fellini idea), the street life of the jammed but ruined city and the devastating final scene are amazing. The final story where a group of Partisans and GI's (all cast from life) are hemmed in and eventually slaughtered by a small group of ruthless Germans on the marshes of the Po is stunning from every angle and was a tremendous influence on post war avant-garde film making.

Germany Year Zero is so horrifying it's hard to get to grips with. A young boy in a devastated Berlin where the Germans are starving is the sole support of a dysfunctional family and eventually takes drastic action. The story seems forced to some but the way it is shot and Rossellini's evident identification with the desperate, terrified and confused child carries one through some obvious contrivances. This has several brilliantly managed exterior scenes of the boy wandering in despair through the bombed out city that are tough to sit through but worth it.

The features are amazing, consistently interesting, sophisticated, enormously informative even when commentators contradict one another. A film about how the movies were assembled is revelatory. A photo montage of Rossellini's until now mysterious affair with a German woman (while he was married and seeing other women, he left her for the impossible Magnani much to his eventual regret) is stunning and moving.

When the films were shown on French TV Rossellini recorded introductions (watch the movies first) and those are invaluable. But some issues about Rossellini are scanted -- his earlier work in the Fascist film industry, which eventually cost him much of his popularity in Italy when it was revealed, the details of his monstrously difficult personality are left a little vague (though the letters written to and read by his only Italian collaborator on Germany year Zero, which include references to his idiosyncratic interaction with the slightly crazy Marlene Dietrich certainly convey a lot).

There is also his use of homosexuality to demonstrate the most unthinkable of all evils (the swishy but vicious Gestapo officer, his looming lesbian sidekick in Rome, Open City -- as though the Nazis tolerated open or even suspected homosexuals, they imprisoned or killed those they caught and none could have made a career in the Gestapo of all organizations, the pedophiles in Germany year Zero -- more plausible, maybe, but handled with a heavy hand) -- that's disturbing (in one of the late interviews Rossellini seems to apologize for this but doesn't go into detail). So he wasn't perfect or simple...

But this is the sort of treatment all great films should get and I can't imagine being without it.

Excellent ! A perfect collection of the war that I was in. Robertto Rossellini captured the human side of the WAR. A must have collection.

Wait for a new transfer. The rating is for the mediocre HSV 1987 videotape of this powerful film. The print is contrasty, and the transfer so careless that the last half hour of the film is missing!

These movies are the real deal about conditions in Italy and Europe during WWII.
You'll cry, laugh, hate and love and be amazed at the endurance of the people who
had to live and survive through the nazi's terror and oppression. Worth every penny
and then some.

Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy contains the films "Rome Open City," "Paisan," and "Germany Year Zero" These three films made near the end of and after World War II are very impressive works detailing the mass human suffering that took place in Europe during the war.

The first film depicts the Nazi occupation of Rome. The film was difficult to make due to the extreme scarcity of film stock and much of the movie was made from scraps of film stock salvaged from various sources. The second film, Paisan, depicts the liberation of Rome by allied forces and the aftermath. The third film, the most grim of the three, is Germany Year Zero. The film shows the allied forces taking over Berlin and shows much of the city in ruins.

This set is released by the Criterion Collection and has spine number 500 making it more or less the 500th DVD release of theirs.

Each disc has many supplements as well which are very good

Rome Open City contains a 1963 introduction by Rossellini, optional commentary by Peter Bondanella, a 2006 documentary on the film's production, interviews with Adriano Aprà, a scholar of Rossellini's work, a video essay by film scholar, Mark Sheil, and an interview with Fr. Virgilio Fantuzzi, a friend of the director who talks about religious influences of the film

Paisan contains an introduction by Rossellini, an interview by Adriano Aprà, video footage of Rossellini speaking at Rice University in Texas, and a visual essay by Tag Gallagher.

This great release is a must for our generation as a reminder of the horrors of war.

Germany Year Zero contains an interview with Rossellini, the Italian language opening credits, a 2001 documentary on Rossellini, an interview with Adriano Aprà, interviews with directors, Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, an essay about Rossellini's relationship with his mistress, and a 1987 discussion about the film

Made under extreme conditions Roberto Rosselini's "War Trilogy" is a fantastic look into how people deal with war on their own soil. As Americans who have never seen our homes ravaged by the wars of other nations, this is a must-see for anyone who'd like to examine the human condition under duress.

I have mixed feelings about the film Paisa. Although I liked that the film told the stories of several different people, the fact that the film only gave you one glimpse at their life kind of left you hanging. In general, the segments were good and I liked most of the characters. However, there were a few times that I got bored with the story. I especially did not care for the scenes at the monastery and with the soldiers in the marshes. I feel like at times the film had a captivating story but there were also times that the story dragged on. What I did really like about the film was the fact that it was shot on location. That gave the film a sense of reality that Hollywood films don't get. I also liked that the actors, such as the little kids, were most likely locals. One of my favorite parts of the film is when the soldier is interacting with the little boy. Another part of the film that I really liked was the scenes with the G.I. and the woman. It was heartbreaking to see that they had both changed so much that they did not recognize each other. I think one of the most important thing this film has going for it is its sense of authenticity. From the location to the actors to the story, the film was very true to life. Finding that quality in a film is highly valued and something that should be praised. One thing that left me slightly dissatisfied about the film was it's lack of connection between the stories. I don't necessarily think that the stories have to be connected, but the fact that they were not related caught my attention and made me wonder if they should have been.

If there's one thing movies need, it's actors who can play the roles. Directors need people who are trained to perform their characters as best as the director visions them. Good actors get recognized and continue performing as well as they can. Yet, in the 1940s, Italian directors pioneered a certain form of filmmaking called "neorealism". This involved filming on location as opposed to a set and even had actual Italians performing the roles. Many of these had little to no experience acting, but the directors believed that their stories would be better told using actual Italians. Think of it as "for Italians, by Italians, starring Italians." One of the movies to incorporate this idea was Roberto Rossellini's post-WW II movie Paisan.

A large number of people would think that something like putting actual Italians to tell this movie would be a pretty interesting idea, and it actually is. Rossellini took something that hadn't really been done before at the time. Many of his movies are pretty famous because of it, and the idea itself has been pretty influential. Paisan really is no exception. Instead of using Italian actors, Rossellini used actual Italians in different roles combined with American actors. It's a pretty ingenious idea in terms of filmmaking. Unfortunately, the movie feels a little dry. It's probably the realism of the movie or the stories that come across in the film.

I say stories because the movie itself is actually a series of five vignettes as opposed to one full story. All of these have to deal with American soldiers in Italy after World War II. The first story deals with Americans in an Italian city who take one girl from the town to a seaside cliff. One of the soldiers tries to communicate with her but finds it hard because he doesn't know Italian. The second story is about a black American soldier who befriends a homeless boy that stole his boots. The third story has an American sleeping with an Italian prostitute musing about an Italian girl he used to love and tried to find again. He has no idea that the prostitute is the very girl. The fourth story has an American nurse meeting a painter who is a revolutionary leader named "Lupo". They struggle to get across the Ponte Vecchio and to safety. The last story is about American soldiers who are captured by the Nazis and executed before the war was over.

The interesting thing about this movie is that because these are actual Italian people portraying Italian people, it appeared as if they were Italian people. The little boy wasn't trying too hard to play a poor Italian boy because...well, he IS one. However, it's easy to tell that there is no experience with these people. The prostitute could have been done by an Italian actress, one who didn't really say her lines really monotonously. She realized who the guy she had was; she could be a little more shocked. The American actors were fine. Many of them felt like they actually were their characters as opposed to just acting them out. This makes it more interesting and even improves their acting. It's one thing to communicate with someone you know is faking it as well; it's another to communicate with someone who probably isn't. You have to be convincing enough to them, and that makes you convincing enough for the audience.

The ideas of communication and friendship are very heavy in this movie. The Italians are speaking Italian, but many of the Americans don't understand and find it hard to connect with these people. Rossellini tries to emphasize that in the first story. The Americans in the other stories knew some Italian, but it was the ignorance of the other Italian characters that cost them. The soldier with the boy didn't realize that the boy was homeless from the war and became mad at the boy when he stole his boots. The soldier with the prostitute didn't trust her judgment, and the story doesn't end too well for the both of them. The same can be said about the fourth story. Connecting with the people around you is important in these stories, and it becomes even easier if you understand them.

Unfortunately, this movie is a bit dry for me. When you try to make a story as real as humanly possible, you wind up making it so real that it feels like you're there. That works on numerous occasions such as mystery thrillers or suspenseful films, but these stories do come across as boring at times. The pacing of the movie has some part to play as the stories seem to go on and on. By the time something exciting or really dramatic happens, the scene is over. That may have been Rossellini's intent, but it doesn't help when there's nothing to keep us wanting to see these stories continue.

Bottom line: Paisan is a potentially good showcase because it uses potentially interesting concepts. The realism in the acting and the set really make the movie convincing. The ideas about communication and connection really do come across in the stories, but the stories don't pace well and have very little dramatic worth. The filmmaking ideas are influential and have good intents, but it helps when the story itself is interesting. Not everyone is an aspiring filmmaker, but those who are can learn a lot from this movie.

These are problematical films from a problematical director. Rossellini's early career and life were tied up with Italian fascism. He was a close friend of Mussolini's son. He started his career doing films on the Italian military under fascism. Two of the films in this set attempt to rehabilitate Italy and Italians in the second world war. The third concerns Germany in the postwar period.

In the world of Rome: Open City and Paisan, Italy was a country full of anti-german resistance fighters who were the best buddies of every allied soldier. All the ambiguities of the war in Italy are glossed over. Nobody seems to have ever supported fascism. Italy and Italians are victims with no real sense of responsibility. Rome: Open City is visually interesting as a historical document but uninteresting as a story. Paisan is a collection of short stories about Italy in the war with amateur actors. If there is a theme, its the confused interactions between good Italians and the allied soldiers in Italy.

The final film, Germany Year Zero, is a incredible photographic work covering conditions in Germany after the war. The ruins and the devistation of the city visually speak volumes by themselves making the story - such as it is - almost irrelivant. The story has some good elements of realism to it covering conditions in Germany after the war. But it falls apart because the good elements degenerate about halfway through into a sadistic melodrama centered on a child character. Its all really over the top and unnecessary. It could have been so much better if Rossellini had actually stuck to the bitter realism which is bad enough. The stories of the sister and the older brother had more
potential than was used.

So in summary, these films are often incredible visual documents about the war but the stories presented are lacking in almost every respect. As usual, Criterion has delivered a high-quality transfer and an all-around good product.