Rome, Open City

"Our battle has barely begun."

1945 1h 44m IT

🙌

8.0

BANGER

★8.0TMDB · 1,007

DramaWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

During the Nazi occupation of 1944 Rome, Resistance leader Giorgio Manfredi is pursued by the Nazis as he seeks refuge and a means of escape.

“Our battle has barely begun.”

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Cast

Aldo Fabrizi
Don Pietro Pellegrini
Marcello Pagliero
Giorgio Manfredi aka Luigi Ferraris
Harry Feist
Major Fritz Bergmann
Anna Magnani
Pina
Maria Michi
Marina Mari
Francesco Grandjacquet
Francesco
Vito Annichiarico
Marcello
Ákos Tolnay
Austrian Deserter

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Roberto Rossellini
Writers: Sergio Amidei, Sergio Amidei, Roberto Rossellini
Languages: Italian, Latin, German
Countries: Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $1M — a 50.0× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

81 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Italian, Latin, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Roberto Rossellini, shot by Ubaldo Arata. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Renzo Rossellini. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor Eraldo Da Roma shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Aldo Fabrizi and Marcello Pagliero and Harry Feist carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Roberto Rossellini directs. Ubaldo Arata behind the camera. Renzo Rossellini scores. Eraldo Da Roma cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Italy. Dialogue in Italian, Latin, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $1M — a 50.0× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
381 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Italian, Latin, German.
5Directed by Roberto Rossellini, shot by Ubaldo Arata. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Renzo Rossellini. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Eraldo Da Roma shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Aldo Fabrizi and Marcello Pagliero and Harry Feist carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Our battle has barely begun.".
10IMDB entry: tt0038890 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 14 themes, including "nazi", "rome, italy", "resistance", "fascism".
12Released under 42 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Ubaldo Arata
Original score: Renzo Rossellini
Editing: Eraldo Da Roma
Production design: Rosario Megna
Runtime: 104 min · 1h 44m
Status: Released
Budget: $20,000
Box office: $1,000,000
Return: 5000% of budget
Original language: IT
IMDB: Rome, Open City (1945)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Roberto Rossellini

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-02-17
★ 7/10
The fact that this was filmed in Rome at a time when you could probably still smell the fleeing Nazi's petrol fumes gives this an enthralling sense of authenticity. The story is centred around the character of "Manfredi" (Marcello Pagliero) who is being chased by the Gestapo, and so is trying to escape. Even though Rome has been declared "open" and is therefore not subject to bombardment, the citizens are still very much under the control of their occupiers and getting "Mandredi" to safety is no easy feat. He seeks shelter with his friend "Francesco" (Francesco Grandjacquet) but meets his fiancée "Pina" (Anna Magnani) instead. She wants to help him out and so they send for the priest "Don Pietro" (Aldo Fabrizi) who sees the safety of these resistance fighters as a core part of his responsibility to God. Even he, clad in his robes, is not immune though from the pursuing authorities and as they close in things become increasingly more perilous for all concerned. This is one of the most poignant wartime stories I have ever seen. It conveys the sense of brutality being faced by the community, but it also allows room for a spirit of optimism and hope to emerge too. The children continue to play and though their food is rationed, their day to day lives are not touched by the mayhem of many occupants of ruined cities elsewhere. The casting of the soldiers is masterly, as is that of the collaborative police commissioner and the whole ensemble, coupled with the characterful writing and the delicately framed photography really does give us a plausible insight into just how - even as the war was coming to a close - dangerous their lives were. It doesn't spare us some ghastliness at the conclusion either - but that's somehow an ultimate validation of an humanity that is plentiful throughout.

Production companies