Rating: 
Summary: The Power Of Human Spirit
Review: If you can look past the terrible transfer (understandable considering the origins of the film) and the rather limited subtitles - you will find here one of the most profound films ever made. There is not much that I can say about the power of this film because it is inexplicable - I think it is a very important film - and with what is going on in the world this is the perfect time to watch it!
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie, Disappointing Transfer
Review: It is unfortunate that one of the milestone movies of international cinema receives such a terrible treatment in terms of subtitles and print transfer on the DVD. A great amount of the dialogue does not appear to be translated. It left me wondering what nuances in the wonderful script co-written by Frederico Fellini I was missing out on. I am also certain that there must be a better print somewhere than the "pristine" one used in this transfer.
Rating: 
Summary: Rossellini's Breakthrough
Review: Italian film owes much to Roberto Rossellini. World film owes him more than he's worth, I'm afraid. Made under some of the most impoverished conditions an underground film ever had to face, Rome Open City has its moments of almost "documentary" realness. But then Rossellini had to tell a hopelessly melodramatic story of partisans betrayed by faithless women (most assuredly not Anna Magnani!) tortured by Nazis without betraying a single comrade, while an Italian priest watches over it all like Edmond O'Brien and invokes the wrath of God on the Germans. Far less "neo-realist" than propagandistic. Yet Rossellini got a career (and Ingrid Bergman) out of it.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Finest Pictures Ever Made
Review: Open City is a film that I had heard of once, vaguely, in a magazine article, a title that for some reason had stuck in my head until I came across it in a video store years later. Interested, my memory sparked by the title, I decided to give it a try. As a film student I felt obligated to see something other than American dramas.Having seen the film in the privacy of my studio apartment, in all the breathtaking expanse of my thirteen-inch television screen, I can only say that this film must have felt like an event to anyone who had the good fortune to see it on the big screen. I am unable to forget several of the scenes, not that I would ever want to, and much of the film's commentary is valid to this day -- a mark of a truly timeless film, one which was born out of one kind of suffering and still speaks to us this day, fifty years later. The performances are subtle, the sentiment universal, and the cinematography precise and memorable, offering up haunting visions of hope and hopelessness for generations of people who will never have to suffer through the kind of war the Italians and countless others did in World War II. Perhaps anyone who ever considers waging war in the future should be encouraged to watch a handful of films on the subject, and perhaps Open City should be chief among them. This is a film that will stay with you long after the final scene, long after the final vision of hope is cast out and reborn.
Rating:
Summary: In the smallest list of the greatest films of all time
Review: Open City is generally considered to be in the top ten films of all time in terms of historical cinematic importance, stylistic achievement, and emotional power. It established the modern film, using available light, actual settings and a mix of theatrical and non-theatrical actors. Its musical score is breathtaking. It remains the first modern film, the first Italian neo-realist film, and possibly the most powerful film ever made. I have seen it three times in a theatre. Each time, virtually the entire audience was overwhelmed, sobbing uncontrolably at the end of the picture. There has been so much written about this picture, I will only mention a few details. It was shot in Rome using captured German newsreal film as the Nazis left town. (Which is the reason the film quality bounces around as the differing film stocks were used.) When Ingrid Bergman saw the picture, she fell in love with the director she had never met, left her husband, flew to Italy, and married Rossellini. There are too many great scenes to list. Let me just say that the near-final scene when the little priest damns the German officer and then apologizes to God is, for me, the single greatest moment in film. Open City should be seen and owned by anyone interested in the movies.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant, But Slightly Dated
Review: Photographed on scraps of film abandoned by German forces as they retreated from Rome toward the end of World War II, Roberto Rossellini's OPEN CITY was immediately hailed as a masterpiece of realism when it hit screens around the world in the late 1940s. Seen within the context of its time and with reference to the circumstances under which it was made, OPEN CITY is a staggering accomplishment; even so, by modern standards, it feels visually static and slightly contrived. The great strength of the film is in the direct way Rossellini tells his story of Italian resistance fighters trying to dodge capture by the Nazis in occupied Rome--and in the performances of Anna Magnani and Aldo Fabrizi as two Italians who become increasingly caught up in resistance activities. But time has not been entirely kind to the film: the story seems somewhat superficial, portions of it lack expected intensity, and some performances seem more than a little artificial, with a lesbian subplot, the famous torture scenes, and Maria Mitchi's performance cases in point. Ironically, these drawbacks actually result from comparisons with later, still more realistic films that followed its example--and it is a great tribute to the strength of the film that it survives the revolution it started as well as it does. (One does well to recall that at the time OPEN CITY was made such slick Hollywood films as MRS. MINIVER were considered the height of realism.) Still, because of these issues I would hesitate to recommend OPEN CITY as an introduction to Italian neo-realism for one not already well-versed in it. But those with an established appreciation of Italian cinema will find it very rewarding.
Rating:
Summary: Gritty anti war flick
Review: Roberto Rossellini allows his loathing for Nazism to cry out in his disturbing anti war flick, "Open City". Filmed in recently liberated Nazi occupied Rome, the movie accounts for the actions of the Italian resistance at the conclusion of WW2.
An important leader of the resistance Giorgio Manfredi played by Marcello Pagliero is being hunted by the Germans. His friend Francesco agrees to hide him at his girlfiend Pina's flat. Pina played by the tempestuous and doe eyed Anna Magnani is aided by Don Pietro, a sympathetic priest played by Aldo Fabrizi.
All is procedding according to plan until the group is betrayed by Manfredi's addicted actress girlfriend. The very attractive Maria Michi is coaxed into informing to the Gestapo. Magnani is shot as is the priest. Pagliero is tortured to death by lecherous German Major Bergmann whose ruthlessness and disdain for compassion makes him a hated symbol of the master race. The patriotic Italians all perish taking their secrets to the grave.
Rossellini's powerful discourse on the horrors borne by the Italian people whose throats were exposed under the jackboots of Nazism stills sends a disquieting message even today.
Rating:
Summary: The Nobleness and Dignity of the Victims
Review: Roberto RosselliniÕs classic 1945 movie masterpiece, Open City, was a sad story with a very sad ending, since the film's chief characters, Pina, Giorgio Manfredi, and Don Pietro Pellegrini all die in the film. The message I got from the film is that no matter how terribly innocent and courageous people suffer at the hands of their cruel and inhuman captors, good ultimately triumphs over evil. It also gave me a taste of Nazi cruelty and vividly showed the nobleness and dignity of those resistance fighters who absolutely refused to reveal the identity of their comrades fearing that they would suffer the same fate as them.
Rating:
Summary: Five stars for the film - Four stars for the DVD
Review: This is an awesomely powerful film - great movie! This is a must-see film for all movie fans worldwide. I loved the characters! They are so memorable - wonderful characters!
There are so many subtleties in this film, such as the "inverted" sexuality of the evil Nazi leaders, the cooperation of the Catholic clergy and the Communist rebels, the "good wife" vs her wanna-be starlet younger sister, the future of Italy expressed by the children at the end of the film, etc that it takes several viewings to absorb it all, but the ride is worth it.
The DVD is mastered at somewhat less than perfect standards however and the subtitling is part of the film and not overlaid and clearer in image unfortunately. There are no extras on the DVD, nor is there an audio-commentary track which would have been a wonderful addition! (Maybe next time).
Still, this is a brilliant film and I highly recommend it!!!
Rating:
Summary: Another indisputable classic
Review: Very simply: It must be seen to be appreciated; that's it in 7 words. YOu can read up on it all you want, but it must be seen, period. Be forewarned, though, that it's not exactly a cheerful flick (that's putting it mildly!). Seriously, this wasn't made to instill good feelings, but express rage. And it works beautifully.
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