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.
Ratings
Curator score: 9.4/10
IMDb: 8.0/10
Letterboxd: 4.18/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
TMDB: 8.0/10
Director
Roberto Rossellini
Production
Excelsa Film
Cast
Aldo Fabrizi, Marcello Pagliero, Harry Feist, Anna Magnani, Maria Michi, Francesco Grandjacquet, Vito Annichiarico, Ákos Tolnay, Joop van Hulzen, Carla Rovere, Giovanna Galletti, Nando Bruno, Eduardo Passarelli, Carlo Sindici, Turi Pandolfini, Amalia Pellegrini, Alberto Tavazzi
Where to watch
Max, Artiflix
Curator Review
Verdict
A foundational neorealist war drama with real urgency, moral clarity, and devastating emotional force. Its rough edges are part of the power: the film feels immediate, lived-in, and historically charged rather than polished or sentimental.
Best for
viewers interested in World War II resistance stories
fans of Italian neorealism and postwar cinema
people who prefer raw, socially grounded drama over spectacle
viewers looking for historically significant classics
Skip if
you want glossy production values or modern pacing
you prefer action-driven war films
you are looking for light entertainment or clean emotional distance
Overview
Rome, Open City is one of those films that seems to arrive from inside history rather than merely depict it. Shot in the aftermath of occupation, it carries the exhaustion, fear, and anger of a city still trying to breathe. The result is not just a war film, but a record of survival and resistance that feels immediate even now.
Worth noting
Rossellini’s approach is stark, unsentimental, and deeply humane. The performances and visual roughness only intensify the sense that these people are trapped in a world where every choice has moral weight. It can feel severe, but that severity is the point: the film refuses comfort in favor of truth.
Bottom line
What lingers most is its emotional directness. It is furious about fascism, compassionate toward ordinary people, and unafraid of pain. For viewers open to classic cinema that still feels alive, this is essential viewing.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Michael Casey (4★) · 1431 likes
Remember those old movies? The ones where a couple drives down the road, only they aren’t driving, they’re sitting in a car on some studio lot. And that’s not a road behind them; it’s a rear projection of road. Looks fake doesn’t it?
Did this fakery bother audiences back then? Not in the slightest. Back in the 1920s, ’30s and even into the ’40s, movies were about beautiful people living in fabulous mid-city apartments, dressing glamorously, saying the right thing… more
sarah (4.5★) · 852 likes
Ingrid Bergman cited this film often in her interviews and autobiography. It was her introduction to Rossellini's work, and it eventually became the spark that led her to write the Italian director a letter that would change her entire career. For Ingrid, she had never seen a film so visceral, so realistic, so lacking in all the typical Hollywood embellishments. It is kind of astonishing that—73 years later— I am having the same reaction.
Through modern eyes, I do see… more
reibureibu (4★) · 433 likes
Though remembered as an ally of the Axis during WWII, what isn't as well known is the German occupation of Italy during the tail end of the war. This was a time when Italy had already been invaded and defeated by Allied forces, agreeing to a peace which led to former-ally Germany to invade in-turn and deport Italians to concentration camps for what they saw as a betrayal.
I say this because I did not know this going in. It's… more
CinePhil (4.5★) · 399 likes
it’s called neorealism because it’s full of real ones (shoutout to all my antifascists ✊🏻)
Brendan Michaels · 338 likes
“It's not hard to die well. The hard thing is to live well.”
1997 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 56m · PG-13 · Curator 9.1/10 (1.5M ratings) · Where to watch: Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
A different tonal approach, but still centered on wartime persecution, family bonds, and the emotional stakes of survival.
Topics
Italian neorealism, World War II, resistance, occupation, anti-fascist, gritty drama, historical classic, black-and-white, humanist cinema, wartime realism