#497: Rome Open City

February 7, 2010

#497: Rome Open City

1945, 100 minutes, Black and White, 1.37:1

Language: German and Italian

Directed by Roberto Rossellini

[A note on spoilers: This post contains ‘em. But, they will only be spoilers for someone coming into this film completely cold, with no foreknowledge of its contents whatsoever. Most of what I mentioned had already been revealed to me by other sources, such as essays and reviews, where it was pretty much accepted that these key scenes are already common knowledge.]

Oh, my! Rome Open City was everything I had hoped for and more. In waiting for this movie to be released by the Criterion Collection, patience has indeed paid off.

I pulled out my old Image Entertainment copy of the movie for the sake of comparison. Yes, Criterion did a wonderful job in restoring this film. The difference between the two versions is the same as the difference between shooting a bullet and throwing one. I do find it ironic that the cover for the Image Entertainment disc says, “This version is mastered from a pristine 35mm archive print.” Even if it was the best available at the time, it has now been rendered more than obsolete.

I didn’t watch the whole movie for comparison, but looked at the beginning, the torture scene, and Pina’s death. In all of them, the image was cleaner, better contrasted, and more consistent in the Criterion version, as expected.

For the opening segment, the Image Entertainment version did not have the same opening credits, even discarding the opening panoramic shot of Rome. It was evident right away that the subtitles had been vastly improved by Criterion as well. In the Image Entertainment version, the subtitles were sparse, leaving much of the dialog untranslated. The Criterion subtitles were more thorough and very well done. I did like, however, in the Image Entertainment version how the subtitles used quotation marks and italics to show some of the expression and emphasis of the dialogue. I don’t think anything was lost in the Criterion version, but I just got a kick out of seeing it in the older version. I’m going to be a little nitpicky here: One thing I don’t like about Criterion subtitles is the font. I would think that they could superimpose a font with smooth outlines rather than jagged outlines. It doesn’t take away from the subtitles; I simply think it would be more aesthetically pleasing to see a cleaner font.

One thing that kept me from watching the Image Entertainment copy for all these years was that I had heard part of the torture scene had been edited out. I can’t stand the thought of seeing a movie that had been edited from its original presentation, even if only for a second, especially if it was done for reasons of censorship. If I couldn’t see the whole thing, I didn’t want to see any of it. The Image Entertainment copy was indeed missing some frames during the torture scene, which were replaced in the Criterion version I was happy to see.

The last scene I compared was when Pina was killed. In the Image Entertainment version, this scene did have more of the documentary feel and appearance I had read so much about than in the Criterion version. It was rough around the edges and much starker and grainier. The Criterion version has a more cinematic appearance and feel to it.

Yes, the restoration is marvelous!

As for the film itself, I was completely taken in by it. I am very happy to have finally seen it in all its glory. It was definitely worth the wait. It has lived up to its reputation, as far as I’m concerned, was everything I expected, and then some.

The movie delivered on its stark portrayal of Roman life during Nazi occupation. I expected a great drama, and that’s what I got. I had been exposed to both Anna Magnani and Aldo Fabrizi before and thought their performances in the movie were deserving of the praise given them. The only other Criterion movie I have starring Magnani is Mamma Roma. It’s been at least five years since I’ve seen it and, after watching her in Rome Open City, I look forward to watching it again some time soon.

Now, there were a couple of things I didn’t expect in the movie, and was pleasantly surprised to discover them as I watched it. The humor contained in it was a nice touch. The subject matter of the movie is indeed somber. Humor was almost necessary just to allow an opportunity to breath through the gravity of the conditions depicted. It was there to provide moments of levity, though not necessarily to evoke a laugh. I particularly liked the expressions that ran across Don Pietro’s face in the statue shop as he searched for an acceptable arrangement between the saint and the nude figure.

What struck me most was the religiousness of the film. It was something that hadn’t been discussed much in any of the readings I did before watching the film, and didn’t expect it to be so prevalent. To me, it was a welcome surprise. I had read so much about the film that, really, I thought it had all been discussed and that there would be nothing for me to discover on my own.

The opening shot is a cityscape of Rome with St. Peter’s Basilica dominating the vista. I took it only to be an establishing shot. The film goes full circle to end with a similar shot (learning from one of the supplements that it is from an altogether different direction), however with greater meaning. In the first shot, St. Peter’s seems only to be an integral part of the cityscape. In the closing shot, the majestic dome seems the primary focal point. There is certainly a more prominent significance of the last shot than the first time it was displayed. I see the children walking in the foreground and the prominence of the basilica in the background as a sign of hope. The most overt religious representation was Don Pietro scooping up the lifeless Pina up in his arms and cradling her in a manner reminiscent of a pietà. (In fact, this analogy was made distinctly clear in two of the supplements showing the image from the film and Michelangelo’s Pietà in comparison.)

To see such a venerable film now, after hearing and knowing so much about it beforehand, is still exciting. I had read so much about it, and waited for it so long, that watching it for the first time I was almost giddy, thinking to myself, almost in disbelief, I can’t believe I’m finally seeing it. I especially thought so during the iconic scene where Pina is gunned down in the street. It was similar to the feeling I had when, after years of reading about and seeing pictures and replicas of Michelangelo’s The David, to finally see it with my own eyes was incredible. I had to replay the scene several times just to absorb it as much as possible.

Seeing the movie, finally, also had a little extra special meaning of a personal nature for me. I was fortunate enough to make three visits to Italy with the U.S. Army veterans who fought through the Apennine Mountains during World War II. In addition to learning a great deal more about the war, particularly in the Italian setting, than I could ever have hoped to from books and movies, I also made friends with some of the local people. Yes, we were there primarily to see things from the perspective from the American veterans, but we also became more curious about the Italian perspective as our friendships grew. The plight of the Italian citizens was overshadowed by the presence of the American soldiers and their German enemies, so it took some time for the importance of their role to sink in.

The Old Man and I wanted to learn more and made a special trip, just the two of us, to a small town nestled in the hills not too far from Bologna specifically to hear their accounts of living under German occupation. The Old Man was involved in a key battle that broke the German defenses and liberated this village. After that battle in February 1945, the Old Man and the rest of his regiment moved north without ever setting foot in this town. It was sixty years later before he really got to learn about things from their vantage point. We were there for several days and the people we met were more than enthusiastic to share their stories with us. We sat down on a sunny day, cooled by the breezes in the shade, with a host of people who welcomed us as family. Six or seven people had memories of the war to recount to us. Living a rural existence, they were no strangers to hard work and the rigors of life. Some of them appeared to be quite ancient and others appeared surprisingly youthful. Most of them were children in 1945 and had to take on a lot of the farming duties as all the men in their prime had either been conscripted or fled to fight in the resistance. A couple of them had been young men at the time and did indeed take a direct role in the resistance efforts. One of them was the very guide who led the way for the Old Man’s company during the key battle that liberated the town; it was here, six decades later, that they met each other for the first time.

So, watching the movie evoked fond recollections of the fine and generous Italian people I was so fortunate to have befriended on my journeys to that beautiful country. In Rome Open City, Marcello and his young friends made me think of how many of the people I met were the same age during the war. Romoletto, with his missing leg, especially, made me think of the elderly Italian gentleman who told the story of how his hand, which still bears a distinct deformity, had been injured by a stray shell that hit the ox cart he and his uncle were tending during the war. Francesco and Manfredi made me think of the eldest of our friends who risked their lives join the partisans, assisting the Allies, and fighting against the Germans.

That little personal insight went two ways. To personally know people who lived under similar circumstances, though in a rural setting, brought the events depicted in the move more to life; there is a greater sense of the reality Rossellini projected onto the screen. And, to see the images of the movie, made the personal accounts I heard seem more real, more than just stories shared with me over some carafes of homemade (and wonderful) wine. I cannot recall the person it was who recommended Rome Open City to me when I mentioned my reasons for going to Italy, but whoever it had been was more right than I had imagined. Again, I am so very pleased to have seen the film, and doubly so that I was able to see such a beautiful rendering as the Criterion Collection is capable of producing. I have no doubt that I will revisit this film many times in the years to come, and that I will enjoy it each and every time I do.

Along with watching the movie, I also took in all of the supplemental features on the disc as well as the written essays included in the package. They all served to enhance my understanding and enjoyment of the film, from the making of it to the historical context, the actors, the settings, and the characters, just to scratch the surface.

The audio commentary was nicely done. I had prejudiced myself to find fault with it because of the fact that it was recorded in 1995, fifteen years ago! I had wanted for it to be something new and fresh to go along with the new restoration. My misgivings quickly evaporated, though, when I realized that the commentary would not have been rendered irrelevant in those relatively few years. The only thing that could have been added to it would have been to make reference to the wonder of the restored image, but that would just be redundant with all that’s already been commented on about that aspect of this release.

The commentary was very educational and insightful. Without it, there are some things I likely would have missed. One thing that, to me, demonstrates a well-done story is to take something complex and make it appear simple. When all of the characters are introduced and their paths cross, the commentary explained how these complex interrelations between the activists, communists, clergy, women, children, occupiers, et al., were embodied within the individual actors to represent the different factions. There are other things, too, like the significance of Romoletto’s name, the portrayal of the Germans equating sexual deviance with evil, and oh so much more. There are many occasions when audio commentaries aren’t worth the time, but for this movie it most certainly is. If I do watch a movie with the commentary at all, it is usually only once. This is one that I believe would be worth watching multiple times.

The supplemental feature, “Rossellini and the City,” is a visual essay discussing the urban settings of all three films in the trilogy. It made me more eager to watch the others.

Noting the prevalence of religion in the film, I was very appreciative of the interview with Father Virgilio Fantuzzi. It gave some good insight into Rossellini’s beliefs, or stated lack of them, and his use of religion in his films. When Pina approached Don Pietro for confession, he had to put her off because he had an urgent mission to run for the resistance efforts. I thought it odd for him to do so, but the significance of his procrastination was made even clearer in this section. To Catholic Italian viewers it would have been ghastly that Pina died on the day of her wedding without the Sacrament of Confession having been ministered. It also points out other nuances, such as Don Pietro’s acceptance of Pina’s premarital pregnancy, and how the Germans cowered away from Don Pietro when he was cursing them, among others.

About the only thing missing from the disc would be a demonstration of the restoration process to fully illustrate just how magnificent it is. Criterion has done it with other titles, such as Gimme Shelter, so maybe they thought it was redundant to do so. But, I believe that the significance of this release is so much greater than any other I can think of that it would have been worthwhile to include it here too. I did get an adequate taste of how incredible this restoration is by comparing it to the old DVD I already had, but it would have been less cumbersome and more entertaining to have it demonstrated in the material on the disc. I am not complaining, but I do suppose I am being greedy.

There are a couple of other features, such as an introduction by Roberto Rossellini, that I neglected to mention, so this disc of Rome Open City is a veritable treasure trove of information and entertainment. It is well worth the price of admission! And the days spent absorbing all of it were worthwhile. This disc alone is now one of the more cherished in my collection, and I can’t wait to get to the other two.

As a side note, I want to mention a book that had been recommended to me, and I read, during my research in Italy with the Old Man. I had forgotten about until I watched Rome Open City, when I was quickly reminded of it. Written by John Steinbeck and titled The Moon is Down, it was published during World War II and tells of life in an unnamed place that is occupied by enemy military forces. The book was written as a way to motivate people living under such conditions to cope and resist. It was translated into several languages and smuggled into many occupied European countries during the war. I remember someone telling me that in some countries being caught in possession of a copy of this book was punishable by death. I bought copies of it in both Italian and English. I mention it because I think someone who really enjoyed Rome Open City, especially for the historical events it portrayed, would likely also enjoy this little book.