Open City

In its time, OPEN CITY was an innovative fusion of documentary and melodrama. Filmed on the streets, without the use of sound recorders (dialogue was dubbed in later), during the months just after the Allies liberated Italy from the grip of Fascism, the film has the appearance of a documentary. The actors, except for Anna Magnani (then a sometime dance-hall girl), were all nonprofessionals. The backgrounds were not constructions on a Cinecitta lot, but actual apartments, shops, and streets--a change for those used to sets and costumes. Set in Rome, 1943-44, the story brings together two enemy forces--the Communists and the Catholics--and unites them in the fight fo...