Roberto Rossellini's drama, shot just after the liberation of Italy, tells of life in Rome under occupation. Resistance leader Marcello Pagliero is pursued by Henry Feist, a German intelligence officer who wants the name of others in the underground movement. Pagliero enlists the help of sympathetic priest Aldo Fabrizi to pass on funds to the fighters in case he is captured but is accidentally betrayed by a former lover. Shot using salvaged scraps of film, the uneven look and lighting gives the drama of Rome, Open City a documentary feel.
Rome, Open City is a Film programme that first aired in 1945 and has been classified a 15 certificate.
