Open City
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Movie Reviews of Open City
Movie Review: great film ruined by bad transfer
Summary: 2 Stars
I agree with most of reviewer here that Roberto Rossellini's Open City is a great film - ground-breaking work that is yet entertaining in the most simple way. However, it appears that most of the reviewers refer to the VHS version. I bought this DVD the moment I heard that it was on DVD, and am much disappointed. Overall transfer is substandard, subtitles miss a bulk of dialogues, and most of all, there is at least one missing shot that I noticed in this transfer (It is the famous shot in which the resistant is being tortured by blowtorch). I had VHS released by Connoisseur, which is superior to this DVD on every level. So buy VHS or better yet tell Image to restore this gem.
Movie Review: mediocre piece of realist propaganda
Summary: 2 Stars
A mediocre piece of realist propaganda, now elevated to the ranks of "film greats" because of its conformity to certain techniques of the era, this film has nothing to offer except rigid, cliched "villains" (the Germans) and the "noble born oppressed" (Italians). It is sentimentalizing at its worse, I particularly found the portrayal of the German commander weak, as he looked like a gerbil, and did not seem very apt or capable. There is very little in the way of story and the expected brutality of the Germans is what takes up the greater part of the screen time, how predictable.Movie Review: DO NOT get the Image DVD
Summary: 1 Stars
Terrible transfer and entire passages of dialogue untranslated. The case indicates that it was taken from a "pristine" 35mm print of the film. NOT TRUE, unless pristine means barely watchable. I would wait and hope Criterion releases it.Movie Review: Wait for Criterion/Eclipse edition coming in 2010
Summary: 1 Stars
If you want a better quality version of this film, wait a couple of months. Criterion's Eclipse division will be releasing it as part of a set called "Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy" with "Paisa" and "Germany - Year Zero".