Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy

Roberto Rossellini was a journeyman director working within Mussolini's Italian movie industry who birthed the cinematic neo-realist movement with a trio of films shot amidst the rubble and chaos at the end of World War II. Rome Open City (1945), Rossellini's stripped-down thriller depicting members of the partisan underground fighting against the Nazi occupiers and their Fascist collaborators, featured several professional actors (including Anna Magnani in her breakthrough performance) working within a somewhat melodramatic story, but the production conditions—with the city almost in ruins and the need to scrounge film from newsreels—lend a realist atmosphere to the proceedings. Rossellini's follow-up, Paisan (1946), comprised of six vignettes portraying Italy in the final days of the war, is closer to the neo-realist ideal—with non-actors, vivid location shooting, and life stories captured through little moments depicting survival, desperation, generosity, and sacrifice. Germany Year Zero (1947) moves to Berlin for a devastating portrait of post–World War II Germany, where an impoverished 12-year-old boy falls under the sway of an unreformed Nazi whose propagandistic teachings have devastating consequences. Criterion's three-disc set is nicely mastered from fine-grain 35mm prints that look significantly better than any previous home-video release. DVD extras include introductions to all three films by Rossellini (circa 1963), audio commentary on Rome Open City by film scholar Peter Bondanella, the documentaries “Roberto Rossellini” (2001) and “Once Upon a Time … Rome Open City” (2006), new and archival interviews, visual essays, and a booklet for each film. An essential set for cinema history collections, this is highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (S. Axmaker)[Blu-ray Review—July 11, 2017—Criterion, 3 discs, 302 min., in German w/English subtitles, not rated, Blu-ray: $99.95—Making their domestic debuts on Blu-ray, 1945's Rome Open City, 1946's Paisan, and 1948's Germany Year Zero all feature great transfers and uncompressed monaural soundtracks. Extras on Germany Year Zero include a 2001 documentary on director Roberto Rossellini (66 min.), “Letters from the Front” with Carlo Lizzani from the 1987 Tutto Rossellini conference (24 min.), interviews with scholar Adriano Aprà (13 min.) and filmmakers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani (8 min.), a 1963 introduction by Rossellini (4 min.), the Italian-release opening credits and voice-over prologue (3 min.), and the 2009 illustrated essay “Roberto and Roswitha” on Rossellini and Roswitha Schmidt. Extras on Rome Open City include audio commentary by film scholar Peter Bondanella, the 2006 “making-of” documentary “Once Upon a Time...” (53 min.), the 2009 video essay “Rossellini and the City” (26 min.), interviews with Aprà (13 min.) and critic and Rossellini friend Father Virgilio Fantuzzi (6 min.), and an introduction by Rossellini (4 min.). Extras on Paisan include the 2009 video essay “Into the Future” (31 min.), another interview with Aprà (17 min.), excerpts from 1970 discussions between Rossellini and faculty and students at Rice University (14 min.), and an introduction by Rossellini (3 min.). Also included is a booklet featuring essays by critics James Quandt, Irene Bignardi, Colin MacCabe, and Jonathan Rosenbaum. Bottom line: Rossellini's landmark trilogy sparkles on Blu-ray.]