list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Open City on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Open_City/25579/default.aspx Title: Open City
Year: 1945
Director: Roberto Rossellini
Plot: Roberto Rossellini's Roma, Città Aperta (known in English as Open City) was one of the landmark films of the 1940s on several levels. Aesthetically, it was one of the first major works of Italian neorealist filmmaking and perhaps the single most influential example of the style. Historically, it was among the first postwar European films to gain a significant audience in the United States, opening the door for a greater appreciation of international filmmaking in America. And politically, it was a work of tremendous bravery. The screenplay was written by Roberto Rossellini in association with Federico Fellini and Sergio Amidei while Rome was still occupied by German forces in 1943-44. Rossellini began filming in secret, using scavenged film stock without sound equipment, shortly before the city was liberated in June of 1944. Several key members of his creative team had been active in the Italian resistance movement. With its rough, documentary-style look, multi-layered narrative, and a cast that mixed amateurs with actors who didn't look like film stars, Roma, Città Aperta captured the harsh and unforgiving textures of real life as few movies of its time had dared. It set the pace for Italian Neorealism as an influential postwar film style that combined outdoor light and location shooting with non-actors, a focus on simple stories of everyday life, and a concern for the poor and for social problems. Roma, Città Aperta shows the lives of a group of people living in Rome during the Nazi occupation, after the Germans had declared it an "open city." Anna Magnani plays a woman in love with a member of a resistance group; in helping him, she risks not only her own life, but also that of her unborn child. Aldo Fabrizi plays a priest who aids the anti-Nazi cause and pays dearly for his activism. Marcello Pagliero is an outspoken communist who runs afoul of the Nazis. And Harry Feist plays a German officer who has taken an Italian lover, but whose affection for Romans does not run especially deep. While Roma, Città Aperta shows flashes of the melodramatic sentimentality that would mark much of Rossellini's later work, it still rings true as a chronicle of a city under siege and as the genesis of a powerful new film style whose influences include such later filmmakers, among many others, as John Cassavetes, Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, and Spike Lee. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 6
Number of Lists: 11
Number of blog posts: 5
Number of discussion threads: 1
SpoutRating: 4
]]>Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:58:06 GMTOpen City1945Roberto Rossellini<a href="/players/P___109008/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Roberto Rossellini</a>'s Roma, Città Aperta (known in English as Open City) was one of the landmark films of the 1940s on several levels. Aesthetically, it was one of the first major works of Italian neorealist filmmaking and perhaps the single most influential example of the style. Historically, it was among the first postwar European films to gain a significant audience in the United States, opening the door for a greater appreciation of international filmmaking in America. And politically, it was a work of tremendous bravery. The screenplay was written by <a href="/players/P___109008/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Roberto Rossellini</a> in association with <a href="/players/P____89547/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Federico Fellini</a> and <a href="/players/P___168816/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Sergio Amidei</a> while Rome was still occupied by German forces in 1943-44. Rossellini began filming in secret, using scavenged film stock without sound equipment, shortly before the city was liberated in June of 1944. Several key members of his creative team had been active in the Italian resistance movement. With its rough, documentary-style look, multi-layered narrative, and a cast that mixed amateurs with actors who didn't look like film stars, Roma, Città Aperta captured the harsh and unforgiving textures of real life as few movies of its time had dared. It set the pace for Italian Neorealism as an influential postwar film style that combined outdoor light and location shooting with non-actors, a focus on simple stories of everyday life, and a concern for the poor and for social problems. Roma, Città Aperta shows the lives of a group of people living in Rome during the Nazi occupation, after the Germans had declared it an "open city." <a href="/players/P___100751/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Anna Magnani</a> plays a woman in love with a member of a resistance group; in helping him, she risks not only her own life, but also that of her unborn child. <a href="/players/P____22447/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Aldo Fabrizi</a> plays a priest who aids the anti-Nazi cause and pays dearly for his activism. <a href="/players/P___105379/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Marcello Pagliero</a> is an outspoken communist who runs afoul of the Nazis. And Harry Feist plays a German officer who has taken an Italian lover, but whose affection for Romans does not run especially deep. While Roma, Città Aperta shows flashes of the melodramatic sentimentality that would mark much of Rossellini's later work, it still rings true as a chronicle of a city under siege and as the genesis of a powerful new film style whose influences include such later filmmakers, among many others, as <a href="/players/P____84410/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>John Cassavetes</a>, <a href="/players/P___110533/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Martin Scorsese</a>, <a href="/players/P____79456/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Robert Altman</a>, and <a href="/players/P____99175/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Spike Lee</a>. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide6Taggedy Taggged (6-10)11514http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t00274goctl.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Open_City/25579/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/5/7/28293.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 5/7/2008 11:01:04 AM
Body: Upset that the Third Reich doesn’t appear in either this summer’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull or Hellboy II: The Golden Army? Of course you are. Nazis have featured in many great Hollywood films, from Casablanca to Schindler’s List. They’ve been the focus of one of the best documentaries of all time (Triumph of the Will). They show up in the best musicals (The Sound of Music), the best action films (Raiders of the Lost Ark), the best science fiction films (Star Wars, sort of), the best comedies (The Great Dictator, sort of), the best dramas (Judgment at Nuremburg), the best foreign films (Rome, Open City) and even the best animated shorts (Der Fueher’s Face). In fact, without the Nazis, cinema might not have had so many great war films, POW films or other kinds of films necessitating a personification of evil. Of course, like many others I would wish for them to have never existed, because millions of lives are more important than any number of classic movies. But the Nazis did happen, and they continue to populate cinema for better or worse. We all know about the latest product of Hollywood’s Nazi fetish, Valkyrie, and we’ve seen a ridiculous trailer for a new Russian Hitler farce titled Hitler Kaput!, which shouldn’t be confused with Germany’s recently announced Hitler comedy Mein Kampf, based on a play by George Tabori (I Confess). And now, because we still need Nazi sci-fi, there’s Iron Sky, for which a teaser trailer (see above) has just been released. The movie, which would be better off titled Nazis in Space (or Space Nazis), is an old-fashioned sci-fi film scripted by popular Finnish author Johanna Sinisalo. Its premise involves a secret history in which the Nazis escaped to the dark side of The Moon in 1945. Now it is 2018 and time for the Nazis to return to Earth, Independence Day stylee. Iron Sky comes to us from the makers of the internet-released Finnish feature Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning (the seventh in a series), yet it will be distributed to theaters, perhaps because cinema loves Nazis. Still in the works and without an expected date of completion, Iron Sky will be looking for financing at Cannes this month (the film’s budget = $5 million). Meanwhile, the filmmakers are also looking to involve thousands of internerd helpers through some kind of social networking-type of web community called Wreck A Movie, where apparently they’re accepting suggestions and ideas for the movie. For more info check out the film’s website. [via Aint It Cool News] Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Wed, 07 May 2008 15:01:04 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com5/7/2008 11:01:04 AM Upset that the Third Reich doesn’t appear in either this summer’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull or Hellboy II: The Golden Army? Of course you are. Nazis have featured in many great Hollywood films, from Casablanca to Schindler’s List. They’ve been the focus of one of the best documentaries of all time (Triumph of the Will). They show up in the best musicals (The Sound of Music), the best action films (Raiders of the Lost Ark), the best science fiction films (Star Wars, sort of), the best comedies (The Great Dictator, sort of), the best dramas (Judgment at Nuremburg), the best foreign films (Rome, Open City) and even the best animated shorts (Der Fueher’s Face). In fact, without the Nazis, cinema might not have had so many great war films, POW films or other kinds of films necessitating a personification of evil. Of course, like many others I would wish for them to have never existed, because millions of lives are more important than any number of classic movies. But the Nazis did happen, and they continue to populate cinema for better or worse. We all know about the latest product of Hollywood’s Nazi fetish, Valkyrie, and we’ve seen a ridiculous trailer for a new Russian Hitler farce titled Hitler Kaput!, which shouldn’t be confused with Germany’s recently announced Hitler comedy Mein Kampf, based on a play by George Tabori (I Confess). And now, because we still need Nazi sci-fi, there’s Iron Sky, for which a teaser trailer (see above) has just been released. The movie, which would be better off titled Nazis in Space (or Space Nazis), is an old-fashioned sci-fi film scripted by popular Finnish author Johanna Sinisalo. Its premise involves a secret history in which the Nazis escaped to the dark side of The Moon in 1945. Now it is 2018 and time for the Nazis to return to Earth, Independence Day stylee. Iron Sky comes to us from the makers of the internet-released Finnish feature Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning (the seventh in a series), yet it will be distributed to theaters, perhaps because cinema loves Nazis. Still in the works and without an expected date of completion, Iron Sky will be looking for financing at Cannes this month (the film’s budget = $5 million). Meanwhile, the filmmakers are also looking to involve thousands of internerd helpers through some kind of social networking-type of web community called Wreck A Movie, where apparently they’re accepting suggestions and ideas for the movie. For more info check out the film’s website. [via Aint It Cool News] Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/rrotstein/archive/2007/11/21/21909.aspx Post By: rrotstein
Post To: rrotstein Blog
Post Date: 11/21/2007 12:38:09 PM
Body: Tells the story of an unsuccessful uprising against the Nazis in Rome. One of the movie's very great achievements is to show, in its closing moments, in a completely unforced way, how, although the resistance movement is crushed, yet there still remains an objective reason for hope, thereby avoiding defeatism and despair (another brilliant movie which accomplishes the same is "The Organizer"). A moving, devastating, uplifting film.
]]>Wed, 21 Nov 2007 17:38:09 GMTrrotsteinrrotstein Blog11/21/2007 12:38:09 PMTells the story of an unsuccessful uprising against the Nazis in Rome. One of the movie&#39;s very great achievements is to show, in its closing moments, in a completely unforced way, how, although the resistance movement is crushed, yet there still remains an objective reason for hope, thereby avoiding defeatism and despair (another brilliant movie which accomplishes the same is &quot;The Organizer&quot;). A moving, devastating, uplifting film. http://www.spout.com/blogs/jlgdrd/archive/2007/7/2/12874.aspx Post By: jlgdrd
Post To: Wicked Fun
Post Date: 7/2/2007 5:22:00 PM
Body: There's a lot to like about Prey for Rock and Roll and a lot to set your teeth on edge. I guess I could never completely pan a film featuring out-and-proud dykes in an all-woman punk band called Clamdandy.That's one of the reasons why I feel conflicted reviewing queer-themed films. When I start to shift into critical mode, another part of me says, "Remember how it used to be? Remember when movies like this were unimaginable? When film lesbians were cartoony and used for a cheap laugh? Remember Open City and Notorious?"I'm thrilled that a movie like Prey for Rock and Roll comes along with a reasonably intelligent (though overly glib) script and positive role models. It never hints that Jacki or the other band members need men to fix or complete them, quite the reverse in fact. It doesn't shrink from exposing our heroines at less than flattering moments. Yet there seems to be some ambivalence, a discrepancy between the film's ideology and its plot. For all its enlightenment it still panders to breeder preconceptions, tries to put a sympathetic spin on queer attraction so they can "relate."Prey for Rock and Roll is narrated by Jacki (Gina Gershon), lead singer and manager of Clamdandy. Ever since she was 12 years old and saw Tina Turner at the Hollywood Bowl, she's dreamed of being a rock and roll star. Jacki seems loosely based on Patti Smith; she certainly sings like her and does so with panache. The songs are energetic but the lyrics feel generic. They lack a lot of the invention and intense imagery that make for great rock and roll.We watch as the four rehearse, chill, bitch, piss, vomit, and suffer the ordeals that men throw their way. We learn that Sally (Shelly Cole) and Jacki have both been the victims of male sex-abuse. Animal (Marc Blucas), Sally's older brother, is a sweet, caring, non-confrontational guy. Jacki keeps him at a safe distance because clearly, males are bad news. It's easy to understand why they take exception to men. They've been repeatedly subjected to degrading treatment by troglodytes.Many guys think that testicles entitle them to be domineering, aggressive, toxic pricks. Now, of course, you don't have to be raped to understand this. You don't even have to be female. What bothers me is this very old and still prevalent presumption that queer folks must be damaged goods, that our sexuality must be an expression of rage, despair, or trauma. None of the women in Prey for Rock and Roll could have possibly been born gay. No. They must have been fondled or groped or attacked. Their orientation must be an act of anarchy against the male power structure. The women of Clamdandy play to appropriate male power. They are not alienated because they are dykes; they are dykes because they're alienated. They call each other "dude," "man," and "guys," consistently dealing in masculine pronouns. "Faith is a bass playing god by night." Their comportment is intentionally male and they express no worries about their femininity. When Jacki's girlfriend chides her for negligence, Jacki waits until she leaves before ironically commenting, "Chicks."In a scene designed to telegraph catastrophe, Nick suggestively twirls a bowling pin at Tracy, chanting that it is "all about the one-eyed snake" or some such observation. Clearly, in this movie it is not all about the penis (and you can make a damn good case for that) but if sex doesn't need to be cock-centered and if women don't need male intervention to thrive and excel, then what are Jacki and her girlfriend doing with a penis-shaped vibrator? And after Sally's attack, why does Jacki seek Animal's help? Why not get Tracy and Faith (Lori Petty) or go to a bar and enlist confederates?Animal was imprisoned for killing his stepfather when he found him molesting Sally. She is not ungrateful for this, exactly, though she disapproves of his hyper-masculine zeal. Never mind that there are plenty of women, too, who would have grabbed a baseball bat. It is this contradiction in the women's attitude that I find so troubling. In some ways, Prey for Rock and Roll lacks the courage of its convictions. If machismo is so repugnant, why do the women cleave to it so fiercely? And if they don't need men to sustain masculine energy, why do they still resort to male physicality? To phallic superiority? This may be an intrinsic flaw with stories shaped to didactic imperative. They can feel over-simplified or disingenuous. Prey for Rock and Roll will probably remind you how far the cinema has come in its depiction of queer women - or just maybe how far it still has to go.
]]>Mon, 02 Jul 2007 21:22:00 GMTjlgdrdWicked Fun7/2/2007 5:22:00 PMThere's a lot to like about Prey for Rock and Roll and a lot to set your teeth on edge. I guess I could never completely pan a film featuring out-and-proud dykes in an all-woman punk band called Clamdandy.That's one of the reasons why I feel conflicted reviewing queer-themed films. When I start to shift into critical mode, another part of me says, "Remember how it used to be? Remember when movies like this were unimaginable? When film lesbians were cartoony and used for a cheap laugh? Remember Open City and Notorious?"I'm thrilled that a movie like Prey for Rock and Roll comes along with a reasonably intelligent (though overly glib) script and positive role models. It never hints that Jacki or the other band members need men to fix or complete them, quite the reverse in fact. It doesn't shrink from exposing our heroines at less than flattering moments. Yet there seems to be some ambivalence, a discrepancy between the film's ideology and its plot. For all its enlightenment it still panders to breeder preconceptions, tries to put a sympathetic spin on queer attraction so they can "relate."Prey for Rock and Roll is narrated by Jacki (Gina Gershon), lead singer and manager of Clamdandy. Ever since she was 12 years old and saw Tina Turner at the Hollywood Bowl, she's dreamed of being a rock and roll star. Jacki seems loosely based on Patti Smith; she certainly sings like her and does so with panache. The songs are energetic but the lyrics feel generic. They lack a lot of the invention and intense imagery that make for great rock and roll.We watch as the four rehearse, chill, bitch, piss, vomit, and suffer the ordeals that men throw their way. We learn that Sally (Shelly Cole) and Jacki have both been the victims of male sex-abuse. Animal (Marc Blucas), Sally's older brother, is a sweet, caring, non-confrontational guy. Jacki keeps him at a safe distance because clearly, males are bad news. It's easy to understand why they take exception to men. They've been repeatedly subjected to degrading treatment by troglodytes.Many guys think that testicles entitle them to be domineering, aggressive, toxic pricks. Now, of course, you don't have to be raped to understand this. You don't even have to be female. What bothers me is this very old and still prevalent presumption that queer folks must be damaged goods, that our sexuality must be an expression of rage, despair, or trauma. None of the women in Prey for Rock and Roll could have possibly been born gay. No. They must have been fondled or groped or attacked. Their orientation must be an act of anarchy against the male power structure. The women of Clamdandy play to appropriate male power. They are not alienated because they are dykes; they are dykes because they're alienated. They call each other "dude," "man," and "guys," consistently dealing in masculine pronouns. "Faith is a bass playing god by night." Their comportment is intentionally male and they express no worries about their femininity. When Jacki's girlfriend chides her for negligence, Jacki waits until she leaves before ironically commenting, "Chicks."In a scene designed to telegraph catastrophe, Nick suggestively twirls a bowling pin at Tracy, chanting that it is "all about the one-eyed snake" or some such observation. Clearly, in this movie it is not all about the penis (and you can make a damn good case for that) but if sex doesn't need to be cock-centered and if women don't need male intervention to thrive and excel, then what are Jacki and her girlfriend doing with a penis-shaped vibrator? And after Sally's attack, why does Jacki seek Animal's help? Why not get Tracy and Faith (Lori Petty) or go to a bar and enlist confederates?Animal was imprisoned for killing his stepfather when he found him molesting Sally. She is not ungrateful for this, exactly, though she disapproves of his hyper-masculine zeal. Never mind that there are plenty of women, too, who would have grabbed a baseball bat. It is this contradiction in the women's attitude that I find so troubling. In some ways, Prey for Rock and Roll lacks the courage of its convictions. If machismo is so repugnant, why do the women cleave to it so fiercely? And if they don't need men to sustain masculine energy, why do they still resort to male physicality? To phallic superiority? This may be an intrinsic flaw with stories shaped to didactic imperative. They can feel over-simplified or disingenuous. Prey for Rock and Roll will probably remind you how far the cinema has come in its depiction of queer women - or just maybe how far it still has to go. http://www.spout.com/groups/FilmCouch/Re_FilmCouch_18_Sympathy_for_the_Devil_what_mak/302/8532/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Jymkata
Post To: FilmCouch
Post Date: 5/10/2007 7:22:06 PM
Body: Just jumping in here, but I think the best movie villains are always Nazis. Something about a mixture of dedication to mechanical precision and nonsensical hatred of any perceived differences combined with an almost inhuman capacity for cruelty makes for a terrifying villain. Whether it's the elegant Nazi's in Casablanca and Notorious, or the jackbooted thugs in Raiders of the Lost Ark or Open City, or the satanic monsters in Come and See or Sophie's Choice, the Third Reich always gives me someone worthy of my anxiety and hatred. Oh yeah, and "Lost" rocks! I know some people have given up on the unending mysteries but I love that I have 3 more years of smart writing and great acting. Ben and the Others continue to intrigue me as villains.
]]>Thu, 10 May 2007 23:22:06 GMTJymkataFilmCouch5/10/2007 7:22:06 PMJust jumping in here, but I think the best movie villains are always Nazis. Something about a mixture of dedication to mechanical precision and nonsensical hatred of any perceived differences combined with an almost inhuman capacity for cruelty makes for a terrifying villain. Whether it&#39;s the elegant Nazi&#39;s in Casablanca and Notorious, or the jackbooted thugs in Raiders of the Lost Ark or Open City, or the satanic monsters in Come and See or Sophie&#39;s Choice, the Third Reich always gives me someone worthy of my anxiety and hatred. Oh yeah, and "Lost" rocks! I know some people have given up on the unending mysteries but I love that I have 3 more years of smart writing and great acting. Ben and the Others continue to intrigue me as villains. http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/war/MemberTagFilms.aspxwar
Number of films tagged: 6176

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