Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy

Roberto Rossellini is one of the most influential filmmakers of all time. And it was with his trilogy of films made during and after World War II-Rome Open City, Paisan, and Germany Year Zero-that he left his first transformative mark on cinema. With their stripped-down aesthetic, largely nonprofessional casts, and unorthodox approaches to storytelling, these intensely emotional works were international sensations and came to define the neorealist movement. Shot in battle-ravaged Italy and Germany, these three films are some of our most lasting, humane documents of devastated postwar Europe, containing universal images of both tragedy and hope.