Roberto Rossellini

Directing

Roberto Rossellini

Born — Died

1906-05-08 — 1977-06-03

Place of birth

Rome, Italy

Known for

Directing

Credits

74 titles

Roberto Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Rossellini was one of the directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing films such as Roma città aperta (Rome, Open City 1945) to the movement.

Known for

Film credits

2020s · 3 titles

Morceaux de Cannes poster
2.0

We thought we'd seen, read, and heard everything there was to see about the Cannes Film Festival, from the glitz and gossip to the scandals and censorship. And yet, Emmanuel Barnault's "Morceaux de Cannes" (Pieces of Cannes), by this leading expert on Italian and French cinema, convinces us otherwise. The third largest event in the world (after the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup) reveals its secrets only sparingly, as this film attests. The result of passionate research in the INA archives, these 52 minutes, without interviews or voice-over narration, string together rare and sometimes previously unseen footage. Taken together, they tell a surprising, original, and heartwarming story of the Festival. On the beach, on a street corner, in a restaurant, or in the privacy of a hotel room, these forgotten archives summon the greatest filmmakers, actors, and actresses of the last seventy years, from Jean Cocteau to David Lynch, for an anthology of the Festival's history.

Morceaux de Cannes

2021

The Rossellinis poster
6.9

A laid-back journey in search of one of the world’s most fascinating families, observed and examined from within its most intimate relationships, where the truth and depth of a memoir meet the ironic tone of an indie comedy.

The Rossellinis

2021

The Treasure of His Youth: The Photographs of Paolo Di Paolo poster
6.0

The life of the legendary Italian photojournalist Paolo Di Paolo through his photographs, which capture the essence of a fascinating and turbulent Italy, the one inhabited by Anna Magnani and Pier Paolo Pasolini, a country that no longer exists.

The Treasure of His Youth: The Photographs of Paolo Di Paolo

2021

2010s · 4 titles

Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words poster
7.1

A personal and captivating account of the extraordinary life and work of Ingrid Bergman (1915-82), a young Swedish woman who became one of the most celebrated actresses in world cinema.

Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words

2015

The War of the Volcanoes poster
5.0

In 1948, a fan letter arrived for director Roberto Rossellini from Ingrid Bergman, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars; after a meeting in New York, Rossellini invited Bergman to Italy to work on a project. Meanwhile, Anna Magnani, one of Italy’s biggest stars and Rossellini’s longtime lover, was furious. When the Rossellini/Bergman project was announced as a tale set on Stromboli, one of the volcanic Aeolian Islands, Magnani quickly set up her own Aeolian project, financed by Hollywood, to be called Volcano. Italy’s tabloids simply went wild: the prospect of these two great divas battling it out with rival productions was breathlessly followed, especially as it became clear that the Rossellini/Bergman relationship was more than professional. Francesco Patierno has created an engrossing, revealing and highly entertaining chronicle of this cinematic battle royal.

The War of the Volcanoes

2012

Isabella Rossellini - Aus dem Leben eines Schmetterlings poster
2.2

She is one of the icons of our time: Isabella Rossellini, award-winning actress, supermodel, experimental filmmaker, feminist. She was married to Martin Scorsese and was in a relationship with David Lynch for many years. The star talks about successes and fears.

Isabella Rossellini - Aus dem Leben eines Schmetterlings

2010

No artwork available
NR

La Balena di Rossellini origins from one of the most beautiful Roberto Rossellini's dreams, an exemplary project for his autorial path. The film conceived, but never realized, by Rossellini took shape in his notes after a trip to Chile conducted in May of 1971, a trip made to conduct an interview-portrait of Salvador Allende, then actually carried out by the director of "Rome, Open City". October 28, 1971: Rossellini, back from Santiago, Chile, reads a newspaper reports of a beached whale on the Pacific coast near a poor village inhabited by fishermen. From this simple news comes a film script for a fable about wealth and poverty. A film whose shooting Rossellini would have been entrusted to the young student Claudio Bondì, just graduated from the Experimental Center of Cinematography.

La balena di Rossellini

2010

1990s · 6 titles

Birth of a Nation poster
7.0

Jonas Mekas assembles 160 portraits, appearances, and fleeting sketches of underground and independent filmmakers captured between 1955 and 1996. Fast-paced and archival in spirit, the film celebrates the avant-garde as its own “nation of cinema,” a vital community existing outside the dominance of commercial film.

Birth of a Nation

1997

Ingrid Bergman Remembered poster
6.7

Her name conjures up beauty, grace, talent and style. One of the greatest actresses of her time, she is best remembered for a natural and vulnerable persona which was so genuine and alluring. Her cinematic contributions produced such classics as "Casablanca," "Gaslight" and "Anastasia." But Ingrid's story goes deeper than the triumphs of her movie career.

Ingrid Bergman Remembered

1996

Rossellini Through His Own Eyes poster
10.0

Made up almost entirely of archival interviews with Italian film director Roberto Rossellini (with audio interviews playing over various behind-the-scene bits and archival footage) the director recalls his early life, how he got into film, his political beliefs and how they were formed.

Rossellini Through His Own Eyes

1993

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Rossellini, un Prométhée franciscain

1996

No artwork available
7.0

Documentary about the life and works of Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini.

Roberto Rossellini: Il mestiere di uomo

1997

Addo' sta Rossellini? poster
NR

A film about Alfonso, who was the protagonist of the third episode of Paisà (the street urchin who steals the American soldier's shoes). A reflection on neorealism, filmed with Michele Schiavino and Maria Paola Fadda, third special Sony video prize at the Locarno Film Festival.

Addo' sta Rossellini?

1997

1970s · 3 titles

1960s · 2 titles

1950s · 4 titles

Series credits

Behind the camera

Germany, Year Zero poster
7.6

In the ruins of post-WWII Berlin, a twelve-year-old boy is left to his own devices in order to help provide for his family.

Germany, Year Zero

1948

Germany, Year Zero poster
7.6

In the ruins of post-WWII Berlin, a twelve-year-old boy is left to his own devices in order to help provide for his family.

Germany, Year Zero

1948

Germany, Year Zero poster
7.6

In the ruins of post-WWII Berlin, a twelve-year-old boy is left to his own devices in order to help provide for his family.

Germany, Year Zero

1948

Rome, Open City poster
8.0

During the Nazi occupation of 1944 Rome, Resistance leader Giorgio Manfredi is pursued by the Nazis as he seeks refuge and a means of escape.

Rome, Open City

1945

Rome, Open City poster
8.0

During the Nazi occupation of 1944 Rome, Resistance leader Giorgio Manfredi is pursued by the Nazis as he seeks refuge and a means of escape.

Rome, Open City

1945

Rome, Open City poster
8.0

During the Nazi occupation of 1944 Rome, Resistance leader Giorgio Manfredi is pursued by the Nazis as he seeks refuge and a means of escape.

Rome, Open City

1945

Paisan poster
7.5

Six stories unfold in various regions, from Sicily to the northern Po Valley as American military personnel interact with a variety of Italian locals over eighteen months in the push north during the Italian Campaign of WWII as German forces retreat.

Paisan

1946

Paisan poster
7.5

Six stories unfold in various regions, from Sicily to the northern Po Valley as American military personnel interact with a variety of Italian locals over eighteen months in the push north during the Italian Campaign of WWII as German forces retreat.

Paisan

1946

Paisan poster
7.5

Six stories unfold in various regions, from Sicily to the northern Po Valley as American military personnel interact with a variety of Italian locals over eighteen months in the push north during the Italian Campaign of WWII as German forces retreat.

Paisan

1946

The Seven Deadly Sins poster
6.0

A compilation of segments covers the seven deadly sins of greed, wrath, envy, pride, lust, sloth, and gluttony.

The Seven Deadly Sins

1952

The Seven Deadly Sins poster
6.0

A compilation of segments covers the seven deadly sins of greed, wrath, envy, pride, lust, sloth, and gluttony.

The Seven Deadly Sins

1952

Stromboli poster
7.1

After the end of WWII, a young Lithuanian woman and a young Italian man from Stromboli impulsively marry, but married life on the island is more demanding than she can accept.

Stromboli

1950

Stromboli poster
7.1

After the end of WWII, a young Lithuanian woman and a young Italian man from Stromboli impulsively marry, but married life on the island is more demanding than she can accept.

Stromboli

1950

Stromboli poster
7.1

After the end of WWII, a young Lithuanian woman and a young Italian man from Stromboli impulsively marry, but married life on the island is more demanding than she can accept.

Stromboli

1950

Ro.Go.Pa.G. poster
7.2

Four short films by four different directors dealing with the principles of modern life. "Illibatezza" (Rossellini): The hostess Anna Maria, to dissuade an aggressive suitor who prefers maternal tendencies, assumes an unscrupulous attitude, obeying the suggestions of her distant boyfriend. "The New World" (Godard): The deflagration of an atomic bomb causes strange effects on the inhabitants of a city. "La ricotta" (Pasolini): During the filming of a film about a religious subject, the extra Stracci dies hanging on the cross due to an indigestion of ricotta. "Il pollo spante" (Gregoretti): While an expert illustrates to a board of merchants the most modern techniques to increase sales through the discovery of the secret self of the average consumer, the human story of a bourgeois who, following these suggestions, focuses on the purchase of a plot of land in the countryside.

Ro.Go.Pa.G.

1963

Ro.Go.Pa.G. poster
7.2

Four short films by four different directors dealing with the principles of modern life. "Illibatezza" (Rossellini): The hostess Anna Maria, to dissuade an aggressive suitor who prefers maternal tendencies, assumes an unscrupulous attitude, obeying the suggestions of her distant boyfriend. "The New World" (Godard): The deflagration of an atomic bomb causes strange effects on the inhabitants of a city. "La ricotta" (Pasolini): During the filming of a film about a religious subject, the extra Stracci dies hanging on the cross due to an indigestion of ricotta. "Il pollo spante" (Gregoretti): While an expert illustrates to a board of merchants the most modern techniques to increase sales through the discovery of the secret self of the average consumer, the human story of a bourgeois who, following these suggestions, focuses on the purchase of a plot of land in the countryside.

Ro.Go.Pa.G.

1963

India: Matri Bhumi poster
7.1

Several stories depicting the landscapes and fauna of India are mixed with documentary footage.

India: Matri Bhumi

1960

India: Matri Bhumi poster
7.1

Several stories depicting the landscapes and fauna of India are mixed with documentary footage.

India: Matri Bhumi

1960

Journey to Italy poster
7.2

Married for eight years with no children, Brits Katherine and Alex Joyce are driving to Italy, their ultimate destination just outside of Naples to sell the villa they have just inherited from his uncle, the villa where they will be staying during their time there. On the drive, they come to the realization that this trip marks the first time that they have truly been alone together, and as such don't really know one another in the true sense.

Journey to Italy

1954

Journey to Italy poster
7.2

Married for eight years with no children, Brits Katherine and Alex Joyce are driving to Italy, their ultimate destination just outside of Naples to sell the villa they have just inherited from his uncle, the villa where they will be staying during their time there. On the drive, they come to the realization that this trip marks the first time that they have truly been alone together, and as such don't really know one another in the true sense.

Journey to Italy

1954

Journey to Italy poster
7.2

Married for eight years with no children, Brits Katherine and Alex Joyce are driving to Italy, their ultimate destination just outside of Naples to sell the villa they have just inherited from his uncle, the villa where they will be staying during their time there. On the drive, they come to the realization that this trip marks the first time that they have truly been alone together, and as such don't really know one another in the true sense.

Journey to Italy

1954

Mid-Century Loves poster
5.2

Anthology of tragic love. A noblewoman falls for a commoner. A doctor keeps quiet about his patients' infidelities. Expectant father is sent to fight in WWI. A 1920s fascist enjoys Rome's nightlife. WWII airman falls for a girl in Naples.

Mid-Century Loves

1954

Mid-Century Loves poster
5.2

Anthology of tragic love. A noblewoman falls for a commoner. A doctor keeps quiet about his patients' infidelities. Expectant father is sent to fight in WWI. A 1920s fascist enjoys Rome's nightlife. WWII airman falls for a girl in Naples.

Mid-Century Loves

1954

The Taking of Power by Louis XIV poster
7.1

Cardinal Mazarin dies, leaving a power vacuum in which the young Louis asserts his intention to govern as well as rule. Mazarin's fiscal advisor, Colbert, warns against Fouquet, the Superintendant who has been systematically looting the treasury and wants to be prime minister. Fouquet believes Louis will soon tire of exercizing power and overplays his hand by offering a bribe to Louis' mistress to be his ally. She reports this to the king who arrests Fouquet. Louis and Colbert design a brilliant strategy to keep merchants making money, nobles in debt, the urban poor working and fed, and peasants untaxed.

The Taking of Power by Louis XIV

1966

The Taking of Power by Louis XIV poster
7.1

Cardinal Mazarin dies, leaving a power vacuum in which the young Louis asserts his intention to govern as well as rule. Mazarin's fiscal advisor, Colbert, warns against Fouquet, the Superintendant who has been systematically looting the treasury and wants to be prime minister. Fouquet believes Louis will soon tire of exercizing power and overplays his hand by offering a bribe to Louis' mistress to be his ally. She reports this to the king who arrests Fouquet. Louis and Colbert design a brilliant strategy to keep merchants making money, nobles in debt, the urban poor working and fed, and peasants untaxed.

The Taking of Power by Louis XIV

1966

The Carabineers poster
6.5

During a war in an imaginary country, unscrupulous soldiers recruit poor farmers with promises of an easy and happy life. Two of these farmers write to their wives of their exploits.

The Carabineers

1963

Where Is Freedom? poster
6.5

A barber, murderer because of jealousy, spends twenty years in jail. He cannot, however adjust himself to a changed world and to the hypocrisy of his own relatives and decides to return behind bars.

Where Is Freedom?

1954

General Della Rovere poster
7.5

In WWII-Italy, the Gestapo blackmails a con man to impersonate a dead partisan commander in order to extract information from his fellow inmates.

General Della Rovere

1959

Desire poster
5.2

Paola, a Milan call girl, returns home to her village in the Abruzzi mountains in an attempt to go straight. Rejected by her father, blackmailed by a former lover, and lusted after by her brother-in-law, she turns to her beloved sister for support. Denied succor, like so many of Rossellini’s isolated figures, Paola awaits the arrival of her fiancé, who has offered her a new start, but instead decides that life is untenable.

Desire

1946

Desire poster
5.2

Paola, a Milan call girl, returns home to her village in the Abruzzi mountains in an attempt to go straight. Rejected by her father, blackmailed by a former lover, and lusted after by her brother-in-law, she turns to her beloved sister for support. Denied succor, like so many of Rossellini’s isolated figures, Paola awaits the arrival of her fiancé, who has offered her a new start, but instead decides that life is untenable.

Desire

1946

Desire poster
5.2

Paola, a Milan call girl, returns home to her village in the Abruzzi mountains in an attempt to go straight. Rejected by her father, blackmailed by a former lover, and lusted after by her brother-in-law, she turns to her beloved sister for support. Denied succor, like so many of Rossellini’s isolated figures, Paola awaits the arrival of her fiancé, who has offered her a new start, but instead decides that life is untenable.

Desire

1946

The Flowers of St. Francis poster
7.1

In a series of simple and joyous vignettes, director Roberto Rossellini and co-writer Federico Fellini lovingly convey the universal teachings of the People’s Saint: humility, compassion, faith, and sacrifice. Gorgeously photographed to evoke the medieval paintings of Saint Francis’s time, and cast with monks from the Nocera Inferiore Monastery, The Flowers of St. Francis is a timeless and moving portrait of the search for spiritual enlightenment.

The Flowers of St. Francis

1950

Fear poster
6.4

Irene Wagner, the wife of the prominent German scientist Professor Albert Wagner, had been having an affair with Erich Baumann. She does not disclose this to her husband, hoping to preserve his innocence and their "perfect marriage". This fills her with anxiety and guilt. However, Johanna Schultze, Erich's jealous ex-girlfriend, learns about the affair and begins to blackmail Irene, turning Irene's psychological torture into a harsh reality.

Fear

1954

Fear poster
6.4

Irene Wagner, the wife of the prominent German scientist Professor Albert Wagner, had been having an affair with Erich Baumann. She does not disclose this to her husband, hoping to preserve his innocence and their "perfect marriage". This fills her with anxiety and guilt. However, Johanna Schultze, Erich's jealous ex-girlfriend, learns about the affair and begins to blackmail Irene, turning Irene's psychological torture into a harsh reality.

Fear

1954

Europa '51 poster
7.3

A wealthy, self-absorbed Rome socialite is racked by guilt over the death of her young son. As a way of dealing with her grief and finding meaning in her life, she decides to devote her time and money to the city’s poor and sick. Her newfound, single-minded activism leads to conflicts with her husband and questions about her sanity.

Europa '51

1952

Europa '51 poster
7.3

A wealthy, self-absorbed Rome socialite is racked by guilt over the death of her young son. As a way of dealing with her grief and finding meaning in her life, she decides to devote her time and money to the city’s poor and sick. Her newfound, single-minded activism leads to conflicts with her husband and questions about her sanity.

Europa '51

1952

Europa '51 poster
7.3

A wealthy, self-absorbed Rome socialite is racked by guilt over the death of her young son. As a way of dealing with her grief and finding meaning in her life, she decides to devote her time and money to the city’s poor and sick. Her newfound, single-minded activism leads to conflicts with her husband and questions about her sanity.

Europa '51

1952

The Night of Counting the Years poster
7.6

Set in 1881, a year before the start of British colonial rule, it is based on the true story of the Abd el-Rasuls, an Upper-Egyptian clan that had been robbing a cache of mummies they have discovered at tomb DB320 near the village of Kurna, and selling the artifacts on the black market. After a conflict within the clan, one of its members made a crucial decision when the Antiquities Service arrived.

The Night of Counting the Years

1969

Escape by Night poster
7.0

In Nazi-occupied Rome, a beautiful bootlegger, to the chagrin of her lover, gives sanctuary to three escaped POWs: an American pilot, a Russian sergeant and a British major.

Escape by Night

1960

Escape by Night poster
7.0

In Nazi-occupied Rome, a beautiful bootlegger, to the chagrin of her lover, gives sanctuary to three escaped POWs: an American pilot, a Russian sergeant and a British major.

Escape by Night

1960