Rome, Open City12A

Directed by Roberto Rossellini | Italy | 1945 | 1h 43m | Italian w/ English subtitles | Starring Anna Magnani, Aldo Fabrizi, Marcello Pagliero, Vito Annichiarico, Nando Bruno

During World War II in Rome, an underground resistance leader tries to avoid the Gestapo by seeking aid from a local priest. However, it doesn’t take long for both the Nazis and the local police to take notice. Shot in the immediate aftermath of the war, Roberto Rossellini’s groundbreaking neorealist drama signalled a turning point in Italian cinema, garnering awards around the world and setting the stage for a new era in filmmaking.

Classic Season: Vive La Resistance

Reviews

‘Ubaldo Arata’s visceral cinematography blends the grit of a documentary with the heart and soul of a drama (Fellini collaborated on the screenplay) as the people of Rome wrestle with the constraints, compromises and collusions of life during wartime.’
★★★★★
Mark Kermode, The Observer

‘One of the toughest, bleakest, war films ever made, this Roberto Rossellini classic simply couldn’t be any other way.’
★★★★★
Kevin Maher, The Times

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Rome, Open City between June 2, 2024 and June 6, 2024.

Join our mailing list and we'll make sure you always know what's on and when.

What else is on?

Today (Wednesday 19th November)
Find out more

16:00

The Mastermind 12A
Descriptive Subtitles
1h 50m
A mild-mannered man steals priceless art from a small-town museum, sparking a quiet crisis of purpose. Josh O’Connor shines in Kelly Reichardt’s wry, slow-burn heist drama set amid 1970s America’s political disillusionment and moral uncertainty.

Book here

Find out more

18:30

Boom! 12A
1h 53m
Melodramarama!
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton ignite in Joseph Losey’s surreal Tennessee Williams adaptation. A dying heiress faces a predatory poet in a sun-drenched villa, as flamboyant camp, theatrical passion, and notorious “disaster-piece” excess collide in a uniquely decadent spectacle.

Book here

Find out more

18:30

Boom! / Polyester 15
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton spar in Joseph Losey’s flamboyant Tennessee Williams adaptation, while John Waters plunges suburbia into surreal meltdown. Glamour, camp, and chaos collide in this hysterical double bill, hosted by comedian and cabaret performer Jamie Mykaela.

Book here

Find out more

21:00

Polyester 15
1h 26m
Melodramarama!
Francine’s suburban life collapses under cheating husbands, delinquent children, and scandalous neighbours—until a dreamy stranger promises escape. John Waters’ delirious melodrama brims with outrageous satire and comic madness in glorious Technicolor excess.

Book here


Tomorrow (Thursday 20th November)
Find out more

14:30

Relay 15
1h 51m
A solitary fixer protecting whistleblowers is drawn into deadly danger when a biotech scientist seeks her help. Lily James and Riz Ahmed ignite David Mackenzie’s high-stakes conspiracy thriller, a razor-sharp chase through today’s landscape of secrets and surveillance.

Book here

Find out more

21:00

Bugonia 15
1h 58m
Two conspiracy-obsessed cousins kidnap a tech CEO they believe is an alien overlord. Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons star in Yorgos Lanthimos’s darkly comic, unsettling satire about paranoia, misinformation, and the terrifying absurdity of the modern age.

Book here


See all upcoming films

Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road. We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We don’t show adverts, just a couple of trailers, so don't be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!

Find out more