Paisà (1946)

Director:

Roberto Rossellini

Writers:

Sergio Amidei (story) &
Klaus Mann (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

29 March 1948 (USA)

Genre:

War | Drama

Plot:

Six vignettes follow the Allied invasion from July 1943 to winter 1944, from Sicily north to Venice...

Plot Keywords:

Partisan | Nurse | Street Urchin | Sicily | Movie Divided In Episodes

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Carmela Sazio	...	Carmela (episode I: Sicilia)
Robert Van Loon	...	Joe, the American soldier (episode I: Sicilia)
Benjamin Emanuel	...	An American soldier (episode I: Sicilia)
Raymond Campbell	...	An American soldier (episode I: Sicilia)
Harold Wagner	...	Harry, a German soldier (episode I: Sicilia)
Albert Heinze	...	A German soldier (episode I: Sicilia)
Merlin Berth	...	Merlin, an American soldier (episode I: Sicilia)
Mats Carlson	...	Swede, an American soldier (episode I: Sicilia)
Leonard Parrish	...	An American soldier (episode I: Sicilia) (as Leonard Penish)
Dots Johnson	...	Joe - the American MP (episode II: Napoli) (as Dots M. Johnson)
Alfonsino Pasca	...	Pasquale (episode II: Napoli) (as Alfonsino)
Maria Michi	...	Francesca (episode III: Roma)
Gar Moore	...	Fred, an American soldier (episode III: Roma)
Harriet Medin	...	Harriet, the nurse (episode IV: Firenze) (as Harriet White)
Renzo Avanzo	...	Massimo (episode IV: Firenze)
William Tubbs	...	Captain Bill Martin, the catholic chaplain (episode V: Appenino Emiliano) (as Bill Tubbs)
Dale Edmonds	...	Dale - the OSS agent (episode VI: Porto Tolle)
Allan	...	An American soldier (episode VI: Porto Tolle)
Dan	...	An American soldier (episode VI: Porto Tolle)
Roberto Van Loel	...	A German soldier (episode VI: Porto Tolle) (as Van Loel)
Cigolani	...	Himself - a Partisan (episode VI: Porto Tolle)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Giulio Panicali	...	Narrator (voice)
Iride Belli	...	A soldier (uncredited)
Lorena Berg	...	Amalia (episode III: Roma) (uncredited)
Pippo Bonazzi	...	A soldier (episode II: Napoli) (uncredited)
Gianfranco Corsini	...	A partisan (episode IV: Firenze) (uncredited)
Fattori	...	A soldier (uncredited)
Elmer Feldman	...	Captain Feldman, the jewish chaplain (episode V: Appenino Emiliano) (uncredited)
Gigi Gori	...	The dying partisan (episode IV: Firenze) (uncredited)
Newell Jones	...	Captain Jones, the protestant chaplain (episode V: Appenino Emiliano) (uncredited)
Anthony La Penna	...	Tony, an American Soldier (episode I) (uncredited)
Giulietta Masina	...	The young woman on the palace stairs (episode IV: Firenze) (uncredited)
Carlo Pisacane	...	The old man from Gela (episode I: Sicilia) (uncredited)

Directed by
Roberto Rossellini

Writing credits
Sergio Amidei		(story) (as S. Amidei) &
Klaus Mann		(story) (as Klauss Mann) &
Federico Fellini		(story) (as F. Fellini) &
Marcello Pagliero		(story) (as M. Pagliero) &
Alfred Hayes		(story) (as V. Hayes) and
Vasco Pratolini		(story) uncredited
Sergio Amidei		screenplay and dialogue &
Federico Fellini		screenplay and dialogue &
Roberto Rossellini		screenplay and dialogue and
Rod E. Geiger		screenplay collaboration (as Rod Geiger)

Produced by
Rod E. Geiger	....	producer
Roberto Rossellini	....	producer
Mario Conti	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Renzo Rossellini

Cinematography by
Otello Martelli

Film Editing by
Eraldo Da Roma

Production Management
Augusto Dolfi	....	production supervisor (as A. Dolfi)
Ugo Lombardi	....	production manager
Alberto Manni	....	production supervisor (as A. Manni)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Eugenia Handamir	....	assistant director (as E. Hadamir)
Annalena Limentani	....	assistant director (as A. Limentani)
Federico Fellini	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Massimo Mida	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Ovidio Del Grande	....	sound

Other crew
Annalena Limentani	....	english dialogues

Production Companies

• Organizzazione Film Internazionali (OFI)
• Foreign Film Productions (collaboration) (uncredited)

Distributors

• Discina (1947) (France) (theatrical)
• Films sans Frontières (????) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1946) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Rex Film (1950) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Arthur Mayer & Joseph Burstyn (1948) (USA) (subtitled)
• Cinecittà (2006) (Italy) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Galesha Maravioff / Collection Cinéclub (200?) (France) (DVD)
• Versátil Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• Video Award Motion Pictures (198?) (USA) (video) (Red cardboard clamshell)

Other Companies

• Capitani Film  camera equipment provided by

Also Known As:

Paisan (USA)

Runtime:

USA:120 min | 134 min (restored version) | Italy:125 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian | English | German | Sicilian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Italy:T | USA:Approved (PCA #4698) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Florence, Tuscany, Italy

Company:

Organizzazione Film Internazionali (OFI)

Trivia:

The film is divided in six episodes simply called 'Episode I', 'Episode II' etc. The action of the six different stories takes place, respectively, in Sicily (Episode I), Naples (Episode II), Rome (Episode III), Florence (Episode IV), a monastery in the Appenine Range (Episode V), Porte Tolle in the Po delta (Episode VI).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Il tassinaro (1983)

At times devastating, at times with a little faith- Paisa is Rossellini's neo-realist epic

Now that I have seen all three films in Roberto Rossellini's 'post-war' trilogy (the others being the groundbreaking Open City and Germany Year-Zero), I think Paisa is the one that got to me the most. I knew when I saw clips of the film in Scorsese's My Voyage to Italy that it would have some level of promise, but I didn't know it could be this compelling. Divided up into six vignettes, Rossellini paints something of a historical document as much as a film- each one carries its own strengths (there may be a weakness here and there for some, though this may lend itself to the fact that the film has not been restored and is in dire need of new subtitles), and the documentary-type approach elevates characters and situations to the level of great tragedy. These may be fictionalized accounts, they may not be, but in telling these stories, getting them through to the audience at the time, they remain potent little notes in film history.

From vignette to vignette, the allied forces move their way upward from Sicily to northern Italy. Among them, I got struck by how frank the issues were being dealt with, and how levels of humanity and kindness crept their way in. For example, the story with the drunken black man who spends some time with a kid dealing in the black-market, this is an emotionally complex scene- a viewer won't know how it'll turn out in the first few minutes, but it unfolds precisely to the characters' natures. The story involving the soldiers spending time in the monastery was also powerfully simplistic in the way it dealt with the themes of faith and sacrifice (the later stems to the other vignettes). And there are numerous other moments and scenes that can stop you dead in your tracks- a young child that cries in one scene and a nurse braving enemy territory had my mouth open.

I realize not that many people in my generation will seek out this film- notably since it's not easy to find except on-line- and certain scenes may seem too 'mushy' for some. However, there is worth to seeking out a work such as Paisa- in a sense, this and Rossellini's other early films were like the first independent films to Italy's claim. There isn't any sign in any of his post-war pictures that he's catering to studios or working on big budgets. These are stories being told with little money, non-professionals, and they definitely last years later after all the rubble was cleared. Maybe most remarkable is the way Rossellini and his writers (one of them Fellini) let things happen, and not without consequence or without logic of some sort. It's also a technically brilliant feature, with the cinematography by Otello Martelli creating shots as heart-rending as the performances. So, for those who hate dictated plots, sloppy clichés, and all the other disappointments found in 21st century movie-making & storytelling, this is a great place to dip your toes. If anything, it's surely thrilling as a war film.