Roberto Rossellini

Known for: Rome, Open City (1945); Italian neorealism

Roberto Rossellini initiated Italian neorealism with Rome, Open City (1945), shot in occupied and then liberated Rome with whatever film stock could be obtained. His subsequent war trilogy — Paisà (1946), Germany Year Zero (1948) — extended the approach to the full sweep of the conflict. His affair with and marriage to Ingrid Bergman, which began with her 1949 fan letter to him, produced five further films and effectively ended both of their Hollywood careers.