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.
Direction
Rossellini used real locations and non-actors mid-war ruins.
Writing
Six screenwriters, one devastating through-line.
Cinematography
Bombed-out Italy never looked more beautiful or broken.
Director
Roberto Rossellini
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Rossellini shot in chronological order as Allied forces advanced, sometimes filming in buildings still under German control.
Paisan invented the anthology war film and inspired everything from The Battle of Algiers to Dunkirk's structure.
IT
