Roberto Rossellinis 1945 neorealist classic, Rome, Open City, builds upon actual events and characters from Italys World War II underground Resistance, which battled German occupiers by using priests, women, and even children as soldiers. The great Anna Magnani plays the pregnant widow hoping to marry a partisan fighter; the role made her a star, and its still a shock when the Germans snuff out her vitality in a hail of bullets. Open City occasionally stops for corny speeches (like we need to be convinced the Nazis are evil?), but its basically a surefire manhunt movie in which a fugitive Resistance leader gradually runs out of places to hide. Federico Fellini had a hand in the screenplay, which includes drug addiction, prostitution, and implicit lesbianism among the vices unleashed by World War II. Life is brutal, dirty, says an actress reduced to whoring with Germans, but its war shes talking about. This Thursday night series continues through April 4. (NR) BRIAN MILLER
Fri., March 7, 7:30 p.m., 2008