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How others will see it. Those who stumble upon this movie will likely find it to be unwatchable. It's in black and white, it has subtitles, and the cinematography is inferior, even by 1945 standards. (Much of this likely has to do with its preservation.) Even those determined to see it through will be annoyed by the minimalist subtitles, which summarize the dialogue instead of directly translating it. It's subtitles by Cliff's Notes.
Of Course, this film does have an audience. Those interested in Italian history, World War II, or in the psychology of occupation may learn something. Then there's the hardy souls who simply want to see a good movie, and know that a Spiderman sequel won't actually cut it.
How I felt about it. It's propaganda. If Winston Churchill saw this film, he surely wished that England had commissioned it for distribution during the war. Naturally, the film could not be made in Italy until after the war, by which time the Nazis had already been vanquished. Thus, the point of the movie - the brave Italian resistance needs help desperately in their rebellion against the fascists - was no longer timely.
The heroes are ordinary Italians: a priest, a pregnant fiancee, a printer, a communist politician. The bad guys are the Nazis and their Vichy-style Italian helpers. These include complicit officials, and spies such as Marina, who at least feels remorse (briefly) for what she has done.
They say that history is written by the conquerors. We can be thankful that the hated Nazis were defeated. One can only imagine what such films would be like if the Nazis won the war. (It would probably involve Aryans swindled by a duplicitous Jew, who finally gets what's coming to him.)
Still, perhaps Rome circa 1943 was a different place than depicted here. Priests may not have been so selfless and courageous. Fiancees might not have been so loyal. Resistance leaders might have talked under the threat of torture. At least they could have told plausible lies. But if it all seems exaggerated, it was an unlikely time. It seems impossible that nearly all of Europe was once controlled by ruthless, murderous fascists. But it did happen. And it could happen again, since the worst of human nature (a thirst for power, oppression against the minority) never changes.