La Strada
There has never been a face quite like that of Giulietta Masina. Her husband, the legendary Federico Fellini, directs her as Gelsomina in La Strada, the film that launched them both to international stardom. Gelsomina is sold by her mother into the employ of Zampano (Anthony Quinn), a brutal traveling strongman. They join up with a travelling circus where Zampano encounters his old rival, tightrope artist the Fool (Richard Basehart). With La Strada, Fellini left behind the familiar signposts if neorealism for a poetic fable of love and cruelty. The Criterion Collection is proud to present La Strada, winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1956.
Member Reviews
A masterpiece - sal33
I hadn't seen this in years so it was like watching a new film. It rekindle the same feelings in me as it did the first I saw it.
This is probably my favourite movie from Fellini. The compassion he shows to all his characters is extraordinary and Julietta Masina's acting is superb. La Strada definitely belongs in the top 100 movies.My favourite Fellini - Elshaneo
This is my favourite Fellini film, a story drawn from Fellini's life in the circus. The story of Zampano and Gelsomina is full of rich symbolism that is just a treat to watch. And the performance by Giulietta Masina, Fellini's real-life wife, is just stunning. There's a reason this film won the first official Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film, awarded in 1956.Real art is tested by time - Rocky_Al
After the Second World War Italy's filmaking exploded in its own new wave, with Fellini, then in his thirties, as one of the main exponents. NeoRealistic "La Strada" (1954), set in the circus world as so many of Fellini's work, was recognised as outstanding in the multidisciplinary aspects of the art of cinematography. A master was born.
How do we see this film today, half a century later?
Many oldies are slow, if not tedious. They strike us as somehow a bit primitive and we say tolerantly "yeah, that's how they made them then" and "quite interesting".
Masterworks of art stand the test of time. La Strada is one of those. I saw it 50 years ago and I saw it this week again for the second time. It is still as spellbinding and perfect as it was then.
Member Reviews
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A masterpiece - sal33
I hadn't seen this in years so it was like watching a new film. It rekindle the same feelings in me as it did the first I saw it.
This is probably my favourite movie from Fellini. The compassion he shows to all his characters is extraordinary and Julietta ...My favourite Fellini - Elshaneo
This is my favourite Fellini film, a story drawn from Fellini's life in the circus. The story of Zampano and Gelsomina is full of rich symbolism that is just a treat to watch. And the performance by Giulietta Masina, Fellini's real-life wife, is just stunning. ...Real art is tested by time - Rocky_Al
After the Second World War Italy's filmaking exploded in its own new wave, with Fellini, then in his thirties, as one of the main exponents. NeoRealistic "La Strada" (1954), set in the circus world as so many of Fellini's work, was recognised as outstanding ...