La Strada [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Federico Fellini Federico Fellini

Overview

Acclaimed Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini drew on his own circus background for the 1954 classic La Strada. Set in a seedy travelling carnival, this symbolism-laden drama revolves around brutish strongman Zampano (Anthony Quinn), his simple and servile girlfriend Gelsomina (Giulietta Masina, Fellini's wife), and clown/aerialist Matto (Richard Basehart). Appalled at Zampano's insensitive treatment of Gelsomina, the gentle-natured Matto invites her to run off with him; but Gelsomina, like a faithful pet, refuses to leave the strong man's side. Eventually Zampano's volcanic temper erupts once too often, leading to tragic consequences. Written by Fellini and Tullio Pinelli and scored by Nino Rota, La Strada was the winner of the first official Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film, awarded in 1956.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/02/2021
UPC:	0715515265911
Original Release:	1954
Rating:	NR
Source:	Criterion Collection
Language:	English
Time:	1:48:00
Sales rank:	11,853

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Giulietta Masina	Gelsomina
Anthony Quinn	Zampanò
Richard Basehart	L'idiot
Aldo Silvani	Colombiani
Marcella Rovere	La veuve
Livia Venturini	La Suorina
Gustavo Giorgi	Actor
Kamadeva Yami	Actor
Mario Passante	Actor
Anna Primula	Actor
Yami Kamadeva	une prostituée
Al Silvani	Mr. Giraffa
Marcella Rovena	Actor
Nino Rota	Composer

Technical Credits

Federico Fellini

Tullio Pinelli

Ennio Flaiano

Federico Fellini	Director,Screenwriter
Carlo Ponti	Producer
Dino De Laurentiis	Producer
Tullio Pinelli	Screenwriter
R. Boggio	Sound Effects
Ennio Flaiano	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

La Strada is often considered one of the masterpieces of 20th century filmmaking, a sad and poignant remembrance of innocence lost and of the roads that each of us must choose. As with much of the work of director Federico Fellini, man is viewed as suspended between the heavens and the earth, adroitly symbolized here by Il Matto/The Fool (Richard Baseheart), a high-wire circus performer. Fellini's motifs are among the most influential of all post-WWII filmmakers, and you'll find clever Fellini and La Strada references in such unlikely films as John Landis's Blues Brothers 2000. Giulietta Masina's Chaplin-like Gelsomina is among the screen's most poignant and tragic performances, and she, like the entire film, is aided by Nino Rota's evocative score. Fellini had few production values to work with, but here he doesn't need them. La Strada is among the most studied films of late Italian Neo-Realism and a classic of the first rank.

All Movie Guide - Richard Gilliam