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Nights of Cabiria - Criterion Collection

Nights of Cabiria - Criterion Collection

List Price: $39.95
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Proof that film can be art and Fellini is a great artist.
Review: Along with "Au Revoir les Enfants", this is probably one of the most poignant films I have ever seen. Mere words fail to do justice to Giulietta Massina's performance, and the vivid neorealistic backdrop makes her Cabiria all the more engaging and sad. The performances of the supporting cast are all memorable long after one has seen the film. And Fellini effectively captures the hope and the hopelessness that the institutional church can engender. I would give this one ten stars if the scale allowed for it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best film release of 1998
Review: Seeing this film on vacation last year in San Francisco's historic Castro theater was the film event of the year. The friend I was with was seeing it for the second time it was so good. A rare movie that is actually about people, it is also a stunning looking restoration. It's also interesting to see how the broadway musical "Sweet Charity" would have sprung out of this. It's worth a hundred "Armegeddons."

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A masterpiece of the Italian spirit.
Review: This is truly one of my favorite movies. Fellini's landscape and characters are striking and yet comical. Masina has the best face ever. She's an Italian spitfire with a practical side and a spirit that can't be crushed. Her smile at the end of the movie will leave you in tears.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fellini captured the magic of his career in this 5-star film
Review: If you are a viewer who expects more than just two hours of mindless distraction from a film, please give "Nights of Cabiria" your full attention. The combination of symbolism and dialogue that Federico Fellini masterfully weaves into an incredibly entertaining and thought-provoking storyline will change you forever. Giulietta Masina is captivating in her central role as Cabiria. a prostitute who discovers her humanity through numerous hardships. She plays her part so convincingly that the viewer who annihilates his own ego to truly understand the nuances of character will travel alongside of her and will ultimately attain a greater knowledge of life in terms of love, loss, and ultimate gain.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fellini's masterpiece!
Review: Watching "Nights Of Cabiria" is not unlike falling under a intense spell from which you cannot breakaway (not that you'd want to). From the opening scene where the flawless Massina is frolicking with her boyfriend to the uplifting, yet heart-breaking ending, we're captivated by this story of the dignity that lies within even the most seemingly hopeless of souls. At times, I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. At others, I found myself doing both, simultaneously. This is, without doubt, Fellini's masterpiece and deserves every single accolade ever bestowed upon it. I cannot recommend this film enough. It is one of my favorite films and I defy anyone who sees it to walk away from it an unchanged person. The eternal story of the triumph of the human spirit has never been communicated in a more moving, funny, intense and utterly beautiful way than that which was fashioned by the genius that is Federico Fellini. The last scene with Massina walking in tears, a timid smile creeping onto her lips, surrounded by young, happy revelers with Nino Rota's beautiful music casting it's spell, is one of the great moments in all of motion pictures.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The most moving portrayal of hope and humanity ever seen.
Review: Fellini and his wife, Giulietta Masina have made a masterpiece.The plot at first looks like the standard prostitute-with-the-heart-of-gold.But to describe it in that way would be like saying the Grand Canyon is a large ditch.What it is really about is a vision of the hope and courage which all of us know is present in us but which we seldom see. See this film, even if getting a copy is difficult!You will be rewarded with an experience transcending the screen. The last five minutes of the film, where Masina, in despair after a brutal and degrading attack, walks disconsolate through sun-dappled fields, and then, looking around at the field, the sun, the air of life itself, holds up her head and with strenght and courage goes on, is one of the most vital moments ever put on film. I saw this movie when it was first made, decades ago, yet it is with me always.Its message unbelievably beautiful still.ENe

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Ciao, Giulietta
Review: Nights of Cabiria is perhaps Fellini's greatest film, the perfect meeting ground for his Vision and his greatest Muse, Giulietta Masina. The film is a journey into the world of humanity's greatest struggle--the struggle to be loved. The character of Cabiria IS humanity, cast adrift in a lonely universe by an indifferent God, beaten and forgotten, but ever resilient. A masterpiece, a stunning work, an emotional touchstone: Cabiria netted Fellini his second Oscar, but even more it garnered Masina the top honor at Cannes and forever sealed her status as one of cinema's greatest and most mythical beings.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fellini weaves his own decadently beautiful vision of Rome
Review: In Nights of Cabiria, Felinni creates a decadently beautiful vision of Rome, portraying the difficult yet delicately hopeful life of Cabiria, a prostitute. The movie follows her oddysey through Rome and her emotions. The scenery and actors and expressions are magical,truly allowing the film to transcend time and place, and to reaffirm the spirituality of hope. Masina is truly wonderful as the rowdy yet delicate Cabiria.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Plan 2 hrs to watch it,3 hrs to talk about it,4ever to rembr
Review: Prepare to run the gamut of emotion. The imagery and symbolism surrounding Cabiria are broad strokes of genius. Felinni sets you up masterfully for this intense climax--which might just rival the intensity of a climax with Carmen Electra.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Another "classic" that has left me COLD
Review: "La Notti Di Cabriria" is a fine showcase for the goofball charm of Giulietta Masina. I have no doubt that it has reduced many a mighty soul to tears and trembling. It left me rather void of feeling--I couldn't care less what happened to the hapless Cabiria.

Still, the film has an exceedingly dirty feel to it. Everything from Cabriria's occupation to the filthy beggars crying out for Grace from Maria --reek with a pestilence that cannot be washed off. Fellini takes us into a nightclub where the evening's entertainment are two dancers straight from the heart of Mother Africa. Their dance is the most carnal and immediately sexual thing in the whole film. It is also clean and forceful. The rest of the film seems to decay around it.

Ultimately, if you love rooting for the little gal, this film is for you. She is very much like Chaplin's "little tramp" and you will enjoy observing her gritty determination to climb every mountain with a song in her heart. If you are like me, however, you will find yourself grimacing every time she pulls one of her cutesy "aw shucks" faces for the camera. You will pray she runs into the Vampire of Milan or yet another self-actualized ripper enthusiast. You will keep on praying...

cinematically: 5/5
do i care? : 1/5
average rating 3/5


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