La Strada [1954]

Customer Reviews:

simply moving.......2006-09-07

The sweetest story ever, love brought to its mere essence, I was fascinated by all the characters' interpretation. Giulietta Masina - gelsomina - acts superbly.
Soundtrack is also adequately matching the whole environment.

Strongly recommended.

Beauty and the beast without the talking cutlery........2006-05-20

La strada is a beautifully crafted film, the acting might seem a bit contrived but this more to do with the characters rather than any lack of ability. It's about a circus strong man (Anthony Quinn) who takes a clownish girl (Giulietta Massina) on the road with him to help with his acts. An extremely odd 'Beauty and the Beast'esque love affair unfolds but this is anything but romantic, the first half is principally comedy but the film moves to tragedy for its second. Its very emotive and a great tale.

Unfortunately there are a few aspects that will alienate some viewers. It's Italian, and many people aren't too keen on subtitles; it's in black and white and although it is easily the most accessible of Fellini's films, its no hollywood rom-com. Many will find it dated, but if you give it a bit of time, then there is a hell of a lot to get out of it. Far more than the vast majority of modern films. So, if you're into this kind of thing, you should certainly enjoy it, and if you're not then this is a very good one to start on!

Average customer rating:

Brilliant & depressing
Tragic, but is it life?
One of the greatest films ever made.

La Strada [1954] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Starring: Anthony Quinn , Giulietta Masina , Richard Basehart , Aldo Silvani , and Marcella Rovere
Director: Federico Fellini
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

All Drama | Drama | Categories | DVD | Video

Historical | Drama | Categories | DVD | Video

Region 1 | Special Features | DVD | Video

DVD | Format (binding_browse-bin) | Refinements | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00005JKGQ
Release Date: 2003-11-18

Amazon.co.uk Review

Considered by many to be Federico Fellini's most beautiful and powerful film, La Strada was the first film to reveal the range of Guilietta Masina, whose poignant performance as the childlike Gelsomina recalls Chaplin's Little Tramp. The bubbly, waiflike Gelsomina is a simpleton sold to the gruff, bullying circus strongman Zampanò (Anthony Quinn) as a servant and assistant. Treated no better than an animal, Gelsomina nonetheless falls in love with the brute Zampano. When they join a small circus they meet Il Matto (Richard Basehart), a clown who enchants Gelsomina and relentlessly taunts Zampanograve;, whose inability to control his hatred of Il Matto (literally, "the Fool") leads to their expulsion from the circus and eventually to the film's fateful conclusion. Masina is heartbreaking as the wide-eyed innocent, whose generous spirit and love of life leads her to try to "save" Quinn's unfeeling, brutal Zampanò. Though the film resonates with mythic and biblical dimensions, Fellini never loses sight of his characters, lovingly painted in all their frailties and failings. Fellini's lyrical style reaches back to the simple beauty of his neorealist films and looks ahead to the impressionistic fantasies of later films, but at this unique period in Fellini's career, they combine to create a poetic, tragic masterpiece. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant & depressing.......2007-08-19

La Strada is ultimately a grim and downbeat tale, but the director Fellini makes you care about the characters involved. Gelsomina (Giulietta Masina) is forced to live and work with Zampano (Anthony Quinn), a circus strongman. She lives with Zampano in the back of a small motorcycle trailer, and the conditions are frankly squalid, as are most of the places where they work. 'The Fool' (Richard Basehart) is the fly in the ointment, who attempts to lure Gelsomina away from Zampino with tragic results.

La Strada and Fellini was a huge influence on a number of famous films. 'Godfather II' copies the religious street festival and the ending reminded me of 'The Swimmer'.

The film is in Italian with English subtitles available.

Tragic, but is it life?.......2002-12-20

This is an excellent film. There is, in particular, a scene that I cannot forget. At night, a circus performer encourages Gelsomina. He tells her that every single thing on earth means something, to someone, and he continues, even this tiny stone has a meaning of being. Then she asks, "Which one?," referring to which stone.... I couldn't help but cry.

She has the purest mind that one can hardly believe that it actually exists in someone's mind, and later in the film, that precious gift that God has given to her be trampled completely by Zampano, who is rough but really a pitiable man who just don't know how to express his feeling for her. Tragic. But, is it life?

One of the greatest films ever made........2000-11-23

For anyone who likes foreign language films, La Strada is essential viewing. Winner of the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 1956, as well as numerous other awards, it is brilliant at every level. Superbly directed by Fellini and wonderfully acted by Anthony Quinn as the brutal strongman and Giuletta Masina as the fool with the heart of gold, sold into virtual slavery by her own mother, it features some stunning locations as the strongman and his "slave" embark on their beautiful, yet melancholy, odyssey through the backroads of Italy.

It is a film that you can watch time and time again. It may be viewed as a simple "road movie", but it also operates at a deeper level as an allegorical quest for the very essence of life. La Strada is, quite simply, a masterpiece.

On a technical note, the sound and picture quality of this VHS version are excellent, and the subtitles are always very clear.

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