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La Strada (1954) [The Criterion Collection #219] [OUT OF PRINT]

Posted By: Someonelse

Date: 14 Feb 2023 07:33:30

SD / DVD IMDb

La Strada (1954) [The Criterion Collection #219] [OUT OF PRINT]

Director: Federico Fellini
Writers: Federico Fellini (story and screenplay), Tullio Pinelli (story and screenplay)
Stars: Anthony Quinn, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart

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 Zampanò (Anthony Quinn), a brutal strongman in a traveling circus. When Zampanò encounters an old rival in highwire artist the Fool (Richard Basehart), his fury is provoked to its breaking point. With La strada, Fellini left behind the familiar signposts of Italian neorealism for a poetic fable of love and cruelty, evoking brilliant performances and winning the hearts of audiences and critics worldwide. The Criterion Collection is proud to present La strada, winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1956.

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Federico Fellini was at the top of his form here, as was his wife and frequent star, Giulietta Masina, whose pantomime in LA STRADA caused her to be dubbed a female Chaplin. She is marvelous.

Zampano (Anthony Quinn), a traveling strongman, "buys" the dim-witted but pure of heart Gelsomina (Masina) to help him with his act. The two travel together, with her beating the drum and playing a trumpet to herald his act, and serving as his mistress and slave. Eventually, the pair join a tiny circus and meet il Matto ("The Fool," played by Richard Basehart), a clown and high-wire artist who treats Gelsomina kindly. When the ethereal Fool is accidentally killed by the brutish Zampano, she is devastated and suffers an emotional breakdown, and the strongman abandons her. Many years later, still traveling, Zampano learns of Gelsomina's fate and belatedly realizes his need for her.

La Strada (1954) [The Criterion Collection #219] [OUT OF PRINT]

Perhaps the simplest and certainly one of the most powerful of Fellini's films, LA STRADA established his international fame while marking a distinct break from neorealism in its poetic, deeply personal imagery (especially the "Felliniesque" circus motif), and religious symbolism. While Masina's unforgettable performance, perfectly combining comedy and pathos, caused the greatest stir, Quinn and Basehart are also excellent, and Nino Rota's music became famous worldwide.
TV Guide

At the 1957 Academy Awards Ceremony, the Oscar for Best Foreign Film went to the Italian movie “La Strada” (1954). Federico Fellini, the director of that film, went on to take his place among the greats of world cinema, and today he is remembered for an impressive body of work that includes “La Dolce vita” (1960), “8 1/2” (1963), and “Amarcord” (1973). While “La Strada” lacks the complexity and audaciousness of some of Fellini’s later movies, it is nonetheless a charming, accessible, and poetic film that no cineaste should miss, and I’m delighted that Criterion Collection has released it on DVD.

La Strada (1954) [The Criterion Collection #219] [OUT OF PRINT]

“La Strada” was photographed in the neorealist tradition, and the picture quality on the DVD is very nearly flawless. The movie was shot at ordinary-looking locations, and the camerawork and editing are straightforward. But Fellini’s lyrical images and Nino Rota’s rather romantic score—reminiscent of his work in “The Godfather”—mitigate the bleakness of the setting.

La Strada (1954) [The Criterion Collection #219] [OUT OF PRINT]

Anthony Quinn is the leading man in “La Strada,” and I found him to be both compelling and intimidating as the bullying protagonist. Another Hollywood actor, Richard Basehart, plays an important supporting role in the movie. However, the most famous thing about “La Strada” is probably the Chaplinesque performance by Italian actress Giulietta Masina (Fellini’s wife), and I doubt that anyone who has ever seen the movie could forget her in it. Masina helps to create one of the most heartbreaking and enchanting roles I’ve seen on film.

La Strada (1954) [The Criterion Collection #219] [OUT OF PRINT]

It appears to me as though “La Strada” was shot with the Americans speaking English and the Italians speaking Italian, and then the dialogue as heard on the soundtrack was added later. The DVD offers two soundtracks, one in Italian, the other in English. The English-language track has the advantage that the voices of Quinn and Basehart are present, but everyone else sounds strange to me, and all the dialogue comes off stagy. The Italian-language track dubs in other voices for Quinn’s and Basehart’s characters, but the overall dramatic effect seems better to me.

La Strada (1954) [The Criterion Collection #219] [OUT OF PRINT]

I would characterize the story in “La Strada,” which best translates into English as “The Road,” as being a fable. Quinn portrays Zampanò, a brute of a man who is only a step away from being a beast. Zampanò ekes out a living by traveling around, drawing a crowd to a square, expanding his chest to break a chain, then passing the hat. He takes on the simpleminded Gelsomina (Masina) as a concubine and assistant, and she helps by adding music and humor to his street performances. Zampanò treats Gelsomina badly, but she possesses a sublime purity of heart that permits their arrangement to function, at least for a while. However, when Zampanò butts heads with a trickster known as the Fool (Basehart), things take a bad turn that eventually results in Gelsomina having a nervous breakdown.

La Strada (1954) [The Criterion Collection #219] [OUT OF PRINT]

“La Strada” tells a somber story, but it still leaves me with a feeling of hope because Zampanò, who is more like an animal than a man at the movie’s beginning, becomes somewhat humanized through his time spent with the soulful Gelsomina.

La Strada (1954) [The Criterion Collection #219] [OUT OF PRINT]

The Criterion Collection DVD set of “La Strada” comes with a 14-minute video introduction by Martin Scorsese, and there’s also a theatrical trailer for the English-language version of the movie. In addition, there’s a 55-minute documentary made for Italian television titled “Federico Fellini’s Autobiography,” which is reasonably interesting for hard-core Fellini fans like myself. My favorite bonus material is the feature-length scholarly audio commentary by Peter Bondanella, author of “Italian Cinema: Neorealism to the Present” and “The Cinema of Federico Fellini.”
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Special Features:
- New high-definition digital transfer, with restored image and sound
- Video introduction by Martin Scorsese (14 mins)
- Audio commentary by Peter Bondanella, author of The Cinema of Federico Fellini
- Federico Fellini’s Autobiography, a 2000 documentary originally broadcast on Italian television (55 mins)
- Optional English-dubbed soundtrack featuring the voices of Anthony Quinn and Richard Basehart
- New essay by film scholar Peter Matthews
- New and improved English subtitle translation

All Credits goes to Original uploader.

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Download full movie La Strada (1954) [The Criterion Collection #219] [OUT OF PRINT]

Subtitles (from opensubtitles.org)

1954 Anthony Quinn Art-house Classics Criterion Collection Criterion DVD Drama DVD Video Federico Fellini Italian