Nights of Cabiria

Reception

Critical response

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 100% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 45 reviews, and an average rating of 8.9/10. The consensus states: "Giulietta Masina is remarkable as a chronically unfortunate wretch with an indomitable spirit in Federico Fellini's unrelentingly bleak – yet ultimately uplifting – odyssey through heartbreak."[10]

At the time of the film's first American release, The New York Times critic Bosley Crowther gave the film a mixed review: "Like La Strada and several other of the post-war Italian neo-realistic films, this one is aimed more surely toward the development of a theme than a plot. Its interest is not so much the conflicts that occur in the life of the heroine as the deep, underlying implications of human pathos that the pattern of her life shows...But there are two weaknesses in Cabiria. It has a sordid atmosphere and there is something elusive and insufficient about the character of the heroine. Her get-up is weird and illogical for the milieu in which she lives and her farcical mannerisms clash with the ugly realism of the theme."[11] Upon its original 1957 release, on the other hand, French director François Truffaut thought Cabiria was Fellini's best film to date.[12] The film ranked third on Cahiers du Cinéma's "Top 10 Films of the Year List" in 1957.[13]

Forty years later, The New York Times carried a new review by Crowther's successor, Janet Maslin. She called the film "a cinematic masterpiece", and added that the final shot of Cabiria is worth more than "all the fire-breathing blockbusters Hollywood has to offer."[14] This has stood by far as the most prevalent assessment of the artistic achievements of the film.

Film critic Roger Ebert reviewed mainly the plot and Fellini's background: "Fellini's roots as a filmmaker are in the postwar Italian Neorealist movement (he worked for Rossellini on Rome, Open City in 1945), and his early films have a grittiness that is gradually replaced by the dazzling phantasms of the later ones. Nights of Cabiria is transitional; it points toward the visual freedom of La Dolce Vita while still remaining attentive to the real world of postwar Rome. The scene involving the good samaritan provides a framework to show people living in city caves and under bridges, but even more touching is the scene where Cabiria turns over the keys of her house to the large and desperately poor family that has purchased it."[15] He gave the film four stars out of four and included it in his Great Movies list.

In 1998, the film was re-released, newly restored and now including a crucial 7-minute sequence (with the man giving food to the poor people living in caves) that censors had cut after the premiere.[16] The Village Voice ranked Nights of Cabiria at number 112 in its Top 250 "Best Films of the Century" list in 1999, based on a poll of critics.[17]

In January 2002, the film (along with La Strada) was voted at No. 85 on the list of the "Top 100 Essential Films of All Time" by the National Society of Film Critics.[18][19] The film was included at number 87 on BBC's 2018 list of "The 100 Greatest Foreign-Language Films", voted by 209 film critics from 43 countries around the world.[20]

Awards

Wins

  • Cannes Film Festival: Best Actress, Giulietta Masina; OCIC Award – Special Mention, Federico Fellini; 1957.[21]
  • David di Donatello Awards, Italy: David, Best Director, Federico Fellini; Best Production, Dino De Laurentiis; 1957.
  • San Sebastián International Film Festival: Zulueta Prize, Best Actress, Giulietta Masina; 1957.
  • Academy Awards: Oscar, Best Foreign Language Film, Italy; 1957.[22] Recipients- Federico Fellini & Dino De Laurentiis
  • Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists: Silver Ribbon, Best Actress, Giulietta Masina; Best Director, Federico Fellini; Best Producer, Dino De Laurentiis; Best Supporting Actress, Franca Marzi; 1958.
  • Sant Jordi Awards, Barcelona, Spain: Best Foreign Actress, Giulietta Masina; Best Foreign Director, Federico Fellini; Best Foreign Film, Federico Fellini; Best Foreign Screenplay, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli and Pier Paolo Pasolini; 1959.
  • Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain: CEC Award, Best Foreign Film, Italy; 1959.[23]

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