Notti di Cabiria, Le (1957)

Director:

Federico Fellini

Writers:

Federico Fellini (story) &
Ennio Flaiano (story) ...

Release Date:

26 May 1957 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A waifish prostitute wanders the streets of Rome looking for true love but finding only heartbreak.

Plot Keywords:

Car | Marriage | Italian | Dancing | Prostitute

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 14 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Giulietta Masina	...	Maria 'Cabiria' Ceccarelli
François Périer	...	Oscar D'Onofrio (as François Perier)
Franca Marzi	...	Wanda
Dorian Gray	...	Jessy
Aldo Silvani	...	Il mago
Ennio Girolami	...	Amleto, 'il magnaccia'
Mario Passante	...	Lo storpio alla processione
Christian Tassou
Amedeo Nazzari	...	Alberto Lazzari

Also Known As:

Cabiria (UK)
Nights of Cabiria (USA)
Nuits de Cabiria, Les (France)

Runtime:

110 min | USA:117 min (restored version)

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

South Korea:15 (2003) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Acilia, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica

Trivia:

During the editing of this film, editor Leo Cattozzo developed the CIR self-perforating adhesive tape splicer (also known as "Costruzione Incollatrici Rapide", "the Cattozzo", Guillotine-, CIRO- or ARRI Splicer) which made him rich in the 1960s and for which he won an Academy Award in 1989.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Wie de Waarheid Zegt Moet Dood (1981)

The Best Film I Know

I am not much in favor of "best" lists--I wouldn't make it in Cusack's "High Fidelity" world--but I can usually offer a range of titles of films that I consider the most powerful experiences I have had in front of a screen--Bicycle Thief, Ran, Ordet, Seventh Seal, Citizen Kane, L'Avventura, Rear Window, Blade Runner, quite a few others. But if I had to pick just one title, it would be Nights of Cabiria. I saw it when it first came out in this country--I was a junior in high school and fortunate enough to live near a theater that showed foreign films. It ran for several weeks and I kept going back to see it over and over, giving myself permission by dragging friends to see it. No one was ever disappointed, though only a couple of friends developed a comparable enthusiasm with mine. I have continued to see

it every chance I get, though I have not had the opportunity to see the latest reissue--I probably will have to see it on

video or dvd, since the city I now live in rarely shows any foreign films. Giulietta Massina gives not just the greatest

performance of her career, but surely one of the greatest

performances ever recorded on film, and the sequence of Cabiria's experiences, at first seemingly random and insignificant, adds up to one of the most profound statements Fellini ever made about human life.