La Strada (1954)

The Road

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy La Strada on DVD.

A landmark in Federico Fellini's career, La Strada showed him just beginning to get away from Italian Neorealism and into the fanciful imagery that defined his later work. Here, it's still pure and human enough to work like magic. The lovely Chaplinesque waif Giulietta Masina stars as Gelsomina, who is sold to a circus strongman (Anthony Quinn). Masina's Chaplin-like performance makes the strongman's cruelty all the more heartbreaking.

DVD Details: Criterion delivers the film in another indispensable two-disc set, complete with a feature-length documentary, a commentary track by author Peter Bondanella, an introduction by Martin Scorsese, an essay by Peter Matthews, and the original English dubbed soundtrack featuring the voices of Quinn and Richard Basehart.

Starring: Giulietta Masina, Anthony Quinn,
Written by: Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano
Directed by: Federico Fellini
MPAA Rating: NR
Language: Italian with English subtitles
Running Time: 108 minutes
Date: January 31, 2004