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LA STRADA
Directed by: Federico Fellini.
Produced by: Dino De Laurentiis & Carlo Ponti.
Written by: Federico Fellini, Tulio Pinelli & Ennio Flaiano.
Director of Photography: Otello Martelli.
Edited by: Leo Catozzo.
Music by: Nino Rota.
Released by: Criterion.
Country of Origin: Italy. 108 min. Black & White. Not Rated.
With: Giulietta Masina, Anthony Quinn & Richard Basehart.

DVD Features: Video Introduction by Martin Scorsese. Commentary by Peter Bondanella, author of The Cinema of Federico Fellini. Documentary Federico Fellini's Autobiography. Optional English-dubbed Soundtrack. Essay by Film Scholar Peter Matthews. English Subtitles. Trailer.

At the heart of Federico Fellini’s 1954 film is a saucer-eyed clown of a woman named Gelsomina, bought with a few coins into the service of Zampanò, a brutish strongman with a heart as hard as his muscular exterior. Together, they perform their traveling circus act on the road of life, passing through weddings, carnivals, and religious processions. La Strada’s narrative structure is more episodic than linear – much like different circus acts within a show – but it is in the subtleties of these seemingly arbitrary incidents that we become enamored with the childlike Gelsomina. As soon as Zampanò places a bowler hat on her head and she responds with a playful dance, her natural flair for comedy becomes apparent. Atypical amongst Fellini’s later surrealist films, La Strada owes much of its timeless appeal to Giulietta Masina, Fellini’s wife, brilliant in an often mute performance. The beautifully executed score by Nino Rota is captivating, managing to blend a somber ballad with circus whimsy, and the repetition of Gelsomina’s leitmotif takes on powerful meaning as the film builds to an emotional crescendo. The black-and-white photography looks stunning on Criterion’s digitally restored transfer, showcasing the bleak existence of these traveling vagabonds.

DVD Extras: Martin Scorsese’s brief explication of La Strada is inappropriately titled an introduction, as it should not be seen before a first viewing. It is worth watching after the film to discover Fellini’s influence on Scorsese’s own work; for example, Zampanò as the inspiration for Raging Bull’s Jake La Motta. The audio commentary is provided by film scholar Peter Bondanella, author of The Cinema of Federico Fellini, whose expertise in Italian neorealism and the particulars of Fellini’s work make his commentary a worthy complement to the film, but could be dry for those without at least a working knowledge of Italian film history. The documentary, Federico Fellini’s Autobiography, originally aired on Italian television in 2000, is essential viewing for Fellini fans, as it features candid interviews with the director over a number of years. Though hardly revealing in its celebratory approach to the legendary director, it nonetheless contains important historical source material and footage of Fellini’s cinematic career. Kim Reyes
February 8, 2004

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