Nights of Cabiria (1957) Reviews

This has always been one of my favorite movies. Your out of the oridnary 1950's black & white film. Okay, so she's a silly pathetic prostitute but you gotta' love her. She trys so hard! She's fun to watch and the story keeps going. Try it, you may like it.
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For her moving interpretation of Cabiria, the defiantly plucky prostitute with the hopeful romanticism of an 18-year-old virgin, Giulieta Masina (Fellini's wife) won a richly deserved Italian Oscar for Best Actress. She was one of Italian cinema's all-time greats, highly gifted in the art of expression and imbued with natural charm. To see her in "Nights of Cabiria" is to fall in love with her -- if you haven't already in Fellini's "Strada". Fellini beautifully directs all his actors in "Nights of Cabiria" in a linear (non-Felliniesque) fashion that makes perfect sense, explains all, and remains interesting throughout. This version includes the restored 10-minute "man-with-the-sack" sequence that producer Dino de Laurentiis had originally snipped; that sequence adds much to the film, providing the insight for Cabiria's determination to walk away from "the life" (i.e., prostitution). Even the theme music is glorious. Sweetly tragic, this is one of Fellini's best. Don't miss it.
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To understand Fellini, you should see this early classic. But don't think it is about whoring, it is about the big and generous heart of a woman who will give away all of the little that she has in order to find a little love in her life. For making this story beautifully believable, Giulieta Masina received the highest critical acclaim. True, she is no Julia Roberts but then Fellini does not try to tell us there is a pot of gold and happily ever after, at the end of the prostitute's road.
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This Italian film could've been great with a different final seven minutes. The story of a down and out prostitute redeemed by true love would have given this Fellini Flick five stars (but the ending ruins it).
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The synopsis and the 4 star rating made it sound like a great movie, which it may have been in the conservative 1950s! If you enjoy mid-century foreign films about ungraceful prostitutes... you might find it more interesting.
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