Nights of Cabiria (Le Notti di Cabiria) (1957)
97%RT Audience Score: 94%
Awards & Nominations: NA
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.
Giulietta Masina totally kills it as a poor sap who just can’t catch a break in Federico Fellini’s super depressing, but somehow still hopeful, journey through heartache. She’s got this unstoppable fire in her that just won’t quit, even when everything around her is going to hell. Fellini really knows how to bring the pain, but he also knows how to lift you up when you’re feeling down. This movie is a rollercoaster of emotions, but it’s totally worth the ride.
Production Company(ies)
Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica, Les Films, Marceau
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Castel Gandolfo, Rome, Lazio, Italy
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
1957
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.33 : 1
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Runtime:1h 50m
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Language(s):Italian, Latin
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Country of origin:France, Italy
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 31, 1957 Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2008
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Giulietta Masina, François Perier, Amedeo Nazzari, Franca Marzi, Dorian Gray, Aldo Silvani, directed by Federico Fellini, written by Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by John Hartl, Jeff Millar, Andrew Sarris, Marjorie Baumgarten, Geoffrey Macnab, Kenneth Turan, Neely Swanson, André Bazin, Pedro Blas Gonzalez, Ian White, Eve Tushnet, producer Dino De Laurentiis, MPAA rating, Rome, streetwalker, heart of gold, cotton candy, Oscar-winning, masterpiece, musical, Sweet Charity, must-see, Italian, Paramount Pictures, Mono, Flat (1.37:1), Cabiria, Oscar D’Onofrio, Alberto Lazzari, Movie Star, Wanda, Hypnotist, Giulietta Masina, François Perier, Amedeo Nazzari, Franca Marzi, Dorian Gray, Aldo Silvani, Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, Dec 31, 1957, May 1, 2008, $823.6K, Paramount Pictures
Worldwide gross: $769,804
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $9,231,067
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,989
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,006,659
US/Canada gross: $766,530
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $9,191,807
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,636
US/Canada opening weekend: $38,988
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $467,523
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,425
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
François Perier – Oscar D’Onofrio
Amedeo Nazzari – Alberto Lazzari, Movie Star
Franca Marzi – Wanda – Cabiria’s Friend
Dorian Gray – Jessy – Lazzari’s Girlfriend
Aldo Silvani – Hypnotist
Director(s)
Federico Fellini
Writer(s)
Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli
Producer(s)
Dino De Laurentiis
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (44) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (44)
Fellini and Masina’s unique collaboration appears to demolish the wall between life and art, film and audience.
February 28, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
John Hartl
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
What makes the character so poignant is that her final fortification is not her street wisdom — that’s all surface — but her innocence. Her ultimate protection is our sympathy for her.
July 21, 2005
Jeff Millar
Houston Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Even in the mutilated version of the film, Masina shone and sparkled in her shabby role.
May 19, 2005
Andrew Sarris
Observer
TOP CRITIC
This Academy Award-winner for Best Foreign Film is always cited as one of Fellini’s greatest.
March 10, 2003
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Cabiria’s story is indeed heartrending, but neither director nor actress allow her time for self-pity.
March 5, 2002
Geoffrey Macnab
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Through [Masina’s] unforgettable performance, Cabiria will endure as long as anyone cares to watch transcendence projected on a screen.
February 13, 2001
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
Words cannot fully express the beauty and wonder of Giulietta Masina as Cabiria who won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for this role.
December 17, 2021
Neely Swanson
Easy Reader (California)
[Cabiria] is the story of ascesis, of renunciation, and, (however you choose to interpret the term) of salvation. The beauty and the rigor of its construction proceed this time from the perfect economy of its constituent episodes.
December 9, 2021
André Bazin
Cahiers du Cinéma
Nights of Cabiria is very much a study of the strength of will and resilience in light of the resistance that life and the world place in Cabiria’s path.
February 28, 2021
Pedro Blas Gonzalez
Senses of Cinema
It’s a terrific confection, and Fellini’s pixie-ish wife Giulietta Masina gives a wonderfully rich, heartbreaking performance as the title character.
February 28, 2021
Ian White
Starburst
Like La Strada, Fellini’s other near-masterpiece, Cabiria has some of the limitations of an acting vehicle that sometimes loses its way on the road of life and forks out into the by-paths of a virtuoso performance.
February 3, 2021
Andrew Sarris
Film Culture
Giulietta Masina is phenomenal as Cabiria.
January 23, 2021
Eve Tushnet
Patheos…
Plot
Practicing the world’s oldest profession in the archaeological walk of Rome’s Parco di Porta Capena, the trusting, stubbornly-optimistic streetwalker Cabiria refuses to lose faith in love. After escaping death by the skin of her teeth, the hurt and momentarily-disenchanted Cabiria continues to confront life with a mixture of naivete and arrogance. One evening she ventures into the elegant Via Veneto and gets picked up by suave film star Alberto Lazzari. Disappointment awaits once more, and as poor Cabiria prays to Virgin Mary for guidance and a blessing, the man of her prayers, Oscar D’Onofrio, barges into her life after a chance encounter at a vaudeville theatre. But do miracles happen?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Giulietta Masina, who plays the lead role of Cabiria, won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her performance in Nights of Cabiria.
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