Amarcord (1974)

NEUTRAL

Various

91%

1973, Comedy/Drama, 2h 5m

RT Critics’ Score: 87% (UNBIASED)
RT Audience Score: 90%
Awards & Nominations: NA

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Critics Consensus

Ribald, sweet, and sentimental, Amarcord is a larger-than-life journey through a seaside village and its colorful citizens.

Audience Consensus

Amarcord is like a dreamy, nostalgic trip down memory lane, but with a touch of Fellini’s signature weirdness. It’s like watching a group of eccentric characters in a small Italian town, and you can’t help but feel like you’re a part of their world. The colors are muted, the music is enchanting, and the whole thing is just a delight to watch. Sure, it might not be for everyone, but if you’re in the mood for something whimsical and charming, give Amarcord a try.

Storyline

One year in a small northern Italian coastal town in the late 1930s is presented. The slightly off-kilter cast of characters are affected by time and location, the social mores dictated largely by Catholicism, and the national fervor surrounding Il Duce aka Benito Mussolini and Fascism. The stories loosely center on mid-teen Titta and his household, including his adolescent brother, his ever-supportive mother who is always defending him against his father, his freeloading maternal Uncle Lallo, and his paternal grandfather who slyly has eyes and hands for the household maid. Other townsfolk include: town beauty Gradisca, who can probably have any man she wants but generally has none as most think she out of their league; Volpina, the prostitute; Giudizio, the historian; a blind accordionist; and an extremely buxom tobacconist. The several vignettes presented include: the town bonfire in celebration of spring; life at Titta’s school with his classmates and teachers; Titta’s father Aurelio at his beachfront construction worksite and his and his workmates’ encounter with Volpina; Titta’s confessions to the priest about his burgeoning sexuality; Aurelio being questioned by authorities about his anti-Fascist leanings; a fantasy sequence at the luxurious Grand Hotel; a family outing with Aurelio’s institutionalized brother Teo; many townsfolk embarking on a sail to witness a marine event passing by their town; an annual car race; Titta’s fantasy encounter with the tobacconist after closing hours coming true; events surrounding the big snowfall that year, including a family tragedy; and an event centering on Gradisca and her future.

Production Company(ies)
United Artists Lions Gate Films, Industrial Development Corporation, of South Africa

Distributor
Criterion Collection, New World Pictures

Release Type
Theatrical

Filming Location(s)
Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

MPAA / Certificate
R

Year of Release
1974

Technical Specs

Color:

Color
Sound mix:

Mono
Aspect ratio:

1.85 : 1
Runtime:

2h 5m
Language(s):

Italian, Greek, ,, Ancient, (to, 1453)
Country of origin:

Italy
Release date:

Release Date (Theaters): Sep 19, 1974 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 5, 2006

Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama

Keyword(s)
starring Bruno Zanin, Magali Noël, Pupella Maggio, Armando Brancia, Ciccio Ingrassia, Nando Orfei, directed by Federico Fellini, written by Federico Fellini, Ton

Box Office Details

Worldwide gross: $196,609
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,302,808
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,530
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 142,073

US/Canada gross: $125,493
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $831,566
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,231
US/Canada opening weekend: $432
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $2,863
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,839

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

Cast & Crew

Magali Noël

Bruno Zanin

Pupella Maggio

Armando Brancia

Ciccio Ingrassia

Gradisca

Titta Biondi

Miranda Biondi

Aurelio Biondi Titta’s Father

Teo – the mad uncle

Magali Noël – Gradisca
Bruno Zanin – Titta Biondi
Pupella Maggio – Miranda Biondi
Armando Brancia – Aurelio Biondi Titta’s Father
Ciccio Ingrassia – Teo – the mad uncle
Nando Orfei – Patacca Titta’s Uncle

Federico Fellini

Franco Cristaldi

Director

Writer

Producer

Director(s)
Federico Fellini

Writer(s)
Federico Fellini, Tonino Guerra

Producer(s)
Franco Cristaldi

Film Festivals

Awards & Nominations
NA

Academy Awards
Oscar Best Foreign Language Film of the Year Winners, Oscar Winners

Top Reviews

John Russell Taylor

David Fear

Ben Kenigsberg

Wesley Morris

Jay Cocks

Sight & Sound

Time Out

Boston Globe

TIME Magazine

Washington Post

AMARCORD
All Critics (46) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (6)
Compared with [Fellini’s] other recent films, Amarcord is simple and classic to the point of self-denial.

April 1, 2020

John Russell Taylor
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
November 18, 2011 | Rating: 5/5

David Fear
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
November 17, 2011 | Rating: 5/5

Ben Kenigsberg
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Continues to resemble something a lewd, grouchy, fitfully indecent silent-movie director might have made for his first time using color and sound. That, at least, would explain the shouting.

December 22, 2009 | Rating: 2.5/4

Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
Fellini is so bountiful with incident and observation that he makes most other film makers seem stingy.

April 27, 2009

Jay Cocks
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Orthodox Fellini lovers will give primacy to La Strada or La Dolce Vita, but Amarcord has its fans, and it’s easy to see why.

March 13, 2009

Philip Kennicott
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
Its people look neither funny nor touching, neither monstrous nor human; they are mere lay figures tugged about aimlessly to fill out the space of the screen, the prescribed time for a major movie, and the leaky balloon of Fellini’s ego.

July 28, 2020

John Simon
Esquire Magazine
This classic is sentimental, crude, sexy, comical and romantic.

January 23, 2020 | Rating: 4/4

Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
The result is touching, sad and wonderfully bittersweet.

December 4, 2019

Jacoba Atlas
Los Angeles Free Press
Fellini shoots much of the film in muted colors that seem slightly out-of-focus, as if he were attempting to transport us into a dreamlike state.

January 10, 2016 | Rating: 82/100

Dan Jardine
Cinemania
Fellini’s ability to compose a frame that oozes baroque drama and vitality is almost unparalleled and Amarcord more or less succeeded for me in evoking a time period through the eyes of a young boy…

September 8, 2013

Glenn Dunks
Trespass
Sweet and endearing for many, irritating and tedious for others.

February 26, 2011 | Rating: 5/10

Christopher Long
Movie Metropolis…

Plot
One year in a small northern Italian coastal town in the late 1930s is presented. The slightly off-kilter cast of characters are affected by time and location, the social mores dictated largely by Catholicism, and the national fervor surrounding Il Duce aka Benito Mussolini and Fascism. The stories loosely center on mid-teen Titta and his household, including his adolescent brother, his ever-supportive mother who is always defending him against his father, his freeloading maternal Uncle Lallo, and his paternal grandfather who slyly has eyes and hands for the household maid. Other townsfolk include: town beauty Gradisca, who can probably have any man she wants but generally has none as most think she out of their league; Volpina, the prostitute; Giudizio, the historian; a blind accordionist; and an extremely buxom tobacconist. The several vignettes presented include: the town bonfire in celebration of spring; life at Titta’s school with his classmates and teachers; Titta’s father Aurelio at his beachfront construction worksite and his and his workmates’ encounter with Volpina; Titta’s confessions to the priest about his burgeoning sexuality; Aurelio being questioned by authorities about his anti-Fascist leanings; a fantasy sequence at the luxurious Grand Hotel; a family outing with Aurelio’s institutionalized brother Teo; many townsfolk embarking on a sail to witness a marine event passing by their town; an annual car race; Titta’s fantasy encounter with the tobacconist after closing hours coming true; events surrounding the big snowfall that year, including a family tragedy; and an event centering on Gradisca and her future.

Trivia