La strada (1954)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Federico Fellini

Writers:

Federico Fellini (story) &
Tullio Pinelli (story) ...

Release Date:

16 July 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A carefree girl is sold to a traveling entertainer, consequently enduring physical and emotional pain along the way.

Plot Keywords:

Road | On The Road | Innocence | Famous Score | Sadism

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 8 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Anthony Quinn	...	Zampanò
Giulietta Masina	...	Gelsomina
Richard Basehart	...	Il Matto
Aldo Silvani	...	Signor Giraffa
Marcella Rovere	...	La Vedova
Livia Venturini	...	La Suorina

Also Known As:

The Road (USA) (literal English title)

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:G | Australia:M (alternate rating) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-10 (1986) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons) | West Germany:16 | Singapore:PG | Norway:15 (1995) | UK:PG (video rating) | UK:A (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Bagnoregio, Viterbo, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Ponti-De Laurentiis Cinematografica

Trivia:

Anthony Quinn said in an interview a few years before his death that he originally accepted a deal that would have paid him a percentage of the profits this film generated instead of an upfront salary. When his agent found out about it, the agent changed the deal and insisted an upfront salary and no percentage. Quinn said that decision cost him several million dollars.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the wedding, the size and color of the dot on Gelsomina's nose appears to change between the times when she is taken to Oswaldo and when she is fed.

Quotes:

Zampanò: [reciting his act by rote before a crowd] Here we have a piece of chain that is a quarter of an inch thick. It is made of crude iron, stronger than steel. With the simple expansion of my pectoral muscles, or chest, that is, I'll break the hook.
[collecting money from the crowd]
Zampanò: Thank you, thank you. Now, to do this feat, I must fill myself up like a tire. If a blood vessel should break, I would spit blood. For instance, in Milan a man weighing 240 pounds lost his eyesight doing this trick. That is because the optical nerves take a beating, and once you lose your eyes, you are finished. If there's any delicate person in the audience, I would advise him to look away 'cause there could be blood.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Fellini: Je suis un grand menteur (2002)

To film as Bach is to music

La Strada brings two souls together to tell a story that ultimately displays humanity's finer aspects. The title gives a clue to the meaning of Fellini's masterpiece: The Way. The brute, Zampano, buys the urchin-like Gelsomina to be his traveling companion in his one-man carnival act. He is physically and emotionally cruel to her. Her longing to love and be loved, and her child-like, yet acute perception of life, and desire to live it, despite hardships, makes her the perfect complement to the selfish and despicable Zampano. Their unification affects each other. However, although Zampano's harshness adversely effects Gelsomina's life, it is her influence that will eventually, and more significantly, change him. This may sound like the familiar Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, but it is more than a love story. It is about love, but it isn't until the very end of the film that we realize it. More than love, it is about a man who gains insight and awareness, because of love. It is his finale transformation that demonstrates both the frailty and vitality of the human condition. It overpoweringly suggests that the individual, no matter how depraved, can spiritually evolve. I appreciate stories like this. They are inspirational. "Midnight Cowboy" is another film that culminates with a rugged depiction of the finer aspects of humanity.