Juliet of the Spirits (1965) Giulietta degli spiriti (original title)

Director:

Federico Fellini

Writers:

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

Release Date:

3 November 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

Tagline:

Fellini's Masterpiece !

Plot:

Visions, memories, and mysticism all help a 40-something woman to find the strength to leave her cheating husband.

Plot Keywords:

Vision | Eccentric | Sex | Memory | Psychic

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Giulietta Masina	...	Giulietta Boldrini
Sandra Milo	...	Suzy / Iris / Fanny
Mario Pisu	...	Giorgio (Giulietta's husband)
Valentina Cortese	...	Valentina
Valeska Gert	...	Pijma
José Luis de Vilallonga	...	Giorgio's friend (as José De Villalonga)
Friedrich von Ledebur	...	Medium (as Fredrich Ledebur)
Caterina Boratto	...	Giulietta's mother
Lou Gilbert	...	Grandfather
Luisa Della Noce	...	Adele
Silvana Jachino	...	Dolores
Milena Vukotic	...	Elisabetta - the maid
Fred Williams	...	Lynx-Eyes' agent
Dany París	...	Desperate friend
Anne Francine	...	Psychodramatist
Sylva Koscina	...	Sylva
Elena Fondra	...	Elena
George Ardisson	...	Dolores' model (as Giorgio Ardisson)
Genius	...	Valentina's lover
Elisabetta Gray	...	Teresina - the tall maid
Alberto Plebani	...	Lynx-Eyes
Yvonne Casadei	...	Susy's maid
Mario Conocchia	...	Lawyer
Federico Valli	...	Lynx-Eyes' agent
Asoka Rubener	...	Bhisma's helper
Alba Cancellieri	...	Giulietta as a child
Sujata Rubener	...	Bhisma's helper
Alberto Cevenini
Cesarino Miceli Picardi	...	Friend of Giorgio
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Guido Alberti	...	Player (uncredited)
Inna Alexeievna	...	Susy's Grandmother (uncredited)
Mary Arden	...	TV Actress (uncredited)
Alicia Brandet	...	TV Dancer (uncredited)
Maria Cumani Quasimodo	...	Woman at Bhishma's Sitting (uncredited)
Dakar	...	Black Man on Barge (uncredited)
Dina De Santis	...	Susy's Maid (uncredited)
Rosella De Sepio	...	Granddaughter (uncredited)
Rika Dialina	...	Woman in Nightmare (uncredited)
Mino Doro	...	Player (uncredited)
Bob Edwards	...	Dolores' Model (uncredited)
Felice Fulchignoni	...	Doctor Raffaele (uncredited)
Gilberto Galvani	...	Susy's Chauffeur (uncredited)
Sabrina Gigli	...	Granddaughter (uncredited)
Hildegarde Golez	...	Susy's Maid (uncredited)
Raffaele Guida	...	Arabian Prince (uncredited)
Walter Harrison	...	Don Raffaele (uncredited)
Jacques Herlin	...	Frenchman at Party (uncredited)
Lea Lander	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Claudie Lange	...	(uncredited)
Alessandra Mannoukine	...	Susy's Mother (uncredited)
Nadir Moretti	...	Model (uncredited)
Carlo Pisacane	...	Friar (uncredited)
Remo Risaliti	...	Lynx-Eyes' Agent (uncredited)
Grillo Rufino	...	Bhisma's Helper (uncredited)
Anita Sanders	...	Susy's Guest (uncredited)
Massimo Sarchielli	...	Dolores' Model (uncredited)
Seyna Seyn	...	Masseuse (uncredited)
Marilù Tolo	...	(uncredited)
Edoardo Torricella	...	Russian Teacher (uncredited)
Sigrid von Richthofen	...	(uncredited)
Eugene Walter	...	Mother Superior (uncredited)

Directed by
Federico Fellini

Writing credits
Federico Fellini		(story) &
Tullio Pinelli		(story)
Federico Fellini		(screenplay) &
Tullio Pinelli		(screenplay) &
Ennio Flaiano		(screenplay) &
Brunello Rondi		(screenplay)

Produced by
Henry Deutschmeister	....	producer (uncredited)
Clemente Fracassi	....	producer (uncredited)
Angelo Rizzoli	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Nino Rota

Cinematography by
Gianni Di Venanzo

Film Editing by
Ruggero Mastroianni

Production Design by
Giantito Burchiellaro
Luciano Ricceri		(as Luciano Riccieri)
E. Benazzi Taglietti

Art Direction by
Piero Gherardi

Set Decoration by
Vito Anzalone

Costume Design by
Piero Gherardi

Makeup Department
Otello Fava	....	makeup artist
Marisa Fraticelli	....	hair stylist
Renata Magnanti	....	hair stylist
Eligio Trani	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Mario Basili	....	production manager
Walter Benelli	....	production supervisor
Alessandro von Norman	....	production manager (as Alessandro Von Normann)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Francesco Aluigi	....	assistant director

Art Department
Francesco Cuppini	....	assistant set decorator (as Franco Cuppini)

Sound Department
Mario Faraoni	....	sound
Mario Morigi	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Pasqualino De Santis	....	camera operator (as Pasquale De Santis)

Casting Department
Jose Villaverde	....	casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Alice Brugnaro	....	head seamstress
Bruna Parmesan	....	assistant costume designer
Clara Poggi	....	head seamstress

Editorial Department
Adriana Olasio	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Carlo Savina	....	musical director
Eugene Walter	....	composer: song "Go Milk the Moon" with Nino Rota, cut from final version

Other crew
Liliane Betti	....	secretary (as Liliana Betti)
Renato Fiè	....	production secretary
Clemente Fracassi	....	general manager
Ennio Onorati	....	production secretary
Eschilo Tarquini	....	script supervisor
Rosalba Zavoli	....	secretary
Riccardo Cucciolla	....	voice dubbing: José Luis de Villalonga (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Rizzoli Film
• Francoriz Production

Distributors

• Cineriz (1965) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Elan Films (1965) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Connossieur Video (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Universal Music & Video Distribution (UMVD) (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Rialto Pictures (2001) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Criterion Collection, The (2002) (USA) (DVD) (subtitled)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (2002) (USA) (VHS)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Inter France Distribution (IFD) (1965) (France) (theatrical)
• Rizzoli (1965) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Altomedia. Co. Ltd. (????) (Korea) (DVD)
• Altomedia. Co. Ltd. (????) (Korea) (VHS)
• Connoisseur Video (????) (UK) (VHS)
• DVD Classic (2004) (Russia) (DVD)
• Fabulous Films (1995) (UK) (VHS)
• Homescreen (2003) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Homescreen (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2011) (Australia) (video) (VOD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2012) (Australia) (TV)

Also Known As:

"Giulietta degli spiriti" - Italy (original title)

Runtime:

137 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Italy:VM14 | Sweden:15 | Brazil:14 | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Rizzoli Film

Trivia:

Director Federico Fellini claimed he took LSD in preparation for making this film.

Quotes:

Giorgio:Jose owns one of the biggest bull farms. Sometimes at night this madman puts on his own bullfight.
Giulietta Boldrini:What courage! Isn't it dangerous?
Giorgio's friend:No, signora, it's poetry. Poetry is never dangerous. My best friends are toreadors. They compose music, write verse, and abhor blood.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Annie Hall (1977)

Technicolor Psyche of a Woman at a Loss for Love

I was 15 years old when I stumbled into a cinema and caught my first Fellini film -- Juliet of the Spirits. I was so jazzed, wowed and bedazzled by it, I'm sure I went back a few more times. It led me to other Fellini films and, since, he's become my favorite film director.

Though at age 15, I shouldn't have been able to relate very well with this story of an Italian middle-aged woman and her crumbling psyche (what with her failing marriage, her unsympathetic relatives and her repressive childhood), the movie made me care about this woman and showed me sights on film that I'd never seen before.

Masina (Fellini's wife), in her performance, has nearly everything to do with making Juliet's story meaningful, even to a teenaged boy in California. The character's thoughts flash, unspoken, across her face. Her fear, her

bemusement, her insecurities--all are writ in italics and I had no trouble empathizing with Juliet.

Fellini, though, makes the film an occasion to witness how far the medium can go in bringing alive a person's inner life. The weird and awful power of (subjective) memory, the dream state, the spectres of loneliness, betrayal and Catholic mythology: all these and more overtake the screen, dominate the imagery and play the antagonists to Juliet who, as seen by the other "real" characters in the story, is just a simple, loving housewife and neighbor. Juliet finally has to face her demons and either vanquish them or go mad. By the end of the film, we know most of her demons, where they came from, whom they represent and what they mean. What an accomplishment!

In a clinical setting, Fellini dropped LSD around the time he concocted this film. That may be one reason the movie is so psychedelic. This also was his first feature in color. The music is unforgettable. Costumes should have won the Oscar, but that honor went to "Man for all Seasons".

Incidentally, I've bought and viewed the DVD of this movie. It's quite washed-out and not as good as an available VHS letterboxed version.

I'll always miss Fellini, but am so grateful that he was able to make this film and over a dozen others.