Reviews & Ratings for
The Stranger More at IMDbPro »Lo straniero (original title)

Page 1 of 2:

[1] [2]

36 out of 40 people found the following review useful:
The Camus of Visconti, 12 March 2005

Author: arichmondfwc from United States

A naked room, a dead old woman lies on a wooden coffin, across the coffin we see her son. His head down, his face slightly contorted. We move in to notice with a chill that he's just trying to get some dirt from under his fingernails. Mersault. Visconti's Mersault inspired by Camus's Mersault. The film was attacked in its day and the Albert Camus's purists shouted blue murder or worse, they didn't say a word. Visconti knew what he was doing. He chose Marcelo Mastroianni to play Mersault. By that choice alone he was departing from Camus's intentions and yet, if you read the book today and see the film today, Mastroianni is Camus's Mersault. It is the driest of all Visconti films. His toughest. Mastroianni gives a performance that defies description. If you've seen more than once,"XXX" by choice, I don't promise you that you'll surrender, automatically, to the power of this film, but I can assure you that both films belong to the same Universe, yours, ours. Give it a try. Then, you tell me.

19 out of 28 people found the following review useful:
Probably Visconti's Best Film, 23 August 2004

Author: tangoviudo from Philippines

Although completely panned by critics and Visconti fans ever since its release, I happen to think that this is probably Visconti's best film.

For starters, I was never a Visconti fan. I always thought of him as a talented window-dresser rather than a great or even a good filmmaker (Bertolucci has inherited his mantle). So I wasn't surprised that he thought he could make a halfway decent film adaptation of Camus' great novel. That he happened to do so was a complete surprise to me.

Though dubbed by a French actor, Mastroianni makes a superb Meursault. And Anna Karina was never more beautiful (especially in her first nude scene). The locations are chosen well, though it's often hard to remember that Visconti was trying to stick to the period of the novel (1930s Algiers). There are a handful of other fine performances, and Giuseppe Rotunno uses a palette of colors that is a study in itself.

Piero Piccioni summoned up a bleak, modernist musical score that suitably catches the somberness of the material. This film is an unrecognized and almost forgotten example of what an overrated "auteur" can do when budget limitations and a combination of good casting and a talented crew come together in a highly serious attempt at adapting a great novel. (And it is far better than Visconti's later prissy adaptation of Mann's "Death in Venice.")

9 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Visually hypnotic adaptation of Camus' L'etranger, 28 August 2006

Author: ted-129 from San Francisco

Visconti brings to life the Camus novel with the minimum of dialog and surreal visuals.

Algiers sweats. The sun's glare beats down and doesn't let up--right up to the courtroom scene where one watches a dazed Mastroianni in the foreground while the fans of the jury members move in constant motion in a soft-focus background. Much of the film has a dreamlike feel that fuses with the existential blankness felt by Mastroianni's character.

I recall this film playing frequently in San Francisco at the Times Theater back in the early stoner 70's. And with the 70's, this film has all but disappeared. One only hopes that all of Visconti's films will someday make it to DVD--but especially The Stranger!

10 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
Stunning adaptation, 3 February 2006
Author: Jackstone54

Luchino Visconti's sublime adaptation of Camus' "unfilmable" existentialist classic is all but forgotten. It's one of Visconti's best films, a searing, intelligent film. Marcello Mastroianni reportedly stepped into the role of Meurseult, which Visconti had earmarked for his protégé Alain Delon, who would have been too pretty to play the character. Mastroianni gives a masterful performance. As his mistress Maria Cardona, Anna Karina is stunning. She is especially moving in the courtroom scene. Giuseppe Rotunno's cinematography is peerless. Pauline Kael voted this as one of the top three films of 1967, after "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Chimes at Midnight". I hear that the reason why the movie isn't available on DVD or video is because of the rights. Hope this is rectified soon.

10 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Visconti's 'The' Stranger', 6 September 2006

Author: Prokievitch Bazarov (bazarov24@yahoo.com) from Polotrov, Russia

"THE STRANGER," with Marcello Mastroianni,is a faithful pictorial representation of the Albert Camus novel—and that's what causes the trouble.

The events of the story are depicted with scrupulous adherence to the facts. But Camus told a story that hinged on "interior" matters, not so much what happened, but what it meant to the laconic young Frenchman in Algiers who killed an Arab and was sentenced to be executed for his crime.

Mr. Mastroianni is a perfect representation of what one might imagine the hero to be— handsome and not so much withdrawn from society as disengaged from it. Anna Karina plays Maria, the beautiful girl with whom he has an affair, in an earthy style that adheres to the manuscript with equal fidelity.

As produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by Luchino Visconti, the scenes are striking illustrations for the novel. The segments showing the young man attending his mother's funeral at an old-age home are especially well done. The soundtrack, in French, with typographical-error-laden English sub-titles, stays close to the words of Camus, with the star even reading some of the passages behind the film image because they cannot be acted.

But right there lies the big "but." The point of the story, or at least one of its points, is that man's fortune is decided by chance. This hangs over every line, the thought that one can do little to change things.

Even the senseless shooting of the Arab took place at an accidental, surrealistic moment, prompted by the oppressively hot sun. The death sentence results from the piecing together of incidental mishaps. There is here an undercurrent of Eastern fatalism—insh' Allah, God's will—and French ie m'en fou-tisme, the hell with it all.

Camus has expressed this brilliantly in literary form. But translated into film here, the thoughts lose their dramatic impact, because they deal with intangibles that are not portrayable in traditional cinema terms. Because of this, "The Stranger" becomes stodgy and colorless, even in color.

Because "The Stranger" deserves so much more, it is all the more disheartening to see an effort so painstakingly loyal wash out as a mere story line.

8 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
One of my top 10 films, 15 January 2006

Author: manolian from Miami.Fl

Too bad it's not available on VHS or DVD, when I first saw this film years ago I was blown away , the mood it evokes is totally what living life day to day is all about , pure existentialism, my father was one and I have some of that in me , so I totally got it , Life is but a fleeting moment by moment .Existentialist ,Camus was one along with Sartre it's the same day everyday ,only we ,measure our own decay with the man made notion of time.Based on Camus's novel This film will either impress you or bore you.But then again it all depends on how you look at life. If you enjoyed films such as Fellini's "La dolce Vita" or "wager with the devil" then you will certainly enjoy "The Stranger"

2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
more context than a review, 10 January 2011

Author: breyerii from Italy

Reviewing isn't really my thing. However, it seems that some information about this film, information that was only fully told when the film was restored in 2001, isn't easily accessible in English. So, here's the rundown:

1- during the long gestation of the project (from 1962), Visconti was often tempted to underscore the political side of the novel; this was shot down by the Camus family.

2- the first choice to play Meursalt was Alain Delon, but negotiations fell apart. In came Mastroianni, who offered to make the movie for half his usual pay. There was no way producer De Laurentiis would say no.

3- Visconti had envisioned a flashback structure to the film, with different viewpoints. The Camus widow imposed a writer of her choice (Roblès) to ensure literal faithfulness to the novel.

4- at this point Visconti tried to walk out, but he was bound to make this film by contract, and had to despite losing all enthusiasm. He was to remember it as his worst film.

Now for the vote. It is professionally done, and while Marcello gives a completely different take on Meursalt from the book - close your eyes and imagine young Delon instead - he gives it his best. A sufficient effort, if one does not think of what it could have been.

2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Visconti successfully brings Camus' ideas to a new medium, 1 May 2009

Author: timmy_501 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I've just finished watching Luchino Visconti's 1967 adaptation of Albert Camus novel The Stranger (aka The Outsider) and I want to share my thoughts. I'll start by saying that it's been a few years since I read the book but a review of the film I skimmed before watching it and my own surprisingly thorough recollection indicates that Visconti's film is a rather close adaptation.

The central premise of The Stranger is that Mersault, a normal man, commits a crime accidentally and is punished ostensibly for that crime but actually for his inability to fit in with the absurd society that he is a part of. This society is apparently bent on upholding traditions with no regard for the differences in individuals: Meursault is often emotionless when society expects him to be most emotional.

At the beginning of the film Meursault goes to his mother's funeral and appears rather stoic. We learn later that he sees death as a natural part of life; just as she has lived she must die. For Meursault mourning his mother's death would be like mourning a sunrise. Meursault and his mother's relationship had actually ended on good terms when she was alive and there was no reason for him to heap honors on her when she could no longer benefit from them. Unlike most people, Meursault isn't willing to show off emotionally for others.

Next we see Meursault having a relationship with an attractive woman about his own age. Society expects these two to fall in love and get married; this is something that the woman never thinks twice about. Our hero just doesn't see the point, however: he's happy enough to enjoy this woman's company but he doesn't feel like committing himself to her for the rest of his life. It's logical: why should he change things when they are going well already? Once again he isn't willing to pretend in order to conform to society's expectations.

The central event in the film is the a murder committed by Meursault. Due to his friend's indiscretion with a young woman Meursault is drawn into a fight with that woman's brother and some other men. One of the men has a knife and Meursault's friend produces a gun: fearing a hasty murder he takes the gun away from the man and sticks it into his pocket. Later, by chance, he runs into the knife wielding man again: he thinks he sees the knife (its ambiguous whether it's actually there or just some other object that reflects the sun) and shoots the man several times.

At his trial Meursault once again refuses to conform to expectations: he doesn't care what the judge or jury thinks of him. The trial is utterly absurd; more is said about his lack of emotion at his mother's funeral than his actual crime. Essentially, he is on trial for being a noncomformist.

In prison we see that he doesn't regret what he's done though he may regret the absurd world he lives in. In fact he gets most emotional when he runs across his opposite: a man who is so caught up in conformity that he is little more than a shadow of a man. That man is of course a priest and it's obvious that the story is meant to show contempt for this non thinker. The utter absurdity of a man who shuns logic preaching to a logical man is almost too much for both of them but it's the priest who must retreat from the cell.

The Stranger successfully portrays the difficulty a logical, self aware man has living in an absurd conformist society thus encapsulating Camus' Existentialist philosophy.

Visconti's film is a bit hard to separate from the source; the film has some brilliant ideas but they're just copied over. Still, I think even copying these ideas successfully into a new medium is pretty impressive. The film also does a really excellent job with lighting. Someone could surely write a nice essay about the lighting in this film but I won't bore you further with an attempt to do so, I know this is a bit long. Still, this was my first Visconti and I was pretty impressed. I find it a bit inexplicable that many people dislike this and don't think it expresses the novel's ideas very well.

The Outsider, 27 July 2011
Author: Gerald A. DeLuca (italiangerry@gmail.com) from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I watched two different copies of "The Stranger," the French version and the Italian version. I'm not quite sure which I prefer. The French version sounds more authentic, of course, because of the setting and the fact that everybody performed for the camera in French. Mastroianni did too, but his spoken French probably remained too accented and so he was dubbed by a native actor in the final version, or in THIS version. You get his voice in the Italian version, though Italian dialog in that setting makes no sense, and all the supporting performers, from Karina to Blier, are dubbed. Despite Mastroianni's talents as an actor, he really seems miscast here. He just doesn't look or feel right as Meursault. Yet he is still unforgettable. I've been re-reading chapters about the film in studies by Monica Stirling and Gala Servadio. Visconti originally had Alain Delon in mind for the role, and the Camus people preferred him, but I believe the Italian producers wanted Mastroianni, and Delon supposedly asked for too much money. The Camus people also insisted on absolute fidelity to the novel, whereas Visconti wanted to enlarge and adapt it, moving it to the present and including references to the struggle for Algerian independence. It was filmed in Algiers, about a year after Pontecorvo's film "The Battle of Algiers." The alternate English title "The Outsider" is a better one, since it clearly describes that character's alienation from society. I don't know if the results are a masterpiece, but it is still an indispensable work.

0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Nostalgic tale, 23 August 2011

Author: Moustafa_Q from United Arab Emirates

Splendid film about nothing. Few masks, telenovela's ingredients and substance like magic circle. Ambiguous myths and cruel realities. And passion of strange love.

It is not an original story. Slices of Garcia Marquez novels, atmosphere of pampas, poetic tragedies and miracle as ordinary life rule are pieces of a cultural space and spiritual values. But the root of movie is not a chain of clichés or a melodramatic tale. It is a very subtle exploration of feelings, questions and expectation. Picture of tradition and its fall. About Cinderella and Prince Charming.

It is not a great film but it is a touching adaptation. A trip in a small universe with elements from magic realism, exotic recipes and insignificant sacrifices. And about the soul of a slacker for who the world must be her creation.

"Lo straniero" is only a innocent flavor from putrefied flowers of childhood. Delicate, anonymous, without ornaments or secrets, without impressive ambitions, it is only nostalgic tale with roots in a lost space of miracles and food as magnificent spell.

Page 1 of 2:

[1] [2]

Add another review

Related Links