Considered by many to be Federico Fellini's most beautiful and powerful film, La Strada was the first film to reveal the range of Guilietta Masina, whose poignant performance as the childlike Gelsomina recalls Chaplin's Little Tramp. The bubbly, waiflike Gelsomina is a simpleton sold to the gruff, bullying circus strongman Zampanò (Anthony Quinn) as a servant and assistant. Treated no better than an animal, Gelsomina nonetheless falls in love with the brute Zampano. When they join a small circus they meet Il Matto (Richard Basehart), a clown who enchants Gelsomina and relentlessly taunts Zampanograve;, whose inability to control his hatred of Il Matto (literally, "the Fool") leads to their expulsion from the circus and eventually to the film's fateful conclusion. Masina is heartbreaking as the wide-eyed innocent, whose generous spirit and love of life leads her to try to "save" Quinn's unfeeling, brutal Zampanò. Though the film resonates with mythic and biblical dimensions, Fellini never loses sight of his characters, lovingly painted in all their frailties and failings. Fellini's lyrical style reaches back to the simple beauty of his neorealist films and looks ahead to the impressionistic fantasies of later films, but at this unique period in Fellini's career, they combine to create a poetic, tragic masterpiece. --Sean Axmaker
Regarded by some as Federico Fellini's finest work, and the winner of the first Academy Award® for Best Foreign Language Film, La Strada is a masterpiece of 20th Century filmmaking. Sold by her impoverished mother to Zampano (Anthony Quinn), a brutish fairground wrestler, waif-like Gelsomina (Giulietta Masina) lives a life of drudgery as his assistant. After taking to the road with a travelling circus, a budding relationship with Il Matto/The Fool (Richard Basehart), a gentle-natured, tightrope walking clown, offers a potential refuge from her master's clutches. Trapped by her own servile nature, Gelsomina waivers, and Zampano's volcanic temper erupts with tragic consequences. SPECIAL FEATURES: New Interview with director Julian Jarrold New Interview with Peter Matthews, Senior Lecturer, Film & Television, London College of Communication The Guardian Interview: Anthony Quinn (recorded at the BFI in 1995) Giulietta Masina 1955 Cannes interview Audio commentary by Chris Weigand on selected scenes
The winner of the first ever Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film available on DVD for the first time! Giulietta Masina (the late Federico Fellini's wife) stars as Gelsomina who is sold by her mother into the employ of Zampano (Anthony Quinn) a vicious strongman. They join up with a travelling circus where Zampano encounters his old rival tightrope artist The Fool (Richard Basehart). The Fool befriends Gelsomina and presents her with an uplifting view of the world as oppo
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