La Strada (1954)

I'd say your link comparison between Rossellini and 8 1/2 is definitely fair. When I saw this most recently my version did not unfortunately include the Scorsese introduction, but I would certainly agree with you that there a lot of Zampanos in Scorsese's work, from Mean Streets all the way up to The Departed.

I adored Masina in this. Chaplin comparison is very apt, and I think that was part of the intention. The circus environment goes hand in hand with this, and the way that she uses this kind of Chaplinesque behavior to gain sympathy for her character I think is brilliant, and overall is pretty devastating to watch as the film winds down. Also, got to love Anthony Quinn though as Zampano. His performance here is brilliant, from the way his character develops from their initial encounter to his behavior around il Matto on to that devastating final act which is wrapped up with that shot on the beach that will absolutely rip you up no matter how many times you see this film.

There's so much else I could write about La Strada (and have), from the Fellinesque Christ figure in il Matto to everything you can think of about Zampano. I had to write about ten pages on this film last year, and I had no problem doing so - it's my favorite Fellini. I think it's a lot different from 8 1/2 and La Dolce Vita, even, in that he follows a much tighter (for Fellini) narrative that feels more like reality than the very dream like world of 8 1/2. Such a fantastic film. I hope more people join in on this discussion.

I just watched Amarcord. I remembered bits of it from seeing it TV years ago. It has some lovely passages, and a fun sense that anything can happen. It is a bit overlong and meanders in places. Still, found it worth a look.

I'd like to check out La Strada, 8 1/2, Satyricon et al. I enjoyed La Dolce Vita.

Meandering is more or less what Fellini does. La Dolce Vita and 8 1/2 being the best examples. There isn't much of a plot in those two, but obviously they stand up on pure brilliance, a lot of greatness in both of those. La Strada is a totally different animal, however. It's much tighter for a Fellini film and there's never (in my opinion) a dull moment.

One of my favorite foreign films and probably my favorite Fellini film.

La Strada is riddled with subtle beauty and joy. IMO, it's Fellini's best.

It's always been a toss up, to me, between this and 8 1/2.

The opening to 8 1/2 is one of the most stunning and surreal things I've ever seen. And what a great cast.

I first tried to get into Fellini through 8 1/2, but found it too difficult at the time to get into. La Strada was immediately accessible due to the incredible performances of Anthony Quinn and Giuletta Masina. Is Giuletta Masina's performance in Juliett of the Spirits similar to this?

Juliette of the Spirits is another of Fellini's more biographical films (which started with Il Vitelloni and then really kicked into high gear with 8 1/2), and the movie is very much about Giuletta Masina's life with Fellini. The movie doesn't feel very much like La Strada at all, and she's certainly plaining a person who realizes that the world is mean to her, and that it shouldn't be, whereas I felt that in La Strada, her character just doesn't know that life can indeed be good, and that the beatings she takes throughout life are simply the norm. It's been a while since I've watched both movies, so I could be completely off the mark. But La Strada has a bit of a fairy tale feel to it, while Juliette is a rather depressing take on the way Fellini treated his wife, yet she always stuck by him.

In a recent thread about Amarcord, I had suggested that it's very important to know Fellini's life as you start to watch many of his movies post Dolce Vita. They contain a lot of biographical moments, and many of his movies, especially 8 1/2 and Juliette, can go way over your head if you don't know much about the director's personal life.

Roger Ebert's essay on Juliette in his Great Movies section is, as always, a fantastic read, and can be read prior to viewing the movie, to ensure you get the most out of it, on your first watching.

Personally, I think it's a much better film than La Strada, but I don't doubt that I'm very much in the minority on that one.

I just picked it up today in a sale. Will post my 2 cents after watching.

Watched it last night (Optimum R2, no Scorsese intro sadly). Very good indeed. Beautifully filmed, great performances, quite touching in places...I love the little moment where Gelsomina imitates the tree by sticking her arm out. Actually, she reminded me of Harpo Marx rather than Chaplin, although I see that comparison too!