Nights of Cabiria

Shown: 24 February 2001
Introduced by Phill Walkley
Best film - 54th season
Part of European Masterworks Day

Italy 1957 (subtitles)
117 minutes
Directed by Federico Fellini
Leading players - Giulietta Masina, François Périer and Amedeo Nazzari

Synopsis

Made in 1957, Federico Fellini's Nights of Cabiria is a masterpiece of Italian cinema which stars his wife, Giulietta Masina, in the title role. It won him the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Picture for the second year running and for her performance Masina won the Best Actress award at Cannes. Re-released last year in a restored print it tells the story of a waifish prostitute who wanders the streets of Rome in search of love but finding only heartbreak.

Born in Rimini in 1920 Fellini began his career as a director in the post Second World War Italian neo-realist movement and his films are noted for extravagant visual images. Shortly before his death in 1993 Fellini was awarded a special Oscar for lifetime achievement in film.