Alba Cancellieri, Caterina Boratto, Giulietta Masina, Jose Luis de Villalonga, Mario Pisu ...( see more  see more... ) , Rosella De Depio , Sandra Milo , Sylva Koscina , Valentina Cortese

Housewife Juliet retreats into a fantasy world, contacting spirits via her clairvoyant, as a way of escaping depression caused by her husband's philandering.

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86% liked it

5,427 ratings

Critics

86% liked it

21 critics

Unrated, 2 hrs. 28 min.

Directed by: Federico Fellini

Release Date: January 1, 1965

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DVD Release Date: September 14, 1999

Stats: 285 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (285)


  • November 28, 2009
    Semi-autobiographical piece put forth by Fellini and his wife, Giulietta Masina. It's the story of Giulietta (Giulietta), the spouse of a wealthy socialite who is forced to come to terms with her fleeting youth and her husband's infidelity.

    True to his nature, Fellini uses an...( read more) abundance of symbolism, abstract scripting and flamboyant characters to tell the story.

    For me, it's all a tad overwhelming. Maybe it's because this was his first color film, but there are so many extravagant visuals that it's hard to pay attention to the characters. I much prefer Fellini's earlier pictures where he cares about the story a little more and the scenery a little less.
  • July 26, 2009
    Working with technicolor for the very first time, beloved Italian director Federico Fellini experimented with psychedelic imagery and a thorough embrace of the color palette in "Juliet of the Spirits". While black-and-white photography tends to be associated with a dreamlike eleg...( read more)ance, color films are typically referred to as more realistic and accessible. Directors like Fellini or Powell & Pressburger, however, often abandoned those notions of realism and simply flaunted their terrific art direction in an over-saturated display of bright costumes, exaggerated lighting, and overwhelming set design. Although it was released in 1965, the production at times resembles an early Hollywood technicolor film from the 1930s.

    While Fellini was beloved by film fans throughout the 50's and the early 60's, to some "Juliet of the Spirits" marked his decline. While his earlier works are almost universally praised, from "La Dolce Vita" to "8 1/2", the later color films are often criticized for a lack of vision and being nothing more than a masturbatory display of style over substance.

    Juliet (Giulietta Masina, Fellini's wife) is a bourgeois housewife married to the unsatisfying and empty businessman, Giorgio (Mario Pisu). Soon, after discovering she can hear voices in an odd seance scene, Juliet begins existing simultaneously with her ghostly visions. She spends much time with her neighbor, Suzy (Sandra Milo), a confident tease with a never-ending onslaught of admirers. Not only does Suzy have a treehouse with an elevator to carry her lovers to the top, but she has a slide in her bedroom that leads to a swimming pool.

    Many of Juliet's visions deal with Catholic guilt, a reoccuring theme in Fellini's films. The visions aren't handled typically, but rather in a circus of flamboyant and often horrifying creations. One of her biggest nightmares, a grinning woman burning on a crucifix, seems to pop up around every corner.

    "Juliet of the Spirits" doesn't work as well as Fellini's other films do. Whereas Masina was unforgettable and relentlessly lovable in "Nights of Cabiria", here she is completely distant. I found myself unable to connect with the material on an emotional level, but I was nevertheless always interested by the fantastical display of costuming and set design. It's a strange film, but one with a never-ending amount of unique visions that you'll remember for a lifetime.
  • April 19, 2007
    It's hard to tell if the world we live in is either reality or a dream. -- Bin-jip (3-Iron)

    This line from 3-Iron is very appropriate for describing Giulietta Masina's dilemma in Juliet of the Spirits. In her struggle to free herself from the life she

    ...( read more)lives, Masina has moments where she wonders about whether the people she sees are in fact real. In her struggle to transcend her current situation, she at times borders on a kind of descent into madness because of her inability to distinguish between the real and the imagined.

    If you want to see Masina finally win one, this is the film for you. To loosely borrow from Stephanie in Saturday Night Fever when she attempts to label Tony's life, in Juliet of the Spirits Masina is a cliche; she's going nowhere. She manages, however, through the course of this story to turn her life around and escape from the trap, break out of the stale cliche her life has become.

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: Masina has an amazingly expressive face. Beautiful.

    Having used the word "cliche," I want to make it clear that Fellini's films are anything but cliches. He is a master of keeping his audience on their toes. Every transition to a new scene is a mystery; you never can guess where he's going next. And apparently, that's the way he made his movies: each is a kind of impromptu dance.

  • April 13, 2007
    Giulietta really had exquisite hats.
  • July 24, 2009
    Another masterpiece by Fellini. This was his first movie to be filmed in color, and it deserved such an honor! This movie is so visually beautiful and near the end terifying! Not for everyone, but for Fellini fans and fans of surrealism you'll find a one of a kind film here.
  • July 2, 2009
    Katie's thoughts - Long, wandering and boring with some interesting characters/visuals/style. I really enjoyed the Susie

    Shawn's thoughts - A little weak in the story department but loaded with interesting visuals. Even a weak Fellini film is worth watching for the style and ou...( read more)tlandish set design.


    seen 6/27/09
  • June 29, 2009
    Wow. Only the great Federico Fellini could have made a film like this. Each one of his movies are very unique and have a certain quality to them that are easily recognizable. Like all of his films, Juliet Of The Spirits is stunning in the aspects of lighting and visuals. Giuliett...( read more)a Masina is of course pitch-perfect. One of her best performances, if not her best. At times it can be hard to follow because you really need to get into the mind of Juliet to truly understand the entire film. So I may need to rewatch this movie in a couple months and see if I love it even more. Featured in this movie are tons of creepy visuals. One of Fellini's most underrated.
  • May 12, 2009
    even by Fellini standards, this film struck me as pretty weird. a head-first charge into color cinematography with vibrant colors and gaudy synthetic sets perfectly fitting for the materialist 1960s. engaging semi-autobiographic story of Fellini and Masina's marriage, complete ...( read more)with Fellini's always-bizarre-often-ambiguous cinematic dreamscapes. not quite the awe-inspiring brilliance of some of his earlier stuff, but this one has its moments.
  • March 28, 2009
    i finally understanded a Fellini movie.this one's story is simple than other Fellini movies.you will like it if you liked "la Dolce Vita".but Fellini is using his surrealist scenes more less in this.he has used that in only Guillet's imaginationsother than acting is great,story i...( read more)s more simple,scenes are good...i cant say more things about it.but i think Fellini fans should watch.
  • March 13, 2009
    Que no se note que Fellini estuvo interesado en el psicoanálisis. Giulietta Masina esta perfecta y la dirección de arte es genial

Critic Reviews


August 16, 2001
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It never less than dazzling to look at. full review

View more Giulietta degli Spiriti (Juliet of the Spirits) reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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