Featured Audience Ratings

• Bob S

  
  gut wrenching innocence

• Devon B

  
  Giulietta Masina ("La strada") is absolutely devastating in her role as the titular Cabiria in "Nights of Cabiria" (and when I say devastating, I mean it only in the best sense). Cabiria is quite a character to say the least. A prostitute who puts on a big loud… More
  Giulietta Masina ("La strada") is absolutely devastating in her role as the titular Cabiria in "Nights of Cabiria" (and when I say devastating, I mean it only in the best sense). Cabiria is quite a character to say the least. A prostitute who puts on a big loud and tough exterior yet is almost fatally naive when it comes to love. In an opening scene, her boyfriend robs her and pushes her in the river to drown. She tries to play it off as an accident, a lover's tiff, but her friends know better. All of her mannerisms suggest someone who's putting on an act, and it doesn't feel as if we're ever allowed to see the "real" Cabiria. Well, almost. Towards the end of the film, we're shown (quite intentionally by director Federico Fellini) the true motivations of certain characters. It's this foreshadowing, allowing the audience in on things, that makes it so heartbreaking when Cabiria finally catches on. Cabiria is all the innocence of the world that we must so desperately cling to, in order to preserve even the slightest remainder of it. Giulietta Masina was married to Fellini for many years and it's through her we see his unique world view focused. Nights of Cabiria features many Fellini signatures: the robust yet voluptious woman, the skeletal structure silhouetted against the sky, and the seemingly random parade of fools, which in Cabiria's world, signals the final triumph of innocence over cynicism: that even in the darkest hour, we can be swayed to smile by the music of children, if it is truly in our nature to do so.

• Anthony L

  
  Giulietta Masina was a great actress. I preferred her character in La Strada but her performance in Nights of Cabiria is much stronger. I've not seen Sweet Charity but I'm aware of it and I'm quite shocked at the audacity of it, I shan't judge until I've… More
  Giulietta Masina was a great actress. I preferred her character in La Strada but her performance in Nights of Cabiria is much stronger. I've not seen Sweet Charity but I'm aware of it and I'm quite shocked at the audacity of it, I shan't judge until I've viewed it for myself but this is a great film, an untouchable classic and a crucial point in Fellini's career as this marked the departure from neo-realism into the surreal and wonderful! It's all good though and I really think he's a director you should follow chronologically.

• Stefanie C

  
  Bellisimo!!!

• danny d

  
  there is no mountain top that fellini seems that he is trying to reach here, but the film works on so many other levels that it ends up being exceptional anyway. by following cabiria, we get a wonderful and often scathing look into roman night life, from her exploits with the richest… More
  there is no mountain top that fellini seems that he is trying to reach here, but the film works on so many other levels that it ends up being exceptional anyway. by following cabiria, we get a wonderful and often scathing look into roman night life, from her exploits with the richest of the rich to the poorest of the poor, and many places in between. the tragic nature of the film makes sense, cabiria just sets herself up to be swindled it seems. she sort of ends where she started, but the adventure she went through in between is an engaging one. really an excellent film.

• Ken S

  
  My favorite Fellini. A picture of immense emotion and humor.

• Randy T

  
  Fellini puts the loveable Giulietta Masina through yet another tragic set of circumstances. Here she's a prostitute who dreams of finding her one true love, even though her heart is repeatedly broken by a series of men with ill intentions. Masina's irrepressible impish… More
  Fellini puts the loveable Giulietta Masina through yet another tragic set of circumstances. Here she's a prostitute who dreams of finding her one true love, even though her heart is repeatedly broken by a series of men with ill intentions. Masina's irrepressible impish charm compels you to root for her, but her characters always seemed destined for disappointment. Come on Federico, give the gal a break! (Where the hell is Frank Capra when you need him? lol)

• Drew S

  
  Nothing short of stunning. Cabiria is a truly unforgettable woman.

• Michael G

  
  Definitely good. For the first hour I was paying more attention to what was going on around Cabiria than what was actually happening with her. Once the hypnotism scene happened it was all her. The ending on this one is talked up quite a bit. The lead up to it was more interesting to… More
  Definitely good. For the first hour I was paying more attention to what was going on around Cabiria than what was actually happening with her. Once the hypnotism scene happened it was all her. The ending on this one is talked up quite a bit. The lead up to it was more interesting to me than the actual ending, but I liked it as a whole nonetheless. Nothing to murder a busload of nuns to see, but definitely worth your time.

• Lanning :

  
  <b>Le Notti di Cabiria </b> <p> Mahalo, XTC, for the recommendation; this truly is moving. You go through life taking one beating after another, and then you do find happiness. Of course not. A heartbreaking performance by Giulietta Masina, Fellini's wife. I… More
  <b>Le Notti di Cabiria </b> <p> Mahalo, XTC, for the recommendation; this truly is moving. You go through life taking one beating after another, and then you do find happiness. Of course not. A heartbreaking performance by Giulietta Masina, Fellini's wife. I can almost see why he would be attracted to her in real life. Masina has an uncanny look and ability to portray every mood under the sun. It's a kind of Fellini-esque plasticiity of character that is most admirable. My guess is that she is equally adept at playing comedy. A wonderful talent with an amazing face.

• Byron B

  
  Strada and Cabiria deal with similar themes of innocence vs. cynicism. Guilietta (Fellini's wife in real life) plays the innocent in Strada who is finally beaten down by witnessing a tragedy committed by Zampano, the strongman. Here Guilietta plays Cabiria/Maria, the street… More
  Strada and Cabiria deal with similar themes of innocence vs. cynicism. Guilietta (Fellini's wife in real life) plays the innocent in Strada who is finally beaten down by witnessing a tragedy committed by Zampano, the strongman. Here Guilietta plays Cabiria/Maria, the street walker, more familiar with life and cynical of other people, but still at times showing an innocence hidden beneath the surface. I liked Guilietta a bit more in this role playing a woman who has a lot of fight in her, sometimes dancing and being loud and not caring what others think, and sometimes worrying a whole bunch about others taunting her. There are still some touching moments, but I thought this movie was a lot funnier. Cabiria struggles when thinking about her future, she sees a famous actor who lives in a huge ornate mansion, she sees homeless people who live in caves, and becomes convinced she has to seek redemption from the church for her life as a prostitute in order to live happily and find love. I heard in a documentary that Fellini believed in the Franciscan idea that everyone can be redeemed. But in both of these Fellini movies I've seen so far, he also clearly shows the mob mentality that goes along with the processions and ceremonies. After repenting and asking to be saved, Cabiria realizes she and all her prostitute and pimp friends haven't changed, a realistic cynicism comes through. Still when beautiful words and the promise of happiness that she craves are offered, she reverts to her innocent self, Maria. Toward the end she repeats a mistake she made at the beginning. But is it a mistake to trust someone when they insist they love you? Can you accept that love and keep your eyes open for the signs that something is wrong? In the midst of the tragedy of losing trust in someone you've given your life to, you may feel that you want it all to end. Eventually Cabiria chooses life and though she has lost a lot, she is reminded of the joy of youth and that there is hope for tomorrow.

• John B

  
  Fellini uses his wife to good impact in a number of his films and this is no exception. I think Giulietta Masina is great here. A nice step up from La Strada.

• Jared H

  
  Although this movie is quite boring at times, and the Italian accents can get a little grinding, I really do think that Cabiria is a really fantastic character, and Giulietta Masina really embodies the role amazingly well. She's funny, and charming, and you can't help but… More
  Although this movie is quite boring at times, and the Italian accents can get a little grinding, I really do think that Cabiria is a really fantastic character, and Giulietta Masina really embodies the role amazingly well. She's funny, and charming, and you can't help but root for her. It's not the best experience I've had watching a movie, but I do actually understand why people are love with this one.

• Ivan D

  
  Aside from being a masterful surrealist, it is also very notable to state that Federico Fellini is also a morally powerful and spiritually transcendent filmmaker. This is, of course, very much evident here in "Nights of Cabiria", an unforgettable cinematic masterpiece that… More
  Aside from being a masterful surrealist, it is also very notable to state that Federico Fellini is also a morally powerful and spiritually transcendent filmmaker. This is, of course, very much evident here in "Nights of Cabiria", an unforgettable cinematic masterpiece that traverses the widely unseen and unheard (at the time) world of prostitution and the soulful humanity that bleeds through and through albeit the blind sexuality contained within it. Although it is much expected that the film shall highlight the more obscene aspect of what many consider as the 'oldest profession in the world' just like, say, Luis Bunuel's later film "Belle de Jour", "Nights of Cabiria" is surprisingly very mellow with the jobs' details and instead delves not on the inner workings of the affordable sex that they offer or on what motivates prostitutes to continue on doing what they're doing but on the reasons why they should not anymore. At the center of it all is the energetic yet at times very temperamental Cabiria (played by Giulietta Masina), a prostitute who can be the most romantically jaded one minute yet can also be the most hopelessly romantic in the next. With a face that still echoes her heartbreaking turn in Fellini's earlier film "La Strada", Giulietta Masina, with her sometimes tomboyish facial expressions and mime-like gestures reminiscent of silent film stars, is a beautiful embodiment of both melancholy and hope. With her consistently comical body language and a face that fluctuates between naughtiness and confusion, Cabiria is evidently a most complex character to pull off. But despite of that, Masina has done it as if without much effort. Yes, perhaps there are no scenes that show her participating in any simulated sexual congress. And yes, perhaps Giulietta Masina does not, in any way, physically resemble an actual prostitute, what with her small stature and relatively frail body frame. But with the help of her masterful evocation of Cabiria's romantic naivety and pure humanity, she has been most believable as one in much the same way Philip Seymour Hoffman is never a dead ringer for Truman Capote (Toby Jones relatively gets that distinction) yet he has made us believe that he actually is the "In Cold Blood" writer for close to 2 hours mainly because of how inspired his performance was. But then of course, Giulietta Masina's powerful performance wouldn't really be as penetrating if not for Nino Rota's stirring musical score, the film's often dream-like photography and Fellini's patient direction which has perfectly built-up the film until its heart-breaking yet hopeful finale. Just like Fellini's masterpiece "La Dolce Vita", "Nights of Cabiria" is a film that's highly dependent not on how or where the so-called 'carnival of life' will bring the main characters to but how he/she may figure in the playfulness and hysteria of it all. In one of the film's most resonant sequences, Cabiria, along with her co-workers, joined a small pilgrimage heading towards the Santuario della Madonna so that they can ask her for forgiveness and guide. Albeit her countless pleads for mercy and various promises to change her way of life, Cabiria never felt any better or different, and so do her co-workers. Although a filmmaker that largely incorporates religious symbolism into his films, Fellini seems always aware that religion will always be a mere spiritual opiate and nothing more; that fate solely depends on whatever life a person leads and not on some higher power; that some music and a smile, not some wooden idols and a haplessly fevered devotion to the great unknown, can make the world of difference. With "Nights of Cabiria", Federico Fellini has made us all believe that despair can merely be shrugged off by a more than hopeful countenance. For the longest time, cinema has often made us feel the utter fruitlessness of existence and how it is almost impossible to graduate from life pristine and unscathed. "Nights of Cabiria", perhaps the best film ever made that deals with the emotional and moral conflict buried deep within the heart of prostitution, is a precious piece of art that genuinely captures the elusive essence of hope amidst anguish rarely seen in today's cinema.

• Lauren D

  
  I actually put this off for years because the face on the cover annoyed the hell out of me. However, Guiletta Masina's perfomance was what I enjoyed most. I didn't think the movie itself that great because it's not really my kind of movie. But she was pretty awesome.… More
  I actually put this off for years because the face on the cover annoyed the hell out of me. However, Guiletta Masina's perfomance was what I enjoyed most. I didn't think the movie itself that great because it's not really my kind of movie. But she was pretty awesome. And I rarely praise a female's perfomance (this is the 4th time ever, I think). But yeah, the movie was pretty boring.

• Dimitris S

  
  The greatest neorealist picture from Fellini's early period, an innovator of transgressive themes such is a prostitute's living condition.Landscape as a hostile environment and a male oppression.A bizarre feeling in the 20th century even more alternative thanks to that… More
  The greatest neorealist picture from Fellini's early period, an innovator of transgressive themes such is a prostitute's living condition.Landscape as a hostile environment and a male oppression.A bizarre feeling in the 20th century even more alternative thanks to that amazing creature named Giulietta Masina in a supreme role going against the conformism of the "ruling class".

• Tom S

  
  Fellini on faith. And for once he offers a positive perspective.

• MJS M

  
  Of the ?big three? foreign directors of the 50s and 60s (Kurosawa, Bergman, and Fellini) I?ve seen a lot less of Fellini?s work. So, I decided to look through a few more of his films starting with this gem. Giulietta Masina creates a truly lovely character that you can?t help but… More
  Of the ?big three? foreign directors of the 50s and 60s (Kurosawa, Bergman, and Fellini) I?ve seen a lot less of Fellini?s work. So, I decided to look through a few more of his films starting with this gem. Giulietta Masina creates a truly lovely character that you can?t help but fall in love with and allows the viewer to follow her through a few weeks of her life. The ending is both heartbreaking and lovely at the same time. Unfortunately the film?s print has seen better days, it had a lot of flaws and was generally grainy throughout. Hopefully it will get a better restoration in the future.

Read all 18 featured audience ratings