Nights of Cabiria Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Nights of Cabiria Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 9, 2022

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Essential Fellini.

It may not quite match the treatment Criterion afforded a certain iconic Swedish director with their frankly almost overwhelming Ingmar Bergman's Cinema release, but Essential Fellini should pretty easily serve as either an absolutely first rate introduction to or a nostalgic reacquaintance with one of Italy's most legendary filmmakers. Fourteen beloved if sometimes controversial Fellini films have been aggregated in this set, along with a bonus disc offering a special devoted to Marcello Mastroianni, and while Criterion only provided check discs for the purposes of this review, from the looks of things online, this is another beautifully packaged set from the label with a number of non-disc swag packaging bonuses.

My Sweet Charity Blu-ray review mentioned what a huge favorite of mine that film has always been, and so it should come as no big surprise that the film that inspired the legendary Bob Fosse musical, Federico Fellini's Nights of Cabiria, also rates high on my favorites list. What can be really interesting in that regard, though, at least for those who, like I do, have a very soft spot for the 1969 film starring Shirley MacLaine, is comparing the original (i.e., this film) to its adaptation. There are a number of fascinating differences, not the least of which is the difference in characterization between MacLaine's Charity Hope Valentine and Giulietta Masina's Cabiria. (Trivia fans will know the character of Cabiria was actually introduced in a brief vignette in Fellini's The White Sheik.)

Charity was an unabashed naïf, a sweet woman who just happened to work as a dance hall hostess and who had notoriously bad taste in men. Cabiria on the other hand is a somewhat combative character, rougher around the edges and much more apt to get involved in a confrontation than Charity ever would have been. For all the talk about Masina as a gamine and "female Charlie Chaplin" (as even one of the trailers on this disc mentions), she's kind of a tough cookie in this film, something that's perhaps exacerbated by severe eyebrow makeup. In fact, Masina actually reminded me quite strongly of Frances Farmer's memorable Lotte (the elder) in Come and Get It both in terms of Masina's almost masculine swagger and especially her penchant for talking out of the corner of her mouth.

There are any number of other differences, including the fact that Cabiria really doesn't have the same kind of support system of Nickie and Helene that Charity does, and in fact some of those aforementioned confrontations take place between Cabiria and other working girls out on the street (there's no dance hall in this film, Cabiria is for all intents and purposes a prostitute). This film also has a much more rural feel, despite allusions to Rome, and as such there's kind of the same village ambience that permeates a number of other Fellini films. While the vignette with movie star Alberto Lazzari (Amedeo Nazzari) plays very much like the Ricardo Montalban segment of the musical film, the "Big Daddy" sequence in Sweet Charity is actually more of a straight ahead Catholic service in this film where Cabiria probably understandably feels that none of her prayers will ever be answered, and there's actually an almost Hitchcockian element to the final scene involving Cabiria and would be suitor Oscar (François Périer) in this version.

Nights of Cabiria Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Nights of Cabiria is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. Criterion only sent check discs for purposes of this review, and so I'm not privy to any verbiage about the transfer that may be included in an insert booklet, but the actual film includes some introductory text which offers the following (in this case pretty minimal) information:

Restored in 4K from an interpositive and French and Italian soundtrack negatives.

While there are a few passing issues that probably relate to the interpositive source element, this is a winning transfer, with an understanding that the source probably offers a somewhat grittier looking grain field than in some of the other transfers in this set culled from negatives, as well as a minimal diminution in detail levels. There are some passing fluctuations in brightness and densitities, but detail levels are generally very winning throughout the presentation. You can occasionally see slight damage kind of floating through more brightly lit outdoor expanses where skies fill much of the frame, especially during some optical dissolves. Occasional other very minimal age related wear and tear has made it through whatever restoration gauntlet was employed.

Nights of Cabiria Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Nights of Cabiria features an LPCM Mono track in the original Italian. This is another track from one of the earlier films that can show a certain boxiness, but in my estimation, this is actually one of the more full bodied sounding offerings in this set, though you can still hear just a hint of crackle and clipping in some of the music cues in particular when they reach higher amplitudes. Effects can occasionally sound a bit brash, and in some of the squealing car tires when Cabiria is plying her trade on the streets. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Nights of Cabiria Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Giulietta Masina: The Power of a Smile (HD; 52:50) is a 2006 documentary biography of the legendary actress. Subtitled in English.


• Second Look (HD; 33:19) offers the third episode of a four part interview series Fellini did for Belgian television in 1960. This also features Giulietta Masina and Pier Paolo Pasolini. Subtitled in English (and burnt in French).


• Dominique Delouche (HD; 30:49) is a 1999 interview with Fellini's assistant from 1955 to 1960. Subtitled in English (Delouche speaks in French).


• Dino de Laurentiis (3:41) is a fun audio recording of the famed producer talking about absconding with some footage.


• Original Theatrical Trailer (HD; 3:57)


• Theatrical Rerelease Trailer (HD; 1:22)

Nights of Cabiria Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If many prospective viewers on this side of the pond may know of this film through its connection to Sweet Charity, there are some manifest differences between the two properties, as I've attempted to outline in brief above. This is a bracing, beautifully emotional film that features Masina in one of her finest performances. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements very appealing. Highly recommended.