Roma (1972)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Federico Fellini

Writers:

Federico Fellini (story) &
Bernardino Zapponi (story) ...

Release Date:

15 October 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

A virtually plotless, gaudy, impressionistic portrait of Rome through the eyes of one of its most famous citizens...

Plot Keywords:

Trip | Church | Nonlinear Timeline | Nudity | Drug Use

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Peter Gonzales Falcon	...	Fellini, Age 18 (as Peter Gonzales)
Fiona Florence	...	Dolores - Young Prostitute
Britta Barnes
Pia De Doses	...	Princess Domitilla
Marne Maitland	...	Guide in the Catacombs
Renato Giovannoli	...	Cardinal Ottaviani
Elisa Mainardi	...	Pharmacist's wife / Cinema spectator
Raout Paule	...	(unconfirmed)
Galliano Sbarra	...	Music Hall Compere
Paola Natale
Ginette Marcelle Bron		(as Marcelle-Ginette Bron)
Mario Del Vago
Alfredo Adami
Stefano Mayore	...	Fellini as a Child

Also Known As:

Fellini Roma (France)
Fellini's Roma (USA)

Runtime:

128 min | Argentina:126 min | Spain:116 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian | English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Italy:VM14 | Portugal:M/12 | New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:18A | Finland:K-16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Ireland:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Francese

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Peter Gonzales Falcon's hairstyles are all in the longish 1972 mode, even though the portions of the film in which he appears are supposed to be taking place thirty or more years earlier, at which time men's hair was cut much, much shorter, and would never be worn as it appears in this film.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Cinecittà: La casa di F. Fellini (2004) (V)

With Fellini there is no need for a "plot".

Fellini's films are a collection of unforgettable images, rather like reading through a photo magazine in a foreign language - you don't need to know the language to understand the pictures. The subtitles can be turned off and you can still follow one stunning vignette after another. Best of all, this film can be watched over and over because you will see something new or interpret it a different way each time.

Rome is seen as a carnival and the people are the freaks, carneys and revellers. Rome has been a great city for over 2,000 years and was once THE city - the center of the world. One cannot imagine New York in 1,800 years time, and certainly not Washington. The film shows the evolution of that great city into a noisy, overcrowded, modern-day nightmare of chaotic traffic, circling around the ancient ruins. Life goes on. We all turn to dust, but others come to take our place.

The most unforgettable image for me was the ecclesiastical fashion show as gaudy and vulgar as anything Ken Russell could dream up. My biggest problem was with the subtitles. Somehow I doubt that the viewers of Fellini's film choose to use vulgar American slang.