| Juliet of the Spirits | |
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Italian theatrical release poster
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| Italian | Giulietta degli spiriti |
| Directed by | Federico Fellini |
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| Cinematography | Gianni Di Venanzo |
| Edited by | Ruggero Mastroianni |
| Music by | Nino Rota |
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| Language | Italian |
Juliet of the Spirits (Italian: Giulietta degli spiriti) is a 1965 fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini and starring Giulietta Masina, Sandra Milo, Mario Pisu, Valentina Cortese, and Valeska Gert. The film is about the visions, memories, and mysticism that help a middle-aged woman find the strength to leave her philandering husband. The film uses "caricatural types and dream situations to represent a psychic landscape".[2] It was Fellini's first feature-length color film, but followed his use of color in "The Temptation of Doctor Antonio" episode in the portmanteau film, Boccaccio '70 (1962).
The film was shown in competition at the 26th Venice International Film Festival; and received Academy Award nominations for Best Costume Design and Best Set Decoration. It won the 1966 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and Giulietta Masina won a David di Donatello for her performance. Woody Allen loosely remade it with his 1990 film Alice.[3]
Giulietta Boldrini, an upper-class housewife, attempts to deal with her mundane life and philandering, oppressive husband, Giorgio, by exploring the odd lifestyle of a glamorous neighbour, Suzy, and through dreams, visions and fantasies. As she taps into her desires (and her demons) she slowly gains greater self-awareness, leading to independence, although, according to Masina (Fellini's wife), the ending's meaning is debatable.[4]
Juliet of the Spirits was shot on location in Fregene, and at Safa-Palatino and Cinecittà Studios in Rome.
Fellini's longtime musical collaborator Nino Rota composed the soundtrack. Until his death in 1979, Rota wrote the music for every Fellini film except his directorial debut, Variety Lights. The music in Juliet of the Spirits contains circus themes, as in Fellini's 8½, and also uses organ, cocktail piano, guitar, saxophones, and voices without words to convey Juliet's shifts in feeling.[5] The soundtrack was mentioned in a profile of actor Steve Buscemi, which notes that "a Victrola sits in [Buscemi's] dining room, with the theme music for 'Juliet of the Spirits' permanently on its turntable."[6]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 79% based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10.[7] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film's re-release has a weighted average score of 83 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[8]
InThe New York Times, Stephen Holden wrote of a revival in 2001: "Fellini went deliriously and brilliantly bananas with the color to create a rollicking through-the-looking-glass series of tableaus evoking a woman's troubled psyche."[9] Roger Ebert gave the film four stars out of four and included it in his 2001 list of "The Great Movies".[10] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times praised the film, writing, "Federico Fellini's 1965 Juliet of the Spirits remains a timeless, major work of a master, a portrait of a dutiful wife plunged into crisis that triggers her spiritual awakening. With Fellini's own wife, the great Giulietta Masina, as Juliet, and with his unique command of fantasy and spectacle in full force, Juliet of the Spirits, Fellini's first film in color, is at once an eye-popping display of bravura and a work of compassionate insight."[11]
The film was less well received in Italy.[12] Giovanni Grazzini of Corriere della Sera wrote, "It is known that Fellini's imagination, in recent years, has been unrestrained by a taste conventionally called baroque: ornamental delirium, decorative bliss. Juliet's marital crisis is thus suffocated by the scenographic luxury, the clamor or the tenderness of the colors, the bizarre splendor of the costumes; although sometimes there is an authentic heartbeat of humanity."
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| Institution | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Award | Best Costume Design | Piero Gherardi | Nominated |
| Best Set Decoration | Nominated | ||
| David di Donatello | Best Actress | Giulietta Masina | Won |
| Golden Globe Award | Best Foreign Language Film | Won | |
| Nastro d'Argento | Best Director | Federico Fellini | Nominated |
| Best Actress | Giulietta Masina | Nominated | |
| Best Supporting Actress | Sandra Milo | Won | |
| Best Cinematography (Color) | Gianni Di Venanzo | Won | |
| Best Production Design | Piero Gherardi | Won | |
| Best Production Design | Won | ||
| National Board of Review | Best Foreign Language Film | Won | |
| Top Five Foreign Language Films | Won | ||
| New York Film Critics Circle | Best Foreign Language Film | Won | |
| Sant Jordi Award | Best Foreign Film | Federico Fellini | Won |
| Valladolid International Film Festival | Special Mention | Won | |
