Reviews (31)

"C'mon Guilietta! We're all waiting!" (for you to come out)
This is a film about a woman in her 30s--a well-to-do Italian housewife--and the inner changes she experiences through several events in her life including, most prominently, the infidelity of the husband she loves. But it's much more too.

Fellini's stunning visuals--the colors and settings, the outrageous dress, and the fantastic score of Nino Rota, makes it seem as if Italy is the most exotic place on earth.

The first time I watched this film I was a bit put off by some of the events that didn't always make sense, as well as the annoying white subtitles that are difficult to read. But there was something about it that compelled me to watch again. I'm still not sure I understand the ending, or the role of the tall Spaniard, but there are many subtle and wonderful things happening.

The music of Rota is simply captivating. Most of it is carried by a lilting, swinging clarinet and a quirky organ in an unlikely but very rich marriage. I'm disappointed to find there is apparently no film score available on CD.

The viewer is treated to the whole litany and range of emotions of a woman suspecting her husband of cheating--and Guilietta Masina, in a great performance, tells it all in her face.

Guilietta also has visions. Her penchant for the spirts, along with the urging of her kooky friends, ("S/he only comes every seven years!") leads her to visit a spiritual charlatan, a phony guru, in a memorable and hilarious scene. "
"Isn't it an apple?"
"No dear, you must see beyond material form."

Guilietta's friends also try to persuade her to experience love beyond her marriage. I shan't tell the result but, again, Fellini treats the viewer to many, many exotic and unexpected scenes.

Finally, this film also explores the relationships of Guilietta to her husband, her mother and sisters, her friends, her husband's friends and her maids. In a sense, this is very much a woman's film. But it's more; it's surreal; it's certainly one for those tired of boring, contemporary films.

FELLINI'S BEST FILM?
Federico Fellini's films often reflected an enticing and disturbing dreamworld. "JULIET OF THE SPIRITS" is his first color film and it is a delight to see the bright, vivid colors again. All previous existing prints on tape were deplorable transfers.

Simply put, the story focuses on a wealthy Italian housewife in her 30s and the interior metamorphosis she undergoes as she experiences the passages, events and changes in her life, most notably her husband's unfaithfulness. A husband she loves. No words can do justice to the stunning visuals -- cinematography, costumes and production design.

Many film buffs consider this Fellini's best film -- even better than his autobiographical "81/2" -- a film that is in many ways the psychological flip side of "Juliet."

Fellini was one of only a handful of world class filmmakers that was fully actualized as an artist. He could not only break the rules, but make new ones. And no one excelled better than he in visualizing an elliptical, ephemeral dreamstate that still speaks to our deepest feelings in a unique and fresh style.

Nina Rota's fantastical score raises the intensity of the images and nuances the fleeting emotions. See this great movie for the first time and discover a genius and humanist who painted with light.

Thanks to Criterion for continuing the tradition of gathering the greatest films from the finest filmmakers around the world and publishing them in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements.

Who Doesn't Daydream...?
....It's a Fellini Cine, babes!

I was--like I have been while watching other foriegn films--put off initially by the seemingly incongruous little snippets of music and visuals. I mean, couldn't those Europeans make a movie that flowed better? Jeez! I open my mind, watched it a few times and came to these conclusions. First, Giulietta, the actress, must have been a bit off to have done this apparently semi-real story abouat a middle aged woman married to a famous director who she suspects is having an affair. I mean, she was married to Fellini when this was produced. Second, albeit the digital reprocessing has made the cinema more vivid and the costuming more striking, the women more sexier, it showed it's date. When Juliet goes to confront the lady about l'affair, she should have kick the B*'s tail. That probably would have been the response for a character in a current day movie. Third, in an odd sort of way, it all but helps a more modern Eyes Wide Open to make some kind of sense. I mean, who can say how we will respond when a whiff of infidelity comes into our relationships, our lives? Juliet's response were these visions. Some of these were from her far away youth. Some just were pure Fellini bacchanalia. Tom Cruise in Eyes was thinking well, if my wife can *think* it, well, I can just *do* it and be one up on her. It starts for Tom as 'getting even', but it corrodes into something else that he had no control over. (I always say we are forever one step from a huge disaster and we don't know it....) We see Juliet almost giving into her urges with the pretty Latin kid who she meets at her neighbor's...but something just doesn't feel right.

And so, that's what this film is about. What we go thru when we suspect something or hear some painful news. We have the brilliant Guilietta Masina and the surreal Fellini to thank for giving these emotions some sort of form..

One of Fellini's best films
I started watching Fellini films as a young teen, seeing the older ones in the revival theatres, and eagerly anticipating his newest films. Juliet of the Spirits is truly my favorite Fellini film. The camera visuals and color are stunning. The wide screen format is imperative. I only wish that Criterion had also added the (bad) English language soundtrack. It's better for first time viewers. Some of Fellini's imagery is easily missed by reading too many subtitles.

Beautifully Filmed Nonsense
While I admire the cinematic beauty of "Nights of Cabiria" and even its plot (as threadbare as it is, it's still good fun), by the time Fellini got to Juliet of the Spirits, he had really run out of things to say. Early on in the movie, there are harbingers of a plot, some suspense and even something verging on high drama, but none of these pan out, and instead we are left with.......a mess.

Giulietta Masina is a very great actress, it is just that there wasn't much material for her to work with. It is too bad she hitched her wagon to husband Fellini's star her entire career, because if she were just in a few movies with plots, character development and finely crafted dialogue, we could have discovered the full range of her talent.

In 1965, when this movie came out, there weren't so many movies about a woman's "midlife crisis" and her quest for "fulfillment"; By now this plot has become a cliche. As far as the story line goes, "Juliet of the Spirits" has got to rank among the worst, even losing out to the B-movies and straight-to-video films that are grist for the mill on Lifetime and The Oprah Channel.

And that is really a shame, because this is one of the most gorgeously filmed movies I've ever seen. Director of Photography Gianni di Venanzo's use of Technicolor is breathtakingly fascinating for its sumptuous use of warmth and its balance of colors and use of shocking hues. It rivals movies such as "Fantasia" and "Vertigo" for its artistic *visual* excellence.

Yet, this movie taken as a whole is rambling, unfocused and pretentious in a genre that is not too difficult to master. Some call Fellini's movies "surrealistic," and I have no argument with that. Perhaps my bourgeoise temperament lacks the patience to put up with it in two-hour-long doses. I prefer my surrealism in visual stills from Dali, Man Ray, Magritte.

The irony of it is that the best movie of the "woman finding herself" genre -- "Shirley Valentine", directed by Lewis Gilbert -- is filmed so dryly that it borders on incompetence. Imagine what a movie that would have made were the script put into the hands of di Venanzo and Fellini with a soundtrack by the great Nino Rota.

Altogether, viewing "Juliet of the Spirits" can be a pleasant experience, so long as one is concerned with camera work, editing, color timing and music. ... Read more