Review: 'La Strada' Stands Alone With This Criterion Release

When it comes to cinematic history, Federico Fellini is a name that should immediately come to mind. The Criterion Collection is certainly aware of this, having released an essential 15-film collection of the filmmaker's work last year that was deemed, and rightfully so, "Essential Fellini."

Collectors may be frustrated with Criterion's latest single release of Fellini's 1954 film "La Strada," as that's already included in that earlier collection. Do you go for the individual titles, or the whole shebang? That's ultimately up to you, but if you're just venturing into Fellini's work and searching for a way to start that doesn't involve purchasing a $200 box set, then "La Strada" is an excellent starting point.

Fellini himself has called the film "a complete catalog of my entire mythological world, a dangerous representation of my identity that was undertaken with no precedent whatsoever." The production history is rich with detail, including a long and tedious development process, troubles with financing, problematic casting, plenty of delays, and Fellini himself suffering a nervous breakdown that required medical attention. Even after that, the harsh critical reception escalated things even further. In fact, after the Venice Film Festival in which "La Strada" screened, a public brawl broke out between Fellini's supporters and critics.

And then, after all that, the film secured its place in history, winning the inaugural Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and being deemed by the American Film Institute as one of the most influential films ever made. It has inspired countless filmmakers from across the globe throughout the decades, and its influence has even penetrated the music world, with Bob Dylan and Kris Kristofferson citing the film as influences for their respective songs "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Me and Bobby McGee."

The 4K digital restoration of "La Strada" was performed collaboratively between The Film Foundation and the Cineteca di Bologna, and the result is a richly textured visual work. For fans of English dubs (if there are any), you can choose an alternate English-dubbed soundtrack for the film that features the voices of Anthony Quinn and Richard Basehart. Peter Bondanella, author of "The Cinema of Federico Fellini," speaks on an audio commentary.

Other bonus features include a 2003 introduction to the film by the one and only Martin Scorsese, a documentary from 2004 entitled "Giulietta Masina: The Power of a Smile," and a 2000 Italian television documentary called "Federico Fellini's Autobiography." Plus, an essay by film critic Christina Newland within the packaging ties the entire release together with a detailed history of the work, and perspectives behind it.

The Criterion Collection's Blu-ray release of "La Strada" is now available for the suggested retail price of $31.96