The White Sheik

Wonderful comedy from Fellini. A little slapstick, a little pathos, and a lot of what will become his famed carnival atmosphere in later films. He's just so good at portraying all the ambiguity that exists within performers--excitement that surrounds them, the pursuit of lusty pleasures, and the boredom or even emptiness they struggle to fill. And as always, Giulietta Masina is fantastic, playing her famous Cabiria character from a later film.

Merely okay. It's funny enough, but hard to get into the main characters.

Didn't quite know what to make of Federico Fellini's Lo sceicco bianco [The White Sheik] (1952) at first. Was wild nonsense most of the time. But somehow it comes together with what's got to be one of the most adorable endings of any movie in 1952.

Fairly unimpressed. The premise would have required more mature and refined humour. Funny gags would have helped elevate its frivolities, which were scarce ad mostly dull.

An amusing comedy that pokes gentle fun at several aspects of 1950s Italian society. It seemed as if the plot involving Ivan and Cabiria should have included a further scene or two, and one is left wondering if a decision was made not to do so. The musical score clearly foreshadows 8½. This movie formed the basis of one of the stories in TO ROME WITH LOVE but there also seems to be a clear connection to PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO. Woody Allen's view: "perhaps the best sound comedy ever made".

I just watched I Vitelloni and some of the commentary tracks pointed out that this movie was a flop when it came out. I can kind of see why: Fellini takes subtle jabs at marriage, religion, the entertainment industry, and the police, among others, and a rebuilding Italy was probably looking for a little stability. His overarching theme -- life isn't always what you expect -- comes across in such bizarre predicaments. It's uneven, but I really enjoyed the time spent watching it.

A step backwards from Variety Lights, mostly because the characters are less interesting aside from Sordi's, who is barely in it. It does contain one of Fellini's key themes about the complex relationship between appearance and reality, but it's explored rather conventionally, not to mention simplistically, compared to his films after (and including) 8 1/2.

Semana em honra do centenário de Alberto Sordi filme #1. Simplesmente amo essas comédias melancólicas italianas, mesmo este que geralmente é considerado um Fellini menor seu estilo e humor sobressaem além do comum. BlurayRip VXT.

86.50

bambola appasionata

7+

Reasonably amusing comedy, even though the style of comedy isn't to my taste. I like the girl's half of the film better than the guy's, which makes it rather uneven.

A small step up from Variety Lights, The White Sheik is fairly charming but still a minor entry in Fellini's filmography. Watch for the single scene, where Giulietta Masina's character of Cabiria first appears.

Federico Fellini #1

2. /c

My favorite Fellini. Charm and magic.

Starts off like a dud, gets progressively better.

This early Fellini is probably his funniest and most optimistic. It concerns the de-idealization of a pair of newlyweds, honeymooning in Rome. The introduction of the titular Sheik is a shot worth canonizing, and Alberto Sordi invests him enough pathos to keep him from being plain icky.

I could see the humor in it, but it all felt like a slightly above average "I Love Lucy" episode. Most of it was very predictable. Also, it's saddled with the things that bug me about Italian movies in general, and Fellini in particular: the horrible dubbing, the rampant Catholicism, the carnival music. And I just don't find Italian culture that interesting. It's not a bad movie at all, just a "who cares?" movie. There were a few splendid moments, though, like the fire breather.