Product Details

• Actors: Silvio Bagolini, Giulio Calì, Mario De Angelis, Peppino De Filippo, Carla Del Poggio
• Directors: Federico Fellini
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Subtitles: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Homevision
• VHS Release Date: June 13, 2000
• Run Time: 93 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303818358
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #334,685 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Federico Fellini codirected this film from his own story about a romance between an ambitious young dancer and the aging manager of a variety theater in Rome. It's a sharply realized first effort, showing that Fellini could work his magic even in 1950. The dancer--played with luscious, complicated innocence by Carla del Poggio--talks her way into Signor Checco's troupe by showing him her legs. The others, including his girlfriend (Giulietta Masina), protest, but Checco takes her into the poverty-stricken group anyway. Soon enough, he is justified: Their sparsely attended shows are suddenly packed with men stomping their feet and whistling for "the Redhead." Checco not-so-secretly wants her himself, and she lets him think he might get her (even while looking for someone else with money.) The film's many lively performances include Giulietta Masina, whose eyes register pluck, resignation, and weariness in a moment as she watches her guy fall in love. Poggio is good, too: When she gets what she wants, her face slides into a quiver of doubt about its value. Self-delusion, arguably the main arrow in Fellini's quiver of themes, gets a subtly layered treatment here, and Fellini, so extravagant later in his career, shows an early talent for, of all things, restraint. --Lyall Bush

Product Description

After joining a motley band of traveling entertainers, a beautiful woman beguiles the group's manager, breaks the heart of his mistress (Giulietta Masina, La Strada), and moves on to a bigger career. Fellini's talent for grasping the humanity of eccentric characters is apparent in his captivating directorial debut.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite neo-realist Fellini film, January 7, 2005

By 

bowery boy (seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Variety Lights (The Criterion Collection) (DVD)

First thing first, the DVD cover is misleading. Guillietta Masina does not star in Variety Lights. She is a co-star with a fair amount of screen time. It's worth picking up simply for her performance because when she is on screen she shines. Masina plays Melina a woman who is wronged by her man (a reoccurring theme she will revisit in La Strada, Nights of Cabiria and Juliet of the Spirits). Checco, Melina's man, is a delusional womanizing manager of a vaudeville troupe who takes under his wing Liliana, a girl with stars in her eyes who will stop at nothing to achieve her goal. Liliana's "skirt less" number is a highlight for me. What a great song! Checco, much to Melina's chagrin, unsuccessfully tries his hardest to impress Liliana with his so called "connections" and can barely contain his jealously over Liliana's many suitors. Liliana slowly transforms from "innocent" girl to a calculating manipulative shrew who uses Checco to further her ambitious career goals and thinks nothing of squashing his dreams. The changes in Checco and Liliana are so subtle that by the time the inevitable climax is reached I was hard pressed to tell which character I disliked the most. Ultimately, it's the tragically loyal Melina with whom I sympathized. This film is a true testament to Fellini's genius as a filmmaker. Out of all of Fellini's tragic neo-realist films this is my favorite. I passionately loved and hated many of the characters and at times found myself yelling at the television. A must for any Fellini fan.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars First Glimpse at Fellini and Masina, October 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Variety Lights [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Though this was a joint directorial effort, Fellini's style shines through in many ways. A rambling, at times almost incoherent film, it nevertheless remains watchable for the liveliness of its characters and the story of the girl who literally "steals the show." It is also most noteworthy for the performance of the brilliant Giuliette Masina, whose character here is much different from the others she would play in Fellini classics, but her unique talent still shines through. It is worth the film price just to see her in action.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THE FIRST MOVIE OF A GIANT, December 30, 2000

By 

Daniel S. "Daniel" (Geneva, Switzerland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Variety Lights (The Criterion Collection) (DVD)

Co-directed by Alberto Lattuada and Federico Fellini, VARIETY LIGHTS is without a doubt already in the library of those of you who long for quality titles available in the DVD standard. If you can find now almost the entire filmography of Jean-Claude Van Damme or Jackie Chan in DVD, only one Luis Bunuel movie for instance can be found amidst the thousands of titles you can buy.

With VARIETY LIGHTS, you are going to join, before LA STRADA, the peculiar world of the artists with no name, the world of the Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire look-alikes performing in the 1950 Italy. The camera of Federico Fellini is always tender with these artists and doesn't judge them. Even the ambitious girl who will cheat on the man who has discovered her is depicted as a naive girl blinded by the lights of show-business.

The copy presented by Criterion is far from being perfect but nonetheless is above-average. No bonus features except for a scene access, an interesting booklet, color bars and english subtitles.

A DVD for Giulietta Masina.