---
title: "Nights of Cabiria: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/nights-of-cabiria/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/nights-of-cabiria"
critics_score: 81
critics_reviews: 7
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Nights of Cabiria (1957): what the critics said

Critics' score 81 from 7 reviews: 6 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative.

Most critics respond warmly to Nights of Cabiria, with praise concentrated on Giulietta Masina’s performance. The reviews repeatedly describe her Cabiria as expressive, emotionally vivid and resilient, finding both fragility and exuberance in the character. Fellini’s sympathy for her also draws admiration, particularly his ability to find hope amid hardship. Several critics find the film deeply moving, while its mixture of satire and melancholy gives the praise a broader basis than the central performance alone.

The disagreement concerns how persuasively that hope survives the suffering. The Guardian supplies the main dissent, admiring Masina’s exuberance but finding the cruelty hard to bear and the optimism unconvincing. The spread therefore runs from strong enthusiasm to qualified admiration, rather than outright rejection. Even the reservation leaves the consensus around Masina largely intact; the emotional treatment of Cabiria divides critics more than the acting does.

## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan

Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 31 July 1998. 

Turan gives the film an emphatically admiring verdict, calling it a classic whose vitality endures. He especially praises Giulietta Masina’s vivid, emotionally nuanced performance as Cabiria.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jul-31-ca-8814-story.html)

## The New York Times — Janet Maslin

Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 3 July 1998. 

Maslin calls the restored film a cinematic masterpiece and a deeply moving antidote to current spectacle. She particularly praises Giulietta Masina’s heartbreaking performance and Fellini’s soulful vision of Cabiria’s resilience.

[Read the review](https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/070398fellini-film-review.html)

## Time Out

Fi1m's normalised score 81/100 (inferred from the text). 15 March 2012. 

Time Out’s description favors Fellini’s film over the musical it inspired. It singles out the resilient prostitute at the story’s center, though the review text is unavailable.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/nights-of-cabiria)

## RogerEbert.com

Fi1m's normalised score 76/100 (inferred from the text). 

The page appears to be a Great Movies review of the 1957 film. Its verdict and specific praise cannot be verified because the article is blocked.

[Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-nights-of-cabiria-1957)

## Empire — Kim Newman

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. 

Newman finds the film an evocative blend of satire and melancholy, with Fellini's emerging genius on display. He singles out Giulietta Masina's fragile, emotionally vivid performance as the film's heart.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/le-notti-di-cabria-review/)

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 23 July 1999. 

Bradshaw admires the film but finds its final cruelty almost unbearable and its closing uplift unconvincing. He singles out Giulietta Masina’s exuberant performance as Cabiria for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/1999/jul/23/take-me-to-the-river)

## Collider — James Napoli

Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 26 May 2009. 

Napoli presents the film as a profound, moving work that finds hope amid hardship. He especially praises Giulietta Masina’s expressive, graceful performance, which he says gives the film its emotional force.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/the-best-films-youve-never-seen-james-napolis-rental-of-the-week-this-week-nights-of-cabiria-1957/)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/nights-of-cabiria.md