Overview
A poignant tale of hope and resilience amidst the chaos of war.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- lyrical
- harrowing
- wistful
- historical cinema night
- world cinema evening
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a richly imagined and emotionally powerful wartime drama that fuses lyrical unreality with historical experience.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The evacuation and search for liberation are presented through Cecilia's recollective, dreamlike perspective.
The film's wartime journey incorporates comedy, tragedy, vaudeville, and melodrama as inseparable elements.
The Taviani brothers render the 1944 flight through lyrical imagery and folklore while retaining the civilians' concrete danger.
Galvano, Concetta, Corrado, Belindia, Nicola, and Mara flee their town amid rumors of Nazi destruction and imminent American arrival.
Films like The Night of the Shooting Stars, and why
The Grand Illusion
shared wartime humanism, civilian displacement, and lyrical blending of comedy with tragedy
Rome, Open City
shared Italian wartime setting, resistance themes, and neorealist moral urgency
Hope and Glory
shared poetic historical storytelling, childhood perspective, and bittersweet wartime memory
Movie Details
- Directors
- Vittorio Taviani, Paolo Taviani
- Release Date
- 1982-09-16
- Runtime
- 105 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (133)
Cast
- Omero Antonutti
- Margarita Lozano
- Claudio Bigagli
- Miriam Guidelli
- Massimo Bonetti
- Enrica Maria Modugno
- Sabina Vannucchi
- Giorgio Naddi
- Micol Guidelli
- Renata Zamengo
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Night of the Shooting Stars about?
- A lyrical wartime odyssey follows Italian civilians through fear, rumor, resistance, and the fragile hope of liberation.
- What is The Night of the Shooting Stars like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Night of the Shooting Stars as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Night of the Shooting Stars violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Night of the Shooting Stars as brutal.
- What did critics think of The Night of the Shooting Stars?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a richly imagined and emotionally powerful wartime drama that fuses lyrical unreality with historical experience.
- Which films are like The Night of the Shooting Stars?
- Films with a similar feel include The Grand Illusion, Rome, Open City, and Hope and Glory.
- How long is The Night of the Shooting Stars?
- The Night of the Shooting Stars runs 105 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Night of the Shooting Stars?
- In United States, The Night of the Shooting Stars is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube.
