Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- surreal
- grotesque
- witty
- arthouse movie night
- federico fellini retrospective
What critics said
Critics broadly admired Fellini’s inventive visual imagination and comic set pieces while finding the film uneven, episodic, and less insightful about women than its premise suggests.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Snàporaz follows the woman from the train into a hotel, feminist gathering, and successive fantastical encounters whose reality remains unstable.
The feminist conference, ladykiller archetypes, and exaggerated female and male figures turn gender conflict into caustic farce.
Snàporaz’s evasive journey expresses amused impotence and nostalgia in the face of changing ideas about women.
Simulated trains, beaches, musical passages, parties, and storm-driven spectacle emphasize Fellini’s elaborate studio illusionism.
Films like City of Women, and why
8½
surrealist fantasy, flamboyant visual invention, and a male protagonist navigating symbolic feminine worlds
Amarcord
dreamlike Italian theatricality, erotic anxiety, and autobiographical fantasy filtered through elaborate spectacle
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
grotesque comic fantasy, unstable reality, and psychologically charged encounters with idealized women
The Holy Mountain
stylized gender conflict, absurdist social satire, and heightened dream logic
Movie Details
- Director
- Federico Fellini
- Release Date
- 1980-03-28
- Runtime
- 140 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (302)
Cast
- Marcello Mastroianni
- Anna Prucnal
- Bernice Stegers
- Jole Silvani
- Donatella Damiani
- Ettore Manni
- Fiammetta Baralla
- Hélène Calzarelli
- Catherine Carrel
- Marcella Di Falco
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Fandor Amazon Channel, Cineverse Amazon Channel
- 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 City of Women about?
- A philandering Italian man tumbles from a train into a surreal feminine labyrinth that exposes his comic anxiety about changing gender relations.
- What is City of Women like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of City of Women as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is City of Women violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in City of Women as mild.
- What did critics think of City of Women?
- Critics broadly admired Fellini’s inventive visual imagination and comic set pieces while finding the film uneven, episodic, and less insightful about women than its premise suggests.
- Which films are like City of Women?
- Films with a similar feel include 8½, Amarcord, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, and The Holy Mountain.
- How long is City of Women?
- City of Women runs 140 minutes.
- Where can I watch City of Women?
- In United States, City of Women streams on Fandor Amazon Channel, Cineverse Amazon Channel.
