THE WHITE SHEIK (CERT. U)
ITALY 1952 DIRECTED BY FEDERICO FELLINI
BLACK & WHITE 86 MINS
WITH: ALBERTO SORDI, BRUNELLA LOVO, LEOPOLDO TRIESTE, GIULIETTA MASINA
Two provincial newly-weds arrive in Rome with conflicting itineraries for their honeymoon.
He wants to visit the Vatican; she wants to meet the hero of a photographic comic-strip….
‘A charming comic fable about the lure of fantasy and the pit-falls of temptation.’ – Criterion
‘A stunning display of an emerging film-maker’s artistic vision, introducing Fellini’s world of
fantasies which he would continue to explore in subsequent years.’ – Museum of Modern Art
‘At the beginning of the film, we see the White Sheik, his robes blowing in the wind, sitting on his
horse in all his phoney splendour – an image of immense absurdity, as indeed are so many of the
images in this extraordinarily funny film.’ – Peter Harcourt
‘Fellini is a poet who both celebrates and criticises the gentility of the Italian lower middle classes
and draws a good deal of fun from the seedily pretentious traditions of the music-hall.’ – Eric Rhode
‘Fellini is essentially a small-town boy who’s never really come to Rome. He’s still standing
outside, looking through the gates, dreaming about it. We should be very grateful for those dreams.’
– Orson Welles
‘Neorealism should embrace not just social reality, but spiritual reality, metaphysical reality, all that
there is within man … I see no dividing line between imagination and reality.’ – Federico Fellini
