92
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittThe credo of Italy's fabled neorealist movement was that movies rooted in real, unadorned experience carry more dramatic impact than studio concoctions can dream of, and this 1952 masterpiece exemplifies that argument brilliantly.
- 100New York Daily NewsJack MathewsNew York Daily NewsJack MathewsUniversally appealing story that plays as well now as it did on opening day a half-century ago. Maybe better.
- 100Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumThis is truly a great film, recently celebrated at length in "My Voyage to Italy," Martin Scorsese's documentary about Italian cinema.
- 100Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranCreates magic of a completely different sort. It makes the unlikeliest subject unforgettable, finding drama, beauty, even poetry in simple things and simple lives.
- One of the greatest films of all time and one of the handful of masterpieces to emerge from the Italian neo-realist period, Umberto D is as cerebral as it is emotional, as bleak as it is warm.
- 100Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonA film that lets life flood into our souls.
- 90New Times (L.A.)Robert WilonskyNew Times (L.A.)Robert WilonskyDe Sica's 1952 neorealist masterpiece; it's a stark snapshot in which all is revealed about the "daily life of mankind," as the director once offered by way of description.
- 80VarietyVarietyThe ending is happy, but the general effect of the film is disturbing, so compelling is De Sica's description of a man's solitude.
- 50Village VoiceMichael AtkinsonVillage VoiceMichael AtkinsonIt's too bad that the film is sporadically crude (a moment of suicidal angst is illustrated with a shove-zoom to the pavement), prone to mega-Italian extroversion, and far too in love with stupid pet tricks.