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A Special Day (1977) — Stream on The Criterion Channel · CriticCrunch

A Special Day backdrop

A Special Day

Movie1977·106 min

A Special Day

Directed by Ettore Scola

An Oscar-nominated drama romance film directed by Ettore Scola.

◈ CrunchScore

Top 3%

of all movies · weighted by audience size & source agreement

★ TMDB Audience Rating

8.1/10

774 ratings

About A Special Day

Two neighbours — a persecuted journalist and a resigned housewife — forge a strong bond on the day of Adolf Hitler's historic 1938 visit to Rome.

Pacing: Measured (4 of 9)
Tone: Bittersweet (4 of 9)
Intensity: Moderate (4 of 9)
Complexity: Layered (6 of 9)
Humor: Light-touch (4 of 9)
Scale: Intimate (1 of 9)
Spirit: Earnest (5 of 9)
Texture: Contemplative, Gritty
Story Tags: forbidden love, isolation loneliness, identity self discovery, mid century, politics, rome, strangers forced together, outsider misfit, everyman, slow burn reveal, siege bottle, queer romance, forbidden star crossed

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Prime Video

Where to Watch A Special Day

Checked 21 hours ago

1 streaming · 2 rent/buy

Stream

The Criterion Channel

Included with subscription

Not on:NetflixMaxHuluDisney+Prime VideoPeacock

Also available

Prime Videohd

$3.99Rent

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$14.99Buy

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Details

Director: Ettore Scola
Language: Italian

Cast

Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, John Vernon

⬡Explore cast & crew→

Awards

◆Oscar Nominee — Best Actor (1977)◆Oscar Nominee — Best Int'l Feature (1977)

How A Special Day Ranks

All movies

Top 3%

1970s movies

Top 4%

Drama movies

Top 3%

★1970s Drama movies

Top 4%

Ettore Scola films#2 of 9

Top 5% in every cohort we track — a consistent classic.

the vibe

A Special Day Vibe

What it feels like

measuredbittersweetmoderatelayeredlight-touchintimateearnest

contemplative

gritty

What it's about

slow-burn revealsiege bottleforbidden loveisolation lonelinessidentity self discoveryoutsider misfiteverymanstrangers forced togetherpoliticsqueer romanceforbidden star crossedromemid-century

pacing

measured 4/9measured 4/9

tone

bittersweet 4/9wistful 4/9

intensity

moderate 4/9moderate 4/9

complexity

layered 6/9layered 6/9

humor

light-touch 4/9light 4/9

scale

intimate 1/9intimate 1/9

spirit

earnest 5/9earnest 5/9

texture

contemplativequiet