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La Dolce Vita

Play trailer 2:05 Poster for La Dolce Vita Now Playing 2h 55m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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95% Tomatometer 77 Reviews 90% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
In Federico Fellini's lauded Italian film, restless reporter Marcello Rubini (Marcello Mastroianni) drifts through life in Rome. While Marcello contends with the overdose taken by his girlfriend, Emma (Yvonne Furneaux), he also pursues heiress Maddalena (Anouk Aimée) and movie star Sylvia (Anita Ekberg), embracing a carefree approach to living. Despite his hedonistic attitude, Marcello does have moments of quiet reflection, resulting in an intriguing cinematic character study.
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La Dolce Vita

What to Know

Critics Consensus

An epic, breathtakingly stylish cinematic landmark, La Dolce Vita remains riveting in spite of -- or perhaps because of -- its sprawling length.

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Critics Reviews

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David Stratton The Australian 06/12/2020
[La Dolce Vita] propelled Fellini into the front rank of international directors. Go to Full Review
Guardian Staff Guardian 04/10/2020
The western cinema has needed for a long time its own kind of healthy puritanism to counter that from the east - notably Poland - and with directors like Fellini and Karel Reisz it now seems that it is getting it. Go to Full Review
Eric Rhode Sight & Sound 02/10/2020
Fellini admits to having a confused sense of values, to being as uncertain as a child. Why then does he try to make realist films? It's a great pity; for if La Dolce Vita had beenless grandiose and more private and personal it might have worked. Go to Full Review
Gerri Major Jet Magazine 01/17/2024
Fellini is noted for his mastery of contrasts, his uncanny ability to find off-beat and bizarre occurrences which expose both the little and gross facets of life... Its impact is violent. Its irony is grim. Its wit is sardonic. Its pathos is awesome. Go to Full Review
Pauline Kael Massachusetts Review 09/11/2023
La Dolce Vita wants to be a great film -- it cries out its intentions -- and it’s frequently clever, as in the statue hanging from the helicopter, and it’s sometimes effective, as, near the end, when Marcello throws the feathers. And that is all it is. Go to Full Review
Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies 08/22/2022
5/5
With “La Dolce Vita” Federico Fellini has created a masterpiece that feeds off of every aspect of the cinematic experience. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Stephen C @bob25009 Jul 24 Success in 2 hours and 55 minutes!!!!!!! In Italian and American English audio options with American English subtitles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Vítor Pimentel de Oliveira V Mar 14 Sure, it's a classic. However, being a picture that's mainly about a day in the life of Marcello, and without much of a cohesive plot, you can definitely feel the 3 hours passing by. It has his merits, but it's difficult not to deem this as a pretentious and overindulgent piece of filmmaking. See more Ben D Jan 30 Marcello (Marcello Mastroianni) is a tabloid journalist during the Italian post-war era of booming consumerism and economic growth. He wades his way not just through the waters of the Trevi Fountain — the film’s iconic scene — but through the vapid high-society Italy has produced. He’s a tormented man who lies to, and cheats on, his fiancée, Emma (Yvonne Furneaux) nearly driving her to kill herself. The story meanders as Marcello finds himself more and more enamored with “the sweet life” even if it is slowly killing him. The story is much more disjointed than I had anticipated and demands a concentration and attention to detail that is cumbersome. This is Fellini’s magnum opus and I found myself developing contempt for the 174-minute run-time. The contrasts of the Eternal City to the modern development is the setting itself. This reason alone may be enough to watch this movie, but I can’t imagine the average viewer enjoying it in 2024. If made today, I’m sure La Dolce Vita would be ramped up to eleven with the debauchery. Moreover, I’m certain the story possessed a message that hit differently in 1960 and through that lens I want to review the work. For that reason, I am comfortable giving it a 4 ½-star equivalent of an (85). It is beautiful to look at and its tableau has helped shape what Rome looks like to the outsider, even today. But be warned, this movie is a slog for a single sitting and you may find yourself saying, “get on with it already” from the couch. For the cinephiles who appreciate the technicalities of filmmaking, this is a must watch — same goes for those who want a complete view of the history of Italian filmmaking. It also gave us the term “paparazzi,” named after the invasive tabloid photographer, Paparazzzo (Walter Santesso). See more William B Dec 11 Great movie. Totally recommended See more Rare T 06/05/2024 This film is like a time capsule that preserves the Rome of the 1960s: its landmarks, its views, its people, their stories, their fashion, their art and music… It may seem long, but one has to get into the spirit of La Dolce Vita, and that is in reference to the title as much as it is to what it stands for. The cinematography is magnificent, and perhaps that is what preserved Federico Fellini’s masterpiece throughout all these decades. The story lacks structure, but Fellini’s touch is what assures the viewers that that is okay as long as the camera is telling a story, one for each episode. Even if hypothetically the film lacked a story, it would still be worth watching just for the cinematography and camerawork. It may not be the greatest movie of all time, but it is one of the absolute greatest especially in Italian cinema, and for that is a valuable piece of history. See more Abe A 04/28/2024 The Italian The Great Gatsby. Actually, change that: The European The Great Gatsby. They both make essentially the same point, in different ways. Fitzgerald the hedgehog; Fellini the fox. The (postwar) Roaring Twenties; The (postwar) Swinging Sixties. Fitzgerald is the poet of one big convergent idea that arrives at a single point; Fellini is the master of scenes and scenecraft (as Dostoevsky does in his novels) that oscillate around the idea and close a circle. You probably won’t see another movie like this again—I haven’t—but my most pressing impression of this is that Fellini is a genius of the cinematic image, of the cinematic scene, of the cinematic idea, of the cinematic symbol, perhaps less so (in this movie) of the rigorous organization of form, nor of the most abstract ideas. With Godard, and perhaps Resnais—Fellini is the most visual, the most ‘cinematic’ of all auteurs. The scene with the character exits near the end, with the crown of feathers, is just one of the truly great scenes that permeate this ‘string of spectacular scenes’ that is La Dolce Vita. Not the greatest, but certainly one of the very greatest, movies ever made. See more Read all reviews
La Dolce Vita

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Movie Info

Synopsis In Federico Fellini's lauded Italian film, restless reporter Marcello Rubini (Marcello Mastroianni) drifts through life in Rome. While Marcello contends with the overdose taken by his girlfriend, Emma (Yvonne Furneaux), he also pursues heiress Maddalena (Anouk Aimée) and movie star Sylvia (Anita Ekberg), embracing a carefree approach to living. Despite his hedonistic attitude, Marcello does have moments of quiet reflection, resulting in an intriguing cinematic character study.
Director
Federico Fellini
Producer
Angelo Rizzoli, Giuseppe Amato
Screenwriter
Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Tullio Pinelli
Distributor
Republic Pictures, American International Pictures, Astor Pictures Corporation
Production Co
Cinecittà, Pathé Consortium Cinéma
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 19, 1960, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Sep 21, 2004
Runtime
2h 55m