The Great Beauty

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The Great Beauty

2013

2h 22m

Comedy

Drama

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

135 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

An aging writer bitterly recollects his passionate youth.

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Critics Consensus

Dazzlingly ambitious, beautifully filmed, and thoroughly enthralling, The Great Beauty offers virtuoso filmmaking from writer/director Paolo Sorrentino.

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Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

metro.co.uk

Sorrentino's heady, vivid yet wearily melancholic musing on midlife crisis submerges you in sumptuousness until you emerge, blinking, as if from some impossibly glamorous party.

Rated: 5/5

Sep 5, 2017

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Marjorie Baumgarten

Austin Chronicle

Wild set-pieces and rueful observations are the stock in trade of this Italian film by one of the modern masters of cinema, Paolo Sorrentino.

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 13, 2014

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Jonathan Romney

Film Comment Magazine

I can't remember when a film last gave me such a surge of pure pleasure -- no, outright euphoria -- as The Great Beauty.

Feb 6, 2014

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Sergi Sánchez

Fotogramas

It would be a disservice to consider this generous film a mere homage. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 5/5

Jul 18, 2022

Full Review

Dustin Chang

Floating World

If the film is a reflection of the Bellusconi bunga-bunga era and its hollowness, that's fine too. It still retains that melancholy and sadness and silence and thoughtfulness against that super stylized, slick, camera moves and gyrating, young bodies.

Feb 22, 2021

Full Review

Jordan M. Smith

IONCINEMA.com

The Great Beauty is a cinematic marvel that playfully asks what we find truly joyous in life and questions their validity with a sardonic over exuberance.

Nov 4, 2020

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Giorgio P

One of the most beauty italian movie ever and probably BEST movie of the italian cinema modern era

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/09/24

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Liam D

An movie that is about a lot of adult and meaningful things but it’s told in a wonderful way

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/20/24

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Joshua W

What a bizarre, yet epic, visit to Rome! View Gatsby-esque party scenes and beautiful, careful camera-work. The main character does soul searching, and reality does, on occasion, slip into surreality. I can not say that I understand exactly what this film is trying to get at. But the ride it takes the viewer on is, as stated above, epic. Find out why it won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film of the Year.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/01/24

Full Review

Jaggy G

Beautifully filmed. Pure indulgence one moment, and painfully beautiful, thoughtful and melancholy the next. Great writing.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/01/23

Full Review

Fred S

Emotional and dramatic film who makes you think about life and the worth and the beauty in the small things.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

dave s

Jep (Toni Servillo) is a man suffering from a late-life crisis, a journalist and socialite who has spent forty years basking in the success of his only novel, an acclaimed work that has forged his reputation. Paolo Sorrentino's The Great Beauty is the story of a man looking back on his life, the moments that defined that life and the people who shaped it, and wondering what could have been done differently. It is stunningly shot (the opening montage is beautiful), intelligently written, and well-acted throughout. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, but those who are willing to stick it out to the end will be rewarded with a thought-provoking movie experience.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Paolo Sorrentino

Director

Toni Servillo

Jep Gambardella

Carlo Verdone

Romano

Sabrina Ferilli

Ramona

Carlo Buccirosso

Lello Cava

Iaia Forte

Trumeau

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Synopsis

An aging writer bitterly recollects his passionate youth.

Director: Paolo Sorrentino
Producer: Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima
Screenwriter: Paolo Sorrentino, Umberto Contarello
Production Co: France 2 Cinéma, Indigo Films, Pathé Productions Inc., Babe Films, Medusa Film
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: Italian
Release Date (Streaming): May 21, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.8M
Runtime: 2h 22m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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