La Dolce Vita (1960)
92%RT Audience Score: 90%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
11 wins & 12 nominations total
Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita is a cinematic masterpiece that has stood the test of time. With its flamboyant spectacle, unconventional narrative structure, and striking symbolism, it is a film that continues to captivate audiences today. Fellini’s portrayal of the depravity of contemporary life is both shocking and thought-provoking, and his use of cataloging sins as a method of moving us is nothing short of brilliant. Every frame of this film is like a black and white painting, with images that move within a pattern of interpretation, reminding us that human nature never changes, just the ways in which we can be seduced while living la dolce vita.
La Dolce Vita is a classic film that takes you on a wild ride through the streets of Rome. While some critics may find fault with its grandiose nature or cataloging of sins, I found it to be a hilarious and entertaining look at the high life and the media’s manipulation of it. The scenes of decadence and debauchery may have dated, but that only adds to the film’s message about the hollowness of the search for new sensations. Plus, every frame is like a black and white painting that captures the essence of human nature and the ways we can be seduced. Overall, La Dolce Vita is a must-see for anyone who wants to live life to the fullest, even if it means getting caught up in the chaos.
Production Company(ies)
Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios,
Distributor
Astor Pictures Corporation, Republic Pictures, American International Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Villa Giustiniani-Odescalchi, Bassano Romano, Viterbo, Lazio, Italy
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
1961
-
Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
-
Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
-
Runtime:2h 55m
-
Language(s):Italian, English, French, German
-
Country of origin:France, Italy
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Apr 19, 1960 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 21, 2004
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Yvonne Furneaux, Anouk Aimée, Magali Noël, Alain Cuny, directed by Federico Fellini, written by Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Tullio Pinelli, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by David Stratton, Guardian Staff, Eric Rhode, Peter Bradshaw, Nigel Andrews, Stanley Kauffmann, Patrick McDonald, Jason Best, Matt Brunson, Frank J Avella, Jas Keimig, Dennis Harvey, producer Angelo Rizzoli, Giuseppe Amato, MPAA rating, Marcello Rubini, Sylvia, Maddalena, Fanny, Steiner, Rome, Italian film, character study, cinematography, episodic structure, surrealism, press photography, bourgeois society, social decadence
Worldwide gross: $198,220
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,231,023
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,385
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 243,296
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Anita Ekberg – Sylvia
Yvonne Furneaux – Emma
Anouk Aimée – Maddalena
Magali Noël – Fanny
Alain Cuny – Steiner
Director(s)
Federico Fellini
Writer(s)
Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Tullio Pinelli
Producer(s)
Angelo Rizzoli, Giuseppe Amato
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
11 wins & 12 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (78) | Top Critics (26) | Fresh (75) | Rotten (3)
[La Dolce Vita] propelled Fellini into the front rank of international directors.
June 12, 2020
David Stratton
The Australian
TOP CRITIC
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.
April 10, 2020
Guardian Staff
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
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.
February 10, 2020
Eric Rhode
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
It is a brilliant film, but there is nothing sweet about it.
January 3, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
This film defined a decade before the decade arrived.
December 23, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
Fellini has set out to move us with the depravity of contemporary life and has chosen what seems to me a poor method: cataloging sins. Very soon we find ourselves thinking: Is that all?
May 1, 2013
Stanley Kauffmann
The New Republic
TOP CRITIC
Every frame of this film is like a black/white painting, in the sense that no matter how many years go by the images move within a pattern of interpretation. Human nature never changes, just the ways/means we can be seduced, while living LA DOLCE VITA!
June 28, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
Patrick McDonald
HollywoodChicago.com
That the scenes of decadence and debauchery have dated badly seems, perversely, to work in the film’s favour, underscoring the hollowness of the high life, the vapidity of the ceaseless search for new sensation.
March 24, 2022 | Rating: 5
Jason Best
Movie Talk
The second half is astonishing in its execution and emotional implications.
February 12, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
The film is timelier than ever as an indictment of how the media manipulates in order to get a more palpable story.
February 10, 2022 | Rating: A+
Frank J. Avella
Edge Media Network
At once a debaucherous ride through the celebrity-studded streets of Rome and a depressing, hedonistic mirror held up to its main character, Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita takes you through the ringer in its 176-minute runtime.
December 9, 2021
Jas Keimig
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)
Casting aside his prior neo-realism, Fellini seized on a flamboyance of spectacle, symbolism, aesthetic refinement, and unconventional narrative structure that was endlessly striking as well as provocative.
August 30, 2021
Dennis Harvey
48 Hills…
Plot
In 1959/1960 Rome, Marcello Rubini (Marcello Mastroianni) is a writer and journalist, the worst kind of journalist
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Marcello Mastroianni stars as restless reporter Marcello Rubini in La Dolce Vita.
Federico-Fellini.jpg
