The film was hugely successful and widely praised in its time, though it's really nothing more than the old C.B. De Mille formula of titillation and moralizing.
La Dolce Vita (1960)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:51
Fresh:50
Rotten:1
Average Rating:9.1/10
Runtime: 3 hrs
Genre: Foreign Films
Synopsis: In Federico Fellini's seminal film LA DOLCE VITA, a three-hour masterpiece that shows one man's descent into "the sweet life" of debauchery, Marcello Mastroianni stars as eccentric journalist... In Federico Fellini's seminal film LA DOLCE VITA, a three-hour masterpiece that shows one man's descent into "the sweet life" of debauchery, Marcello Mastroianni stars as eccentric journalist Marcello Rubini. On assignment to chronicle the lives of the rich and famous Italian aristocracy in a gossip column for a Roman newspaper, Marcello floats from one fabulous party to the next, meeting all varieties of beautiful, extravagant people. While he would never protest this seemingly ideal job, it makes him feel lonely and empty, and he stays up drinking and dancing night after night only to wake up each morning unbalanced and unfocused. The film follows Marcello's ups and downs in an episodic pattern in which each evening is a new story, a new adventure, a new dare, a new woman with whom to fall helplessly in love--but only for that night. Each morning the slate is wiped clean, and Fellini resets Marcello's score to zero. Sprinkled with religious images and gestures at salvation, LA DOLCE VITA is supreme in the beauty of its all-encompassing symbolism that is expressed through lavish sets, an alluring script, overemphasized physical movements, roller-coaster jazz music, and helpless emotions. [More]
Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimée, Anita Ekberg, Yvonne Furneaux
Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimée, Anita Ekberg, Yvonne Furneaux, Magali Noel, Nico, Alain Cuny, Riccardo Garrone, Laura Betti, Jacques Sernas, Nadia Gray
Director: Federico Fellini
Director: Federico Fellini
Screenwriter: Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, Brunello Rondi
Producer: Giuseppe Amato, Angelo Rizzoli
Composer: Nino Rota
Get This Movie
Reviews for La Dolce Vita
Perhaps many spectators will squirm at the three-hour length of the film or of some of its sequences (though director Federico Fellini cut some 30 minutes from his final print), yet others will never notice they've sat that long.
Rarely, if ever, has a picture reflected decadence, immorality and sophistication with such depth.
After what we've seen of decadence during the past three decades or so, La Dolce Vita now seems tame, but people wasting time in nightclubs, dancing in the fountains of Rome, and just generally hanging out seemed a bit of a shock in 1960.
There are perhaps a couple of party scenes too many, and the peripheral characters can be unconvincing, but the stylish cinematography and Fellini's bizarre, extravagant visuals are absolutely riveting.
A timeless, bittersweet carnival of severed roots, disintegrating values, lost innocence and dumbing down. Unmissable!
Rich in intelligent observation...it shares some wisdom without being preachy, always with Fellini's gift for entertaining and amusing us.
In sum, it is an awesome picture, licentious in content but moral and vastly sophisticated in its attitude and what it says.
It comes from a period in which the filmmaker was perched between neorealism and all-out fantasia. As such, it represents the best of two worlds, even as Marcello can't find contentment in either one.
Fellini's best film, in which the fragility of the characters is not overwhelmed by the director's decadent indulgences.
The satire on display is so simultaneously subtle yet blatant that the movie itself is intoxicating.
Roman opera, a nocturnal vision demarcated by dawns, purring a siren's call of temptation and dissolution.
Federico Fellini's parody of the parasites who bask in the glory of cheap publicity not only exposes the emptiness of their lives, but also of those who report their antics as if they were of world-shattering import.
A profound film by a legendary director in the greatest period of his career.
It's winsome because of the stylish cinematography, which fills the screen with mind-blowing bizarre visuals.
The circus that became the '60s was ushered in cinematically by La Dolce Vita, Federico Fellini's masterwork about the so-called 'sweet life' on Rome's teeming Via Veneto.
Made at the peak of Fellini's career, La Dolce Vita provided the first look into Rome's decadent cafe society, boasting superlative performances from Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimee, Anita Ekberg, and others.
This remains a landmark movie that should be seen by every self-respecting movie buff.
Latest News for La Dolce Vita
September 17, 2009:
Five Favorite Films with A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott of the New York Times -- and now, At the Movies -- is one of America's best-known and most trusted film critics. Scott's tenure with the Times began in 2000; prior to... More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 24% 24% | G-Force |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
| 63% 63% | Extract |
| 06% 06% | All About Steve |
| 78% 78% | It Might Get Loud |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- La Dolce Vita at Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh Links
Featured

Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!

Here's a list of the 50 best movies of 2009, according to the good people over at Moviefone.

Hollywood.com takes a stab at determining who in movies will be on Santa's naughty list in 2009.

TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic



