La dolce vita

(1960)

Synopsis

“The citizens of Rome are startled by the sight of a huge statue of Christ being flown over the city by helicopter to the Vatican. Following in a second helicopter is Marcello Rubini, a journalist who, despite literary aspirations, earns his living writing gossip and scandal stories. In a nightclub, Marcello meets Maddalena, a jaded heiress. Together they pick up a prostitute and spend the night in the whore’s room. Upon his return home at dawn, Marcello finds that his mistress, Emma, crushed by his perfidy, has attempted to poison herself. Her recovery assured, Marcello leaves Emma’s side to cover the airport arrival of Sylvia Rank, a Hollywood starlet. Infatuated by the voluptuous blonde actress, Marcello accompanies her on a tour of the city, following her to St. Peter’s Basilica, the Baths of Caracalla, and the Trevi fountain. The escapade ends violently, however, when Sylvia’s fiancé, Robert, assaults Marcello. The reporter’s next assignment is to cover a purported apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which two precocious children claim to have witnessed. The children’s prevarication is exposed, and a sudden storm disperses the spectators. Later, Marcello’s father visits him from the provinces but returns home when his son’s lifestyle proves too strenuous for him. At a restaurant Marcello meets Paola, a young waitress whose provincial innocence appeals strongly to him. Marcello’s assignments and adventures are punctuated by exhausting quarrels with Emma. The writer is further depressed when, following an evening of parties with aristocratic friends, he learns that Steiner, his wealthy and intellectual friend, has slain himself and his two children. Disillusioned, Marcello abandons himself to the pursuit of pleasure. The morning after an orgy at the seaside villa of the divorcée Nadia, Marcello and other guests roam through a forest to the beach, where a decomposing fish lies in the sand. As Marcello stares at its corpse, he sees Paola waving to him from across the canal; unable to understand what she is saying, he wanders off in the dawn to rejoin his friends.”

Source: Turner Classic Movies (TCM)

Genre

Melodrama, Comedy

Format / Medium

Black and white film

Duration

178 min

Production

Guiseppe Amato (Riama Film) and Pathé Consortium Cinéma

Story

Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano (based on an idea by Federico Fellini)

Screenplay

Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano and Tullio Pinelli

Main Cast

Anita Ekberg, Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimée, Yvonne Furneaux, Alain Cuny, Magali Noël, Lex Barker and Valeria Ciangottini

Music

Nino Rota

Awards

Golden Palm, Cannes Film Festival 1960

Image Credits

The Fellini Foundation for the Cinema Collection

Trailer