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La Dolce vita
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La Dolce vita
1960
Drama
2h 54m
Marcello is a young playboy journalist who spends his days between celebrities and rich people, seeking for ephemeral joy in parties and sex... (imdb)
Directed by:
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La Dolce vita
1960
Drama
2h 54m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 72.47% from 2711 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews
(2743)
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Rated 02 Feb 2008
4
70th
For a movie named "The Sweet Life," Marcello's life certainly doesn't seem enviable. Sure, it's glamorous, but there's no comfort to be had in it, other than on a surface level. By the end of the movie his character seems utterly weary and worn down. The movie is nothing more than a series of events in his life showcasing this superficial glamour, but it works, mainly because of Fellini's incredible grasp of style and his penchant for indulgence. The cinematography is stunning.
Rated 02 Feb 2008
Rated 17 Nov 2010
80
86th
Is the title ironic? That depends, I guess, on your view on the decadent society very successfully depicted here. Fellini compellingly suggests that these over-privileged people, somehow trapped by their own excesses, lead empty and messy lives. Fittingly, it's a somewhat messy narrative. The length of the running time is a bit indulgent. And why couldn't those Italians just record the sound on-set, huh? Dubbing should be a capital offence.
Rated 17 Nov 2010
Rated 08 Dec 2006
72
41st
Something like L'Avventura but with more stuff going on. And yet, for all the "stuff" happening in Dolce, it all seems almost as empty as the lifestyle it's commenting on. Maybe there's too much in this film, bopping around from one scenario to the next without exploring any of them deeply enough.
Rated 08 Dec 2006
Rated 18 Mar 2007
74
55th
People accuse Fellini of being indulgent and excessive - it's true, of course, but isn't that his point? Anyway, while it's wonderfully filmed with some clever and striking scenes peppered throughout, it didn't impress me all that much. None of the films many observations struck me as particularly profound and 8 1/2, at least for me, had better and more memorable images. Though for quite a long film it manages to be pretty entertaining and occasionally quite captivating.
Rated 18 Mar 2007
Rated 11 Oct 2008
9
93rd
So ambitious, so daring, so unique. If a movie could have balls this one would have a pretty large pair.
Rated 11 Oct 2008
Rated 30 Sep 2009
60
36th
I've given this two complete watches, and it still never clicked for me. Don't get me wrong, there are moments of profundity and brilliance in this film, but they are interspersed between long periods where nothing much interesting happens. Yes, some of the episodes are simply not interesting. In my view, this film could easily be half the length and twice as good. I'm not hating on long films, but in this case Fellini's sharp, powerful message gets diluted after too many monotonous scenes.
Rated 30 Sep 2009
Rated 11 Jul 2010
9
90th
(2nd viewing) A film showcasing glitz and glamour, this is indeed "The Sweet Life". The ending perfectly mirrors the extravagant decadence of its shallow characters, the latter not necessarily working in the film's advantage, as spending 3 hours with them becomes a drag. Luckily, Fellini infuses his film with great dialogue, memorable images and moments of beautifully profound humanism . Quite unique indeed, recommended !
Rated 11 Jul 2010
Rated 29 Dec 2011
56
31st
I just thought this was a chore to get through. I felt that while trying to show how empty and sad all of these rich people's lives are, the film itself gets bogged down in all these boring, pointless scenarios. There are a few interesting moments throughout Marcello's journey, and the cinematography and lighting is superb - but I thought this was just a pretty mess.
Rated 29 Dec 2011
Rated 04 Aug 2007
93
90th
La Dolce Vita is a very interesting, captivating, and marvelous movie that has very fun characters, a lot of style, and a way of progressing a rather nonexistent plot in a way that still keeps you entertained. Fellini is surely a master of incorporating decadence and style into each scene, and in my opinion, this is the movie that showcases that best.
Rated 04 Aug 2007
Rated 24 Dec 2007
74
40th
A beautiful shallow film about beautiful shallow people. There are some great images, some good acting and some entertaining moments, but ultimately no one in the film is likeable at all. The whole film is supposed to be about Marcello's internal stuggles, trying to chose between virtue and decadence, but as much as this is brought up it really doesn't ring true. Marcello just wasn't very likeable and it made the whole thing feel rather pointless.
Rated 24 Dec 2007
Rated 17 Jun 2009
5
98th
Existentialism perfected. The corruption of the individual and the search for meaning in a shallow and meaningless society, depicted carefully without ever roaring out the message or being melodramatic and overtly gloomy. The ending is one of the all time greats.
Rated 17 Jun 2009
Rated 07 Mar 2011
45
29th
That stupid look on his face at the end pretty well makes it worth watching, but, holy shit did it meander getting there. It seemed like Fellini prepared a few well thought-out moments, and then just pointed the camera at stuff the rest of the time.
Rated 07 Mar 2011
Rated 14 Apr 2013
95
98th
Every time you watch this movie, you'll love it more. Flawless.
Rated 14 Apr 2013
Rated 05 Feb 2007
85
89th
Each scene is a unique piece of art. Fellini's most famous film doesn't dissapoint.
Rated 05 Feb 2007
Rated 23 Mar 2008
67
50th
For a movie I like in concept, I don't particularly enjoy watching this.
Rated 23 Mar 2008
Rated 20 Apr 2009
65
23rd
Clocking in at over two and half hours, I kind of assumed this movie would be a little more eventful, and having seen so many other people saying so many good things, that idea looked pretty solid. For the life of me, though, I could not get into this movie, I mean if you've seen one party scene, you've seen them all, and that's about three-quarters of this movie.
Rated 20 Apr 2009
Rated 18 Feb 2010
86
96th
There is substantial meaning in Mastroianni's seven-day journey through the "sweet life" of Rome. It is no less than a search for meaning in life. Mastroianni learns it is not to be found in his idol Steiner, whose intellectual pretension masks the same fears he has. The film leaves itself open to interpretation. Does it expose the hollow core of idealism, or merely reflect a world we already know? The sweet life is an illusion, but the journey to attain it is very real.
Rated 18 Feb 2010
Rated 04 May 2011
76
63rd
There are some powerful and riveting scenes in here - such as the climactic party - but ultimately I'm more in love with the concept of the film than I am with the film itself. It sometimes looses its hypnotic nature, and the 3-hour run time is a bit much. Still an entertaining film with some great messages and Fellini sure is bold, but it doesn't all work.
Rated 04 May 2011
Rated 08 Apr 2013
70
46th
Overlong, overstuffed, and overrated. That's Fellini for you.
Rated 08 Apr 2013
Rated 20 Apr 2013
90
97th
Reminds me of Thai cuisine, where the purpose is to perfectly balance every flavor of the palate in each dish. Each scene is such a dish, involving the perfect amount of music and silence, stasis and motion, thought and emotion, humor and horror, realism and symbolism. You can't simply judge this film in terms of plot progression. Fellini has made better films before it, but La Dolca Vita is his breakthrough in personal vision. Its idiosyncratic aesthetic is present in all his subsequent works.
Rated 20 Apr 2013
Rated 25 May 2017
70
27th
Other reviewers seem to be going through mental gymnastics to justify why it's a good film when it's a stylishly boring affair. True the topics are good but you already know all of them and it isn't worth 3 hours of your time just for the cinematography. Tedious from the conversations to the 'parties'. You need more of a plot if you try to make a movie about a man bored with life but this just covers its lack of substance with style.
Rated 25 May 2017
Rated 15 Jul 2018
60
35th
Fellini lived in a completely different world than I do -- I will never have gorgeous women draped on each arm, and a life spent carousing at night while barely working. So I find it challenging to connect with his decadent characters, all of whom seemed bored or depressed with their empty lives. While Fellini brings up interesting ideas (and some beautiful cinematography), at three hours, I'd rather find something else to do.
Rated 15 Jul 2018
Rated 28 Apr 2008
90
91st
Grief-stricken existentialism from a master of the medium. Magical.
Rated 28 Apr 2008
Rated 05 Jun 2008
43
25th
Slow, empty, and frustrating. Despite the main character's glamorous life, he's apparently only fulfilled while in the bedroom, where the camera can't go. I'm left following this guy around and feeling as annoyed and aimless as he does. If that was the point, then well done, but this still wasn't very enjoyable and it was far, far too long.
Rated 05 Jun 2008
Rated 05 Nov 2008
90
80th
I probably don't understand much of it, but it's definitely a thought provoking, well composed image of various lifestyles.
Rated 05 Nov 2008
Rated 12 Jan 2009
99
92nd
again and again and again - movie with no time and space - a pure bohemian rhapsody ! http://www.trailerfan.com/movie/la_dolce_vita/posters/209451 <<< eyecandy
Rated 12 Jan 2009
Rated 16 Mar 2009
100
95th
A surreal, comic tableaux with award-winning costuming.
Rated 16 Mar 2009
Rated 23 Jul 2010
98
99th
Perhaps the finest allegory in film. Marcello, shadows the eternal diva through Rome to within an inch of her lips yet leaves with a hook to the gut. This is followed by the people of Rome chasing the Madonna through the fervor of belief and childish giggles. Fellini takes us tantalizingly close to both women leaving us expectant that each will submit to the will of their followers but we are left with Fellini's own divine doubts to mull over and in turn his detachment from a life of lost cause.
Rated 23 Jul 2010
Rated 31 May 2012
75
80th
It might be called self-indulgent -- and I think it really is --, but it's like a Fellini's living dream: a journalist falling in love with rich women lots of times, drinking, smoking, meeting strangers, giving order to his photographers -- and later being the target of the their lens -- and, in some cases, facing what could be a real miracle -- some sort of return to reality through religion -- and one of his friends turned a suicide criminal. A cinema obsessed with sin and sanctity.
Rated 31 May 2012
Rated 03 Aug 2012
100
98th
La Dolce Vita is a film worth as much as you put into it. On the surface it's a series of social interactions mostly by hollow people living hollow lives with surreal touches, but what it mainly boils down to is the dissolution of Marcello's soul in its frequent distraction to an alluring way of life that is full of meaningless noise and sights. The stretching length actually works to its advantage I find, as by the end we feel just as exhausted by the constant excess as Marcello.
Rated 03 Aug 2012
Rated 23 Mar 2019
77
82nd
[SPOILERS] I kept expecting Marcello to learn something about himself that seemed so obvious to the audience. The final scene was a real kick when you realize that it's not in the cards for him.
Rated 23 Mar 2019
Rated 17 Apr 2007
98
98th
# 23
Rated 17 Apr 2007
Rated 14 Aug 2007
28
19th
It's got some fairly memorable images for being essentially a three hour long movie about going to parties, but the vague themes aren't worth the investment.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 14 Aug 2007
100
77th
My favorite Fellini ( which is saying a HELL of a lot !).
Marcello embodies , well ... everything ... for me here.
Just brilliant, and SOOOO cool.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 14 Aug 2007
93
99th
Fellini's masterpiece on contemporary restlessness, loneliness and suicidal tendencies, and on the monster that insists on looking (or that keeps on staring, as Criterion has it). Some scenes do go on a bit long, perhaps, but the film represents a significant leap, both for Fellini and for cinema (though one does wonder what impact 1957’s Sidney Falco might have had on the construction of the character of Marcello Rubini). So many nice-looking convertibles (and people).
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 25 Apr 2023
100
96th
The film's an interesting companion to Michelangelo Antonioni's "L'avventura" released the same year (this film won the Palme D'Or at Cannes, while "L'avventura" won the jury prize). Both films look at the new Italy built from the ruination and poverty of postwar Italy. Both films examine the spiritual emptiness created by rapid modernization and economic growth.
Rated 25 Apr 2023
Rated 01 Mar 2008
99
98th
# 24
Rated 01 Mar 2008
Rated 17 Jun 2008
99
96th
Fellini's best movie. Fluid, stunning, intoxicating piece on the allure, glamour and sleaze of the decadent life. And for once, the director sustains the mood and never succumbs to sentimentality.
Rated 17 Jun 2008
Rated 17 Oct 2008
98
96th
One of the few great Fellini films that isn't just a remake of 81/2.
Rated 17 Oct 2008
Rated 19 Dec 2008
99
98th
26
Rated 19 Dec 2008
Rated 13 Apr 2009
5
93rd
"With perhaps the exception of the modus operandi of modern paparazzi, Fellini's other masterpiece has aged incerdibly well, and holds up as well as it ever did to repeat viewing. It's not on the big top ten lists for nothing."
Rated 13 Apr 2009
Rated 29 Jun 2009
75
43rd
Mastroianni is a great actor, but the story is kinda all over the place.
Rated 29 Jun 2009
Rated 28 Jul 2009
99
99th
Quite simply a masterpiece. This man is a god.
Rated 28 Jul 2009
Rated 08 Aug 2009
50
8th
I have dreams in black and white where I kill everyone in this film, brutally. Everyone.
Rated 08 Aug 2009
Rated 22 Aug 2009
81
86th
A little too long, but overall a real treat.
Rated 22 Aug 2009
Rated 10 Nov 2009
50
12th
I like Felini, but this one was kind of boring. I like Amarcord.
Rated 10 Nov 2009
Rated 13 Jan 2010
99
98th
23
Rated 13 Jan 2010
Rated 26 Mar 2023
99
98th
Paradoxical flick. How is it I can watch a film with such a deeply cynical sensibility, and yet feel like life has been affirmed afterwards? Absolutely stunning imagery.
Rated 26 Mar 2023
Rated 30 Jul 2010
73
71st
I didn't feel very much throughout the 3 hours of this film. Disappointing after 8 1/2
Rated 30 Jul 2010
Rated 11 Oct 2010
80
69th
Enjoyed it a lot more the second time (and on a bigger screen). Still has a lot of annoying aspects, and "8 1/2" is way better, but it's worth watching.
Rated 11 Oct 2010
Rated 04 Jul 2011
92
93rd
It is a bit overlong, but an excellent film and allegory.
Rated 04 Jul 2011
Rated 21 Oct 2011
40
97th
"What is happiness within the film's world? Fellini offers no easy answers." - Matthew Connolly
Rated 21 Oct 2011
Rated 30 Nov 2011
99
98th
#25
Rated 30 Nov 2011
Rated 20 Jan 2012
76
78th
I watched this quite late in terms of when I saw Fellini's other classics, I don't know if that had anything to do with it but I wasn't quite as charmed by this as his others - even though it's great of course, there's no real weight in it I feel at times.
Rated 20 Jan 2012
Rated 29 Apr 2012
8
76th
Terrifying existentialism behind a veil of rapidly following scenes of spectacle. Even though every minute is brilliantly crafted, Fellini strives for a feeling of immense over-indulgence that can make it a difficult watch at 3 hours running time. The question raises, did itself really need to become what it wants to portray? I don't know, but it still is a most rewarding experience.
Rated 29 Apr 2012
Rated 10 Jun 2012
78
56th
Fellini has a knack for showing the most interesting faces and places. This movie is filled with both. The glamour, vanity, sin, and longing of high society is captured beautifully. It's a film stuffed with interesting scenes. But while I enjoyed the individual scenes, I can't make them gel in my mind into a cohesive whole. I sense greatness here, and I have the distinct feeling that a repeat viewing will make it all "click". But as it stands it all sort of feels like a shallow jumble.
Rated 10 Jun 2012
Rated 23 Oct 2012
73
28th
Anita Ekberg.
Rated 23 Oct 2012
Rated 23 Nov 2012
84
62nd
Finally got around to watching this one...!
A three hour movie about how bored rich people are with their lives.
Anita Ekberg and Anouk Aimee are both gorgeous in their own ways. Rome looks amazing (especially as Anita strolls around with a little white cat in Trevi Fountain) and Marcello is great as a man who's unfulfilled by his job and of those around him.
In the end, it was hard for me to get into the movie outside of respecting it, and maybe this requires some reading or a 2nd viewing.
Rated 23 Nov 2012
Rated 16 Feb 2013
65
54th
Well, I'm still not a big Federico Fellini fan. I truly respect him as a filmmaker, but I've yet to truly connect with one of his films. This one is magnificently shot, for sure, but I only really cared about a couple of the sequences. The one with the character of Sylvia was my favourite. It was also too long. I can totally respect it, but this film (and perhaps a lot of Fellini's work) isn't for me.
Rated 16 Feb 2013
Rated 30 Apr 2013
77
53rd
Ekberg isn't nearly as sexy as advertised. She doesn't carry any mystery within her.
But it's quite ironic, how a movie, that wants to show all the superficial duplicity of a milieu, is mostly rememberd for the shiny, glamorous scene in the fountain. Which reveals the peeping-tom in all of us.
Rated 30 Apr 2013
Rated 10 Jul 2013
95
93rd
Not only the ultimate in 60's cool, but a portrait of fame and debauchery that could only be dubbed a towering achievement. For me, as I know it, this is the quintessential Fellini film. Marcello Mastroianni is fantastic. (two times)
Rated 10 Jul 2013
Rated 04 Aug 2013
91
93rd
I felt a lot of anger and (hypocritically of me) jealousy through most of the three hour run-time. I didn't experience many good emotions during this, but I still loved it, thought it was well performed (in all aspects), and I would definitely watch it again.
Rated 04 Aug 2013
Rated 10 Oct 2013
100
98th
This movie haunts me in its terrible beauty. An exploration of a man and a society in the process of giving up on life. It's a hell of a ride to the final shore of hollow men, and even then we ache with the always frustrated possibility of life and desire bursting through. I don't know if we'll ever figure out all the details of what all Fellini has going on. Perhaps the greatest film ever made.
Rated 10 Oct 2013
Rated 19 Nov 2013
7
92nd
a great film, which is partly about the nastiness of paparazzi journalism...however, more importantly, it is through that device of voyeurism that fellini ponders the emptiness of life that some people feel, particularly in contrast to the glitz and glamour of the wealthy. rewatched on may 12 2015.
Rated 19 Nov 2013
Rated 06 Dec 2013
75
69th
Enjoyable but long and ultimately depressing.
Rated 06 Dec 2013
Rated 01 Feb 2014
75
72nd
Stylishly shot and well-acted, la 'vita''s often unrelated fragments are nevertheless uneven in entertainment value. Fellini's dependable tasteless humor, impulses towards effective melodrama and sly critique of the bourgeoisie and its glamorous lifestyle (the term 'dolce' seems entirely ironic by the end) result in moments of brilliance, but they don't seem sufficient to hold a 3-hour film. A constant straddle between dullness and intelligent satire, the film is ultimately a flawed success.
Rated 01 Feb 2014
Rated 26 Feb 2023
60
17th
Not my cinema, but 10 points for Anita Ekberg
Rated 26 Feb 2023
Rated 27 Nov 2014
88
99th
(Rewatched: 01/21): Fellini's classic has perhaps lost something over the years due to endless imitation; along with Antonioni's alienation trilogy, it laid down the celluloid blueprint for depicting 'modernity and its discontents' in a startlingly original way that was highly influential.It's also arguable whether it really does transcend the precise socio-historical moment it directly addresses, but there are at least a handful of truly iconic scenes that are up there with the best of cinema.
Rated 27 Nov 2014
Rated 05 May 2015
4
74th
Quintessential Fellini, this couture aesthetic would be the hallmark of his subsequent films. More than that, La Dolce vita is a harbinger of all modern cinema. It is excessive, detached, and cynical. Mastroianni wades through a parade of eccentric characters and string of memorable set pieces, an over-civilized society of shallow intellectuals, false miracles, and media frenzy. It might be a tragedy if, in the end, there were any love lost. Oh well, just shrug it off.
Rated 05 May 2015
Rated 12 Aug 2015
80
75th
The many layers of hedonism and societal decay that Fellini explores with equal amounts scorn and pomp demand repeated viewings.
Rated 12 Aug 2015
Rated 28 Aug 2015
95
97th
Stayed a couple days in a student house inhabited by people as, if not more self-deluded than can be found here, replete with engaging in practices their own desires clearly, on a more fundamental level perhaps unknown to them, objected against. A tragedy, a travesty, an emptiness consuming their souls or, alternatively, in their words, the best lifestyle ever. Whether it be Madonna, a ghost, and/or fame, everyone is hunting down some hollow dream.
Rated 28 Aug 2015
Rated 01 Mar 2016
17
93rd
Star Rating: ★★★★1/2
Rated 01 Mar 2016
Rated 03 Apr 2016
57
54th
I think i sort of like this more than 8 1/2 even if it isn't nearly as cinematically innovative (and if anything it makes me appreciate that aspect of the other film more). The circus-y stuff is kept to a minimum, and the chauvinism is restricted (mostly) to the dialogue rather than literalized quite so much onscreen (although the Cha-Cha-Cha club scene has both of these things that i don't like about Fellini). But otherwise it's basically like an Antonioni movie except Antonioni does it better.
Rated 03 Apr 2016
Rated 17 Sep 2023
7
73rd
This was a much harder watch than I thought it would be -I thought it would be more glamorous and less obnoxious. I definitely need to delve deeper into it.
Rated 17 Sep 2023
Rated 05 Jun 2017
95
98th
The firm depicts the cynicism in the glamour life of higher society. Marcello feeds of these lavish parties and beautiful people because he does not want to become normal with a wife, kids, house The neo realist representation of every day people shows how they are mesmerised by this and to them the dark side of Marcello's life is hidden. The ending presents Marcello and a young girl. The girl tries to call him to come to her side but he cannot and goes back as it is too late he cannot change.
Rated 05 Jun 2017
Rated 24 Oct 2018
60
27th
Steiner: "Don't be like me. Salvation doesn't lie within four walls. I'm too serious to be a dilettante and too much a dabbler to be a professional. Even the most miserable life is better than a sheltered existence in an organized society where everything is calculated and perfected. "
Rated 24 Oct 2018
Rated 28 Nov 2018
85
97th
it really captures the human condition and its conflicts in modern society
Rated 28 Nov 2018
Rated 15 Mar 2019
93
91st
93.00
Rated 15 Mar 2019
Rated 18 Jun 2019
73
71st
Really good. At a three hour runtime, the film does feel its length. However, every scene is beautifully shot and is thematically engaging.
Rated 18 Jun 2019
Rated 27 Jul 2019
68
49th
"sen, yaratılışın ilk günü yaratılan ilk kadınsın. sen; ana, kız kardeş, sevgili, arkadaş, melek, şeytan, dünya ve evsin."
Rated 27 Jul 2019
Rated 07 Sep 2019
85
86th
In fact, Jesus has never been to Rome personally.
Rated 07 Sep 2019
Rated 16 Sep 2019
70
73rd
Interesting, subtle dialogues. The film never hits you over the head, but the conclusion is unmistakable.
Rated 16 Sep 2019
Rated 14 Jan 2020
89
60th
There is always a problem with reviewing trailblazers after having first seen so many movies clearly inspired by it. La dolce vita is a stylish episodic film that wavers between somewhat realistic depictions of Roman life and heavily stylized symbolism. It is a truly great movie that has nonetheless been surpassed by the ones that copied it.
Rated 14 Jan 2020
Rated 28 Jun 2020
85
80th
The cinematography is extraordinary, and there are some really wonderful scenes; the statue of Jesus lifted by helicopter across Rome, the Trevi fountain scene, Maddalena and Marcello communicating via echos, the rain-soaked media circus surrounding some children who claim to have had visions, Paola's voice being eclipsed by the waves.
Rated 28 Jun 2020
Rated 30 Dec 2020
52
11th
üstadın y..rrrak gibi filmi
Rated 30 Dec 2020
Rated 01 Mar 2021
86
89th
Fellini is just one of the best directors in the italian filmography history, if not THE best one. I wish i'd seen more of the Ekberg character, she disapperead too soon from the story
Rated 01 Mar 2021
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