La Dolce Vita (1960)
About This Movie
A gossip journalist wanders through Rome's decadent high society over seven nights and seven dawns, encountering movie stars, intellectuals, aristocrats, and miracles, searching for meaning and finding only glamour and emptiness. Fellini created a portrait of a culture intoxicated by celebrity and spectacle that feels even more relevant in the age of social media. Anita Ekberg wading through the Trevi Fountain is one of the most iconic images in cinema.
Why It's a Classic
Fellini gave the world the word 'paparazzi,' named after the photographer character Paparazzo in this film, and the culture of celebrity obsession he depicted has only intensified in the decades since. Mastroianni's Marcello is the perfect audience surrogate: attractive enough to access every world, intelligent enough to see the hollowness, and weak enough to keep returning anyway. The film's episodic structure mirrors the rhythm of nightlife itself, each evening promising transformation and delivering only another hangover. The opening image of a helicopter carrying a statue of Christ over Rome's rooftops establishes the film's central tension between the sacred and the profane. The final scene on the beach, where Marcello cannot hear a young girl calling to him across a channel, is one of cinema's great images of spiritual failure.
Fun Fact
The Trevi Fountain scene was filmed over several freezing nights in winter, and Ekberg reportedly waded through the water without complaint while Mastroianni needed a wetsuit under his clothes and fortified himself with vodka. The Vatican condemned the film and called for it to be banned. The film popularized the Via Veneto as a symbol of glamorous nightlife, and tourists still visit the street hoping to recapture the atmosphere Fellini depicted. At 174 minutes, it was considered excessively long by 1960 standards.
Parent Note
Sexual content includes affairs, striptease sequences, and frank sensuality, all presented in a 1960s European context that is suggestive rather than explicit. There is a suicide. The film's episodic structure and nearly three hour runtime require commitment. Italian dialogue requires subtitles. The social satire is sophisticated and rewards cultural knowledge. Best suited for viewers interested in European cinema and cultural criticism.
Quick Facts
- Year
- 1960
- Type
- 🎬 Movie
- Category
- World Cinema
- Age Group
- Adults (Ages 18+)