La Dolce Vita

Federico Fellini's picaresque portrait of Rome, circa the 1960s, stars Marcello Mastroianni as Marcello Rubini, a would-be serious writer who can't seem to raise himself above the level of scandal sheet hack. With photographers constantly in tow, Marcello races back and forth across Rome covering events such as the transporting of a statue of Jesus by helicopter over the decaying city, a murder/suicide by a seemingly happy family man who kills his two children, and, of course, the never-ending parade of female stars who briefly show up in this nightclub or that. As confused in his personal life as he is in his professional life, Marcello has ongoing arguments with his girlfriend Emma (Yvonne Furneaux) about his numerous liaisons with other women. Although there is no overarching plot to drive the story forward, and it does, at times, seem to wander aimlessly from one bizarre situation to the next, there are a number of gleaming moments: Marcello's touching reconciliation with his father; a particularly acrid exchange between he and Emma, and the potshots at the newspaper hounds and press photographers who unquestionably earn the name "vultures." A bit dated by contemporary standards, this humongous party of a movie remains one of Fellini's best. Presented with a luminous new digital transfer, DVD extras on this double-disc edition include an audio commentary by Time film critic Richard Schickel, a brief introduction by director Alexander Payne (Sideways), five featurettes (totaling just over an hour), and a booklet. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray/DVD Review—Oct. 21, 2014—Criterion, 174 min., in Italian w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: 2 discs, $29.95; Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray debut, 1960's La Dolce Vita features a great transfer and an uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras include an audio interview with star Marcello Mastroianni from the early 1960s (48 min.), archival and new interviews with director Federico Fellini (31 min.), Italian journalist Antonello Sarno (16 min.), and scholar David Forgacs (15 min.), the new visual essay “The Eye & The Beholder” by filmmaker :: kogonada (10 min.), an interview with filmmaker Lina Wertmüller (8 min.), a presentation of ephemera from collector Don Young, and an essay by critic Gary Giddins. Bottom line: a Fellini classic sparkles on Blu-ray.]