Is this the GREATEST film ever made?
How many films on the IMDB Top 250 come even close to this Masterpiece? It's sad that the voters aren't cultured enough to rate it up there.
shareI'd describe La dolce vita as a cinematic masterpiece painting a picture of hedonism and life of illusory happiness without family, without the obligations and restrictions enforced by marital life. Sequences of bon vivant - partygoers and easy living are succeeding one another and the only person (Steiner) who leads a marital life kills himself.
shareIt’s one of the greatest. I can never stop thinking about, and I like it so much better than 8-1/2. They are sort of similar.
shareI haven't watched 8 ½ yet and therefore can't say which one I prefer. Do you remember the last scene with the manta ray? Does it symbolize or imply anything or was it unintentional?
shareI think the leviathan, bloated and not surviving in its surroundings, does mean something. In fact, there are probably many voluminous critiques about this movie and 8-1/2. It took me a minute to realize that Marcello was older in the last scene. And he was in quite a different place literally. The contrast of the beginning and ending does mean something, a religious tone or optimism and then decadence. I think the leviathan in conjunction with Paolo says everything. When we see her first, there’s an innocence and freshness; she also that in the end but he chooses to dismiss her. When she calls out to him, we don’t know exactly what she says and it doesn’t matter; he’s not interested - he either doesn’t hear and doesn't care or he doesn't remember her - but that is an indicator that he is steadfast in choosing this other way of life. He assumes a persona that he probably never had intended to be - one of self-indulgence and moral disgust. Who knows - I may be all wrong. I should see it again. Your thoughts. Anybody’s thoughts. This movie was great to watch without analysis. The Steiner scene took my breath away.
shareI think the manta ray, the monster as it is called by the beachgoers, represents decay and corruption, Sin in one word, the short attention span of materialistic persons, who are amazed by the grand creature, yet pay attention to it for only a few seconds, suggest buying its carcass for profit and then suddenly all go away leaving the dead sea giant alone on the beach. This is opposed by the presence of Paola, the innocent young girl, who, as an angel, tries to invite Marcello somewhere (she points towards an unknown place, the restaurant she works in, a church?) and encourage him or lift his spirits, but he's too hedonistic and materialistic to listen to this angel's pleas.
shareVery good. We said the same thing. I like what you said better.
What segment or segments of the movie did you enjoy most? The Steiner episode blew me away. The thing with his dad was also very good. Arguing with his gf and driving off and coming back was realistic. Nothing like Anita and the famous Trevi Fountain. I didn’t know Lex Barker was in it. Anouk Aimee was fantastic and then the last scene was so depressing. But the best part was seeing Rome in the ‘60s.
The Steiner scenes blew me away too, especially his monologue in the darkened room where he confesses that peace frightens him and that he wants to be detached, a scene that heralds his family's imminent tragedy. Other segments I enjoyed most were the flirting between Marcello and the invisible cheater Anouk Aimee in the castle, Marcello's interaction with his father, notably after the cabaret, in the apartment and his farewell scene. Images of Rome in the 60s are excellent and a part of Italy's cinematic heritage and suggest Fellini's love of the city, which he glorified 12 years later in Roma.
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