Amazing quality of Italian Cinematography in the 50s and 60s

Just watched LA DOLCE VITA on Blu-ray and from that it evident the clarity of the original widescreen footage is absolutely stunning. I recently watched a DVD of ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST and was similarly impressed by the sharp focus and detail within the images throughout. By contrast I saw the BFI re-issue of Dr ZHIVAGO in a theatre and was slightly disappointed by these same aspects even though DOP Freddie Young has a huge reputation for his work. Many scenes seemed rather too softly focused and the shallow depth of field on some of the wider shots seemed inappropriate for the scene itself.

In the case of both Italian films it was evident that they were very strongly lit and the commentary track on ONCE UPON A TIME includes an observation from John Carpenter that the sets are "lit up like a christmas tree" in order to achieve the depth of field. Maybe a particular feature or fashion among Italian cinematographers of the time? Whatever, it works!