Coolest music ever

I agree with Patricia; the other contributors really outshine Rota in this (except for Notturno o mattutino), and Perez Prado's Patricia is a crucial part of the atmosphere.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC_UjMsYmJc vs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4HMyzDYzW4

Rota was as good a thief as any other, so I'd say intentional. La Dolce Vita features one of my least favourite Rota scores. Not because of how derivative it is, but because it's so lifeless and he really doesn't do anything significant with the pieces he is stealing from (I've never bothered to listening to that insubstantial trumpet piece anyway, in fact I doubt that bit is especially original to either of them). And this could very well be due to how much time he had to compose for it, I believe he typically had weeks if not days (if not composing it on the spot)--this in addition to fulfilling his other commitments as composer outside of film and director of a conservatory. I've read something indicating that the main theme was last second patch up work because Fellini failed to secure the copyright for Mack the Knife. Notturno of Mattutino (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrlkKO13xS0) is the only piece I like from his score, but I also have to wonder about it's roots... although I haven't heard anything about its origins which gives me the right to enjoy it.

I read somewhere it was Rota who frequently selected the additional tunes (eg. Patricia and Stormy Weather) and brought them in while filming. He was quite conscious he was ripping off Mack the Knife for the main theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOg1kXpYp3M), there is interview footage where he concedes it is an attempt at adapting it (apparently it was often played on set; you couldn't really use that song on loop, so it had to be adapted anyway). It also came around the time it had reached its peak popularity, so didn't attempt to go under the radar. When that LDV themes makes a short reappearance in Boccaccio '70: The Temptation of Dr Antonio, I enjoyed it much more, it felt more developed. Even the title theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qcjHLuoSXY) is ripped off from somewhere, I believe Rosza used it at some point but if memory serves it wasn't original to him either. (It is ripped off from Respighi's The Pines of Rome.)

It's also quite annoying that his 3 most recorded themes -- La Dolce Vita, The Godfather and Romeo & Juliet -- usually sound incredibly tedious. Popular arrangements (Speak Softly Love and A Time for Us) are to blame for the latter two. I have gone off most of his film stuff most of the time, anyway.

EDIT: Caracalla's is also said to be a Latinized version of a traditional military march.