MovieChat Forums > La dolce vita (1961) Discussion > Fellini is so over rated

Fellini is so over rated

posted 20 years ago by inlovewithmovies
275 replies | jump to latest

Fellini is not a great film maker. He's not even a good film maker. To place him on the same level with the greats is an insult to the greats. He is completely self-indulgent. His films are pretentious, smug, and worse of all boring. He is not a visionary, but a phony. This movie is just a clear example of that.
La Dolce Vita has no plot and is exceedingly dull at a run time of 3 hours long. Gone With the Wind, the Godfather, and Titanic-- I can see as deserving of 3 hours, but this piece of triviality could have been told in 10 minutes. It's been a long time since a movie has inspired so much hatred in me for what was on the screen. I would rather be subjected to a Jennifer Lopez movie marathon, starting with Gigli than to go through another viewing of this never ending tortuous meaningless journey through Marcello's vapid existence. In fact, throw in a Ben Affleck marathon while you are at it starting with Surving Christmas and I'd still gladly take that torture then another Fellini "classic." I've tried to like Fellini and this about the fifth movie I've seen of his and I'm sorry but he is not brilliant. Fellini should take lessons from Goddard on what a cool movie is supposed to be like.

[–] kobe084 19 years ago

Thank goodness. Finally an intelligent comment on this board. Bravo worov, there is too much negativity here.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] fergdeff 19 years ago

Sometimes it gets me down too. I guess one of the problems of an unmoderated posting environment is the concomitant sifting out of the dross.
Since I have begun prowling the IMDB boards, I have been amazed at the number of posters who are prone to the following thought process.

"X" is globally critically acclaimed
and
I didn't like/enjoy/appreciate/get "X".
therefore
"X" is overrated.
where "X" is a film, director, etc...

I think psycologists refer to this as "cognitive dissonance". This is the tendency, when faced with two conflicting values or beliefs (cognitions), to find and add a third piece of information which resolves the conflict.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fox_and_the_Grapes

Now let me preempt any howls of "Hey man, my opinion is just a valid as yours!". Yes of course it is, but this comes down to ones philosophy on how a resource like these boards can best be used. Shouldn't there be some value to the contributions? I think that sometimes a posters urge to contribute can completely override any critical awareness of the value of their contribution. Also, I'd like to point out that calling something overrated (how I loath this word) is a statement of fact, not an opinion.

Negative comments, should be welcomed. Before any kind of debate can take place there must first be opposing views. But I wish folk would take a little time create some kind of a structured argument. An example of a healthy one is the "To all the people who love this film" thread. The poster, [GaryJohnston], hung around to fight his corner quite eloquently without getting (too) personal in his replies and it lead to some very interesting discussion. Also the posts of good ol' [steverogers23] are always well informed and his constant refrences to the "atrocious sound editing" are fairly valid. Compare this to some of the posts in this thread. Honestly go back and read the original starting post by [inlovewithmovies], in the context of value.

Finally, I must say that there is probably a good buzz out of heading over to this board and posting something like "La Dolce Vita? Crap. Titanic, now there's a movie!!" and waiting for the fireworks. It must be something akin to mixing red ants and black ants together and sitting back to enjoy the show...

Oh, by the way, I think Titanic is overrated...

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] Asa_Nisi_Masa 18 years ago

I have to say both your contributions are phenomenal - eloquent and perceptive, probably capable of putting into far better words the same concepts that I have been clumsily trying to express for years! Thanks for that, I hope you won't mind if I link to these posts of yours in future, so that others may read them, too.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] mababoy 19 years ago

oh my God comparing La Dolce Vita with Titanic is too much...no comments

[–] suzeclark 19 years ago

I realize this is an old thread - but to say that a movie like "Titanic" deserves 3 hours and a movie like "La Dolce Vita" does not - that just makes me giggle.

La Dolce Vita is my first Fellini film and I have chosen to see it now because of all the other references to it in film, literature and popular culture. "Titanic" was an interesting movie that I liked in spite of myself - I fully expected to find it empty and flat. It was neither, but I also wouldn't list it among my favorites - say like "Gangs of New York" or "Godfather" which are effective at evoking the feeling of an era - or at least make one think they do.

La Dolce Vita does the same thing - although I had my first visit to Rome in the late 90's, I felt the essence of the city while watching this film. I think that Fellini's chaos is linked to the chaos of Italian life, culture and politics.

It's a lovely and sensual film - and if the characters are ultimately empty portals, they are by no means 2 dimensional. That is not the same thing.

Films need to be both an artistic expression and accessible to a fair number of viewers - what director wants to make a film that 10 people love but no one else will see? Well, perhaps some do, but how can one argue that a film like that needs to be part of our popular lexicon since the director purposely made it to exclude understanding?

On the flip side, a film that appeals to a wide audience has to deal with being accused of "lowest common denomiator" syndrome - some of these movies are funny, or might have something to say, but for the most part they are empty calories. That's not a bad thing either. It's not the type of movie I choose to watch over and over, but the mass culture appeal also says something about our culture and the film-maker's knowledge of it.

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[–] tanman_008 18 years ago

Just saw this last night in the cinemas, the way Fellini made it to be seen. I was expecting a masterpiece, I had not seen a Fellini film but knew about his reputation as one of the world's premier film makers, and I had viewed scenes from this movie (the fountain one) in a documentary about Fellini.

3 long hours later my friend and I (both self-confessed film nuts) were utterly dissapointed at that movie. Now he had seen Satrycon and he knew Fellini was a bit weird and very different but he hated that movie. I didn't hate it, I was just dissapointed, the first hour involving Slivia was great, Marcello looked like a brilliant character, the last two hours of him going to different parties with different people and all these new characters wasn't. Yes, i get that Fellini wanted to show Marcello going thru a crossroads in his life unsatisfied with what his life is about and what its made up of, but he could've done it with a proper line of plot and more cohesion. Yes, I understand that is supremely complex, but complex is possible without drawn out storylines and scenes. I will try and get it on DVD and watch again, maybe I will understand it better, or maybe as someone else said watch it when you're Marcello's age (I'm only 19). I won't condemn Fellini as vastly overrated until I've seen his masterpiece 8½, I vitteloni and Nights of Cabiria. But last night has left me with a bitter taste. I hope it goes away soon.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] dr_remlaw 18 years ago

...but I certainly understand why a lot of people hate his movies. I personally love them to death, 8 1/2 is my all-time fav, but I didn't realize it till I'd watched it 4 times. La Dolce Vita is the same - every successive viewing is just that much better than the first.

Yes, he is self-indulgent. That much is obvious - 8 1/2 is pretty much an autobiographical movie, although it is not self-serving in the least. His movies are long and difficult, and it couldn't be any other way. Is he pretentious? Not in the least, he knows exactly what he's talking about, and the symbols in his movies are pretty obvious. Smug? I guess so, but so are Orson Welles, Jean-Luc Godard, Ingmar Bergman, and all the rest of the great filmmakers (except for my favourite, Luis Buñuel...). Boring? There goes your argument. You find him boring, I find him awesome.

The doctor has spoken.

[–] godzooky-1 18 years ago

you are a simple minded fool, and when it comes to movies you can watch thousands of them, but your opinion will remain worthless.

[–] Tyler_Durden_pt 18 years ago

"Fellini should take lessons from Goddard on what a cool movie is supposed to be like."

Laughing out loud. So is Cinema about being "cool"?

Godard may be as cool as Miles Davis himself, but I still find his movies boring as hell. Fellini's work, on the other hand, is full of life and emotion and strength.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] apotolas 18 years ago

"Fellini should take lessons from Goddard on what a cool movie is supposed to be like."

There are no "cool" movies outside the American borders. Cool is a particularity of the american movies. Europe is producing "artistic" movies (or "cinefil" as we say in Greece). This particularity divides the european from the american culture and that's why you don't get their meaning.

[–] patrick_dunne 18 years ago

on what a cool movie is supposed to be like.

I doubt Fellini tried to be "cool" in making his movies.