A small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he reunites with a hip American journalism student and attempts to persuade her to run away with him to Italy.
Director:
Jean-Luc Godard
Stars:
Jean-Paul Belmondo,
Jean Seberg,
Daniel Boulanger
A fluid, unconnected and sometimes chaotic procession of scenes detailing the various people and events of life in Italy's capital, most of it based on director Federico Fellini's life.
Director:
Federico Fellini
Stars:
Britta Barnes,
Peter Gonzales Falcon,
Fiona Florence
Journalist and man-about-town Marcello struggles to find his place in the world, torn between the allure of Rome's elite social scene and the stifling domesticity offered by his girlfriend, all the while searching for a way to become a serious writer.Written by
Jeff Lewis
Ranked number 10 non-English-speaking film in the critics' poll conducted by the BBC in 2018. See more »
Goofs
In the Via Veneto scene when Marcello meets his father, the windshield of Marcello's car is missing. You can see his hand holding on to the windshield frame as he exits his car. See more »
Quotes
Marcello Rubini:
[to Sylvia]
You are everything... everything! You are the first woman on the first day of creation. You are mother, sister, lover, friend, angel, devil, earth, home.
See more »
Alternate Versions
In the original American release, distributed by American International Pictures, the titles open with the AIP logo and appear over a shot of the sky with clouds. In the current release on DVD - and as shown on TCM - the title sequence is over a black background. When originally released, censors in several countries trimmed certain scenes, including the orgy near the end of the film. See more »
I've seen this film regularly since 1971. In theatres, on TV, on video, on DVD. It doesn't age. If anybody ever needed proof that Fellini was a genius, this is it. La dolce vita remains the most touching statement about the human condition I ever saw on film. Everybody remembers the magic-realistic image of Anita Ekberg in the Trevi fountain, and a truly amazing image it is. But the film is much more than a slightly surrealistic sketchbook of emotionally empty jet setters. It is more existentialist than any book by Sartre or Camus. The final sequence is simply devastating. We are all Marcello. Since over 30 years this is my number-one film.
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I've seen this film regularly since 1971. In theatres, on TV, on video, on DVD. It doesn't age. If anybody ever needed proof that Fellini was a genius, this is it. La dolce vita remains the most touching statement about the human condition I ever saw on film. Everybody remembers the magic-realistic image of Anita Ekberg in the Trevi fountain, and a truly amazing image it is. But the film is much more than a slightly surrealistic sketchbook of emotionally empty jet setters. It is more existentialist than any book by Sartre or Camus. The final sequence is simply devastating. We are all Marcello. Since over 30 years this is my number-one film.