Federico Fellini’s sumptuous yet existentially punishing drama offers up a view of an elite class that has since gone rotten
Federico Fellini’s 1960 masterpiece La Dolce Vita premiered in his native
Italy 60 years ago today, eventually trickling into
American theaters just as they were getting hospitable to foreign films. Stateside moviegoers in the 60s looked at the latest releases from the big-name masters – Bergman, Kurosawa, Godard – as two-hour passports to far-off lands, and the ineffable Italian-ness of Fellini’s cinema played a significant role in its US reception. As world-weary gossip columnist Marcello Rubini, the great Marcello Mastroianni embodied the image of Euro-cool, resplendent in his jet-black sunglasses and slickly tailored suits. The film’s rear-projection driving scenes are, simply put, the greatest in the history of the medium; Americans were instantly smitten with Marcello’s sporty little hot rod, his disaffected scowl, and the seductive artifice of the filmed nighttime splayed across the background.
Related: All Federico Fellini's films – ranked!