La Dolce Vita (1960 | Federico Fellini’s iconic, influential visual delight finds a new home on Blu-ray

The Sweet Life!
In late-1950s Rome, over seven days and nights, cynical showbiz columnist Marcello Rubina (Marcello Mastroianni) has his eyes open to his soulless existence as he drifts from one wild party to another in Rome’s amoral high society. His affair with Maddalena (Anouk Aimée) causes his fiancée Emma (Yvonne Furneaux) to attempt suicide, he accompanies a film starlet (Anita Ekberg) to St Peter’s where she dresses as a priest, he awaits an abortive miracle, and takes his ailing father to a nightclub… But as Marcello’s crazy carousel ride spins out of control, will he ever find the answers he’s so desperately looking for?

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Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (aka The Sweet Life) is one of the most influential movies of all time and one of the most notorious films to emerge from 1960s world cinema. While time has rendered it less so, it has lost none of its power to delight, thanks to Fellini’s delirious visuals, which have become part of contemporary culture, inspiring legions of film directors, from Woody Allen to Paolo Sorrentino – whose Oscar-winning The Great Beauty is its brilliant offspring, as well as musical artists like Bob Dylan and Blondie. It even gave us the term ‘paparazzi’. A soaking wet Anita Ekberg in a strapless black gown in the Trevi fountain and a statue of Christ hanging from a helicopter are two of the most iconic images in this comically caustic tour through the empty pleasures of modern life. A must-have in any serious world cinema collection.

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While Fellini’s Palme d’Or and Oscar-winning masterpiece should really be seen on the big screen, watching it on Blu-ray is the next best thing. The legendary director’s immortal images are simply luminous, while Nino Rota’s Grammy nominated score is a perfect match to Fellini’s vivid imaginings. Future Andy Warhol superstar Nico plays herself in the 6th night sequence, while one-time TV Tarzan Lex Barker plays Ekberg’s fiancé.

The Blu-ray, which is distributed by Nouveaux Pictures in the UK, is a new ‘Conservation clone’ remastered in 2010 from the restored Total Scope camera negative (scanned in 4K HD), as well as a 2nd print (to replace scenes that were badly damaged), using the restored 1995 Mediaset print as a print guide. The original 35mm optical-sound negative was also restored. The only special extras included is an interview with Anita Ekberg from 2004 (her account of filming the famous Trevi fountain scene is hilarious), plus trailers of four Fellini films and a host of Westerns and war classics from Argent.

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