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By
NICK ZEGARAC
Federico Fellini's "La Dolce
Vita" represents one of the high water marks of
the Italian neo-realist film movement. It's full
of lustful self-pity, deep brooding passions and
taut undercurrents of transfixed sexuality. The
story follows Marcello Rubini (Marcello
Mastroianni), one of Rome's undesirable paparazzi.
(An aside: this is the film that labeled that gaggle
of celebrity crazed photojournalists as such.)
Seems Marcello doesn't much care for work unless
it reads more like play for hire. After chasing
down a helicopter that's carrying a bronzed statue
of Jesus to the Vatican -- and pausing just long
enough to ogle a troupe of scantily clad Roman
vixens in bikinis, perched atop a high rise,
Marcello meets up with Maddalena (Anouk Aimee) at
a swank nightclub. She's stuck in a dead end
relationship. He's living with the overly
possessive, Emma (Yvonne Furneaux). Fellini's
direction taunts the viewer with a series of
seemingly disjointed vignettes that are
captivating unto themselves; Emma's failed
suicide, Marcello's tryst with American sex
goddess, Sylvia (Anita Ekberg), a brief pub crawl
with Marcello's father (Annibale Ninchi), and a
thoroughly tasteless party scene in which Marcello
(fully dressed), mounts a woman like a horse and
shouts disgusting absurdities about the room. The
most celebrated episode is undoubtedly Sylvia's
erotic dance at an outdoor club and subsequent
swim in the famed Trevi Fountain. Fellini delivers
a deliberate sheen to this otherwise tawdry little
film, giving it a scope and grandeur that elevates
the subject matter to high art. Also in the cast
is former Tarzan star Lex Barker as Robert, an
abusive drunk and has been which -- unfortunately
-- wasn't far off from his real life situation.
Koch Lorber DVD has done an absolutely outstanding
job on remastering "La Dolce Vita." The gray scale
exhibits a depth of field and superb balancing
with deep, solid black levels and brilliantly
clean whites. Occasionally there is a slight
shimmer in the print but this is excusable and
non-obtrusive to one's enjoyment of the film. The
anamorphic transfer simply sparkles with a minimum
of age related artifacts and no digital
anomalies for a remarkably smooth visual
presentation. The audio has been re-mixed for 5.1
surround. Though it's dated and sometimes
strident, it sounds much better than anything
you've likely heard before. Extras include several
short featurettes (most self-congratulatory on
Fellini). There's also a particularly appalling
set of interviews in which stars, Anita Ekberg and
Marcello Mastroianni seem deliberately
photographed in the worst light for maximum
ugliness effect. Ekberg particularly looks like a
cross between Jabba the Hutt and Oprah sans make
up and before her diet -- stuffed into a dress
that looks more like a beach towel. (Another aside:
Ekberg still thinks she's 21.) There's also a
stills gallery and a restoration comparison that
will illuminate for the first time viewer just how
much work was done to get this film into its
current shape. |
